▲Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the world's most famous and successful artists began singing on the street or playing shows where audiences impatiently waited for the next band. From Prince getting booed offstage to Led Zeppelin not even getting the courtesy of having their name on the marquee, check out this gallery to see which wildly famous musicians got their start as a supporting act, and which big names let them share the stage.

▲Pink Floyd opened for Jimi Hendrix! Roger Waters saw Hendrix at his first gig in 1966, while he was still in college. A year later, his band opened for Hendrix’s UK tour. Waters described his fellow legend as lovely, sweet, and obviously brilliant.

▲As Mott the Hoople's glam years were coming to an end, they kicked off their shows with what would soon become the glam rock band for the ages.

▲The music legends first opened for Brenda Lee, the woman who has charted in more categories than any other in the history of recorded music, at the Star Club in Germany, in 1962. They were mutual fans, and she said they were very down to earth.

▲In 1974, Springsteen opened in New York's Central Park for Anne Murray, which was instantly recognized as a mistake because anyone who performed after Springsteen seemed anticlimactic. The Boss never appeared as an opening act again.

▲The band got their start warming up crowds for Herman’s Hermits in 1967, with songs like 'Pictures of Lily' and 'My Generation.'

▲Dylan's first real gig was opening for blues legend John Lee Hooker, a job for which he was paid US$90 a week. Now that experience is immortalized on his debut album, in the song 'Talkin' New York.'

▲Steve Tyler reminisces about opening for Sha Na Na fondly in his 2011 memoir, in which he says 35,000 kids showed up to their show and things got so rowdy they had to shut it down.

▲The Piano Man said opening for "full-tilt boogie bands" like Badfinger, the Doobie Brothers, and the J. Geils Band in the early '70s helped him strengthen his stage presence, but after a while, he revealed, he was thrown off the bill for doing better than the headliners.

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An almost unbelievable 1972 tour had Stevie Wonder opening for the Rolling Stones, touring both 'Music of My Mind' and 'Exile on Main St.' respectively. Rock audiences weren't previously familiar with Wonder, but that all soon changed.

▲Four years after 'I Got You Babe,' in Sonny & Cher's slump, they began opening for Pat Boone in Las Vegas. It was there that they developed 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.'

▲One of the founders of Strawberry Alarm Clock, known for the hit 'Incense and Peppermints,' took a liking to the southern rockers, and after letting them open for him, he joined the band four years later.

▲On the English band's first US tour in 1968, they were opening for Country Joe & the Fish, Vanilla Fudge, and Iron Butterfly, and they were billed as “support.”

▲The founders of Steely Dan had dreamed of opening for someone like Frank Zappa when they met in college, so opening for him in the '70s was an honor.

▲In some of his worst-received moments, the inimitable Prince opened for the Rolling Stones in 1981, where audiences threw trash at the bikini-brief-clad singer. Mick Jagger, a big fan, convinced him to get back onstage for one more show.

▲The popular band of the '90s and 00's started as opening acts for another '90s hit band Bush, but only No Doubt's popularity survived the turn of the millennium.

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One of the best-selling artists of all time was opening for Lionel Richie, and it was actually in the middle of their tour together that she released her 1984 album 'Private Dancer.'

▲A couple of months after the 1972 release of 'Take It Easy,' the Eagles were still opening for English rock band Procol Harum.

▲The Australian rockers actually took a detour on their Powerage tour to open for Rainbow in New York, where they still stole the show.

▲For two weeks in 1966, the band opened for Them, the Irish band that launched Van Morrison, in Los Angeles. On the last night, both of Morrison's bands jammed onstage in an epic music history moment.

▲The future pop-punk icons almost couldn't afford to open for the band 7 Seconds when they were invited to open at their 1995 tour, but fellow touring band Pennywise paid for their plane tickets.

▲The pop star started her career opening for some of the country greats like Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, George Strait, and Brad Paisley. In 2013, she invited Rascal Flatts to play onstage with her for her Red Tour.

▲The English singer, known for his gritty voice and spasmodic movements, started his career by warming up crowds for the British Invasion band Manfred Mann, after which he would return to his job at a gas company before really making it big.

▲Even though Dave Grohl had people's eyes fixed on his next move after Nirvana, they were playing small shows and opening for Mike Watt, a punk bassist. Little did they know they'd be winning more Grammys and selling out more stadiums than they could count.

▲After releasing her second album, the now-superstar was opening for The Pussycat Dolls during their 2006 European tour. Now, she's a household name, whereas The Pussycat Dolls are just a memory.

▲Before the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, and before becoming one of the best-selling rock bands of all time, Mick Fleetwood's band opened for Jethro Tull, which peaked in popularity with 1971's 'Aqualung.'

▲The rock legend opened for the Monkees, whose teenybopper fans were completely confused by the experimental guitarist. Nine days after he joined The Monkees tour, Hendrix quit.

▲Before she gained the star power to play the Super Bowl halftime show, Gaga was opening for the band Semi Precious Weapons in New York. She later invited the band to open for her!

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Chappell Roan's meteoric rise to stardom took off with her opening act for Olivia Rodrigo's Sour World Tour in 2022. Her impressive performance during the tour helped solidify her status as a rising star. Since then, the 26-year-old sensation is headlining her own sold-out concerts and her performance at Lollapalooza this year was a highlight of the festival, drawing one of the largest daytime crowds in its history.

▲Just one year before reaching mass popularity with their double platinum album 'Under The Cork Tree,' the band was still opening for labelmates Punchline and Less Than Jake.

▲In 1995, Nine Inch Nails were drawing out huge crowds and didn't really need to open for David Bowie, whose popularity was waning since he refused to perform hits. In hindsight, however, the show sounds incredible.

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In 1988, the band labeled as a cheap Aerosmith knock-off actually opened for Aerosmith and, even crazier, they almost overshadowed them following the release of their album, 'Appetite for Destruction.'

The opening acts that became major headliners

From Hendrix to Springsteen, they all had to start somewhere

29/04/25 por StarsInsider

MUSIC Famous musicians

Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the world's most famous and successful artists began singing on the street or playing shows where audiences impatiently waited for the next band. From Prince getting booed offstage to Led Zeppelin not even getting the courtesy of having their name on the marquee, check out this gallery to see which wildly famous musicians got their start as a supporting act, and which big names let them share the stage.