Passing the torch: The musical offspring of famous rock stars

If you grow up in a household where dad and/or mom are famous musicians, the chances of you taking up that vocation can be pretty high. Here's proof.

The concept can be expressed in different ways. It runs in the family. Like father (or mother), like son (or daughter). The apple never falls far from the tree. In every case, we’re talking about either hereditary characteristics or learned abilities passed down from parent to child.

It stands to reason that if you grow up in a household full of creatives, something is going to rub off on the kids, whether it be something in their genes (nature) or just because of what goes on around them (nurture.) So if your parents are musical, then there’s a very good chance you will be musical, too.

Now imagine that mom and/or dad is a famous musician. Cool people are always dropping in. There are tours and time in the studio and parties and industry events. How could you not be influenced by this environment? You just fall into the lifestyle. You learn to play and write and perform. And because your parents have some connections and relationships within the industry, you might have an inside line on establishing a career for yourself.

Musical parents don’t always mean musical children. But creativity can run in the family. For example, Duncan Bowie (originally christened Zowie by his parents, David and Angels Bowie) pursued filmmaking. Back in the 1960s, Jerry Lewis’s son, Gary, eschewed acting and comedy, forming instead a successful pop band in the 60s called Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Patrick Schwarzenegger has done a little acting like his dad, but his main pursuit has been running a clothing company.

However, the list of musical offspring is very long and is getting longer every year. Jason Bonham is the drummer son of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. Norah Jones is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, the Beatles’ favourite sitar player. There’s Roseanne Cash, daughter of Johnny. Sean and Julian Lennon are both sons of John. Four of the five children of Frank Zappa have had musical careers. R&B singer Stella Santana is the daughter of Carlos. Miley is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. Adam Cohen is the son of Leonard. Carnie and Wendy Wilson are the daughters of the Beach Boys’ Brian. And more recently, Wolfgang Van Halen is following in the footsteps of his father, Eddie.

Here are a few more, with a couple that may have escaped your attention so far.

Okay, so you probably know about this relationship. Jakob is the son of Bob and Sara Dylan. Although he was the son of the world’s most famous folksinger, he preferred punk when he was growing up, getting deep into The Clash and the Buzzcocks. A few bands followed, along with an aborted attempt at design school in New York. By 1989, he was in LA with a band called The Apples, which would soon morph into The Wallflowers.

Their first album didn’t trouble any charts or radio station playlists, but the second, Bringing Down the Horse, was a major hit. Jakob, the only consistent member of the band, has won Grammys, hosted TV specials, and toured the world with the likes of Tom Petty and, er, Dad.