Artists who started out in other kinds of music but hit it big by going novelty

Bobby McFerrin. My college roommate from 1986 was a big fan of his highly original all-vocal but hardly a cappella (in the conventional sense) jazz pieces, and convinced me to catch his show, then touring on the Spontaneous Inventions album, both qhich were quite impressive. But his next album from a year later had that song on it, and his career never really recovered.

Bobby McFerrin's album with Chick Corea is great and shows off his jazziness well

it has always seemed to me that Led Zeppelin hatched fully formed

Landscape were a fairly standard jazz-funk band, they discovered synths and then came ‘Einstein a Go-Go'.

Want to say Babybird

Also Parry Gripp of “Hamster on a Piano” fame was in Nerf Herder

― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, May 2, 2024 9:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

fame?

― bae (sic), Thursday, May 2, 2024 10:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Maybe you know him better from Raining Tacos?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjF032TDDQ

The Bee Gees

how so?

The Bee Gees suggestion is completely wrong. Multiple massive hits across four decades, one of the biggest selling bands of all time etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3w8I8boc_I

would also argue against their disco era as being "novelty", it was absolutely in line with their natural artistic development, they were always huge R&B afficionados

Also Parry Gripp of “Hamster on a Piano” fame was in Nerf Herder

― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, May 2, 2024 8:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

what??!

Shakey, my Bee Gees listening thread homie, OTM