Why would anyone leave the glitz and glamour of the music industry once they’ve reached music stardom?

Depends.

For one rocker, it’s simple: “All rock-and-rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire.” For others, the reason for leaving may be loss, disillusionment or frustration, or an entirely different calling.

While that tidbit about aging rock-n-rollers, apparently, never reached the ears of Mick Jagger (80) or Axl Rose (62), Grace Slick took her own words rather seriously and retired from the music business after three decades and, literally, left rock and roll to a younger set. The songstress who gave us psychedelic rock anthems White Rabbit and Somebody to Love (co-written with Darby Slick), among others, has stepped before the microphone only a few times since calling it quits in the mid-90s. Slick has, instead, focused mostly on the artistic pursuits of drawing and painting. She has also written a few books, including her autobiography Somebody to Love? A Rock and Roll Memoir.

In 1971, John Deacon, auditioned for and became the final piece of one the best rock bands of all time, Queen. The bassist was the youngest and, likely, least known of the band. He penned several songs for the band including You’re My Best Friend (A Night at the Opera), 1980’s Another One Bites the Dust (The Game), one of Queen’s biggest commercial hits, and I Want to Break Free (The Works). However, when Freddie Mercury died in 1991, John Deacon was devastated and believed Queen finished. Bassist Magazine quotes him as saying, ”There is no point carrying on. It is impossible to replace Freddie.” Though he played a few concerts with the band over the next six years, Deacon retired from music in 1997 and has had little contact with Brian May, Roger Taylor, or much of the world for that matter, since walking away.

Ain’t No Sunshine and Grandma’s Hands (1971), Use Me and Lean on Me (1972), Lovely Day (1977), and Just the Two of Us (1980) were all huge hits for Bill Withers. The man was so good, he won three Grammys and was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But after less than twenty years of sharing his songs with the world, Withers bid the music business farewell in 1985. Disgusted by Columbia music executives, who attempted to exert excessive control over his music, Withers determined to no longer record and refused to sign to another label. Though his music was re-released (and reached new audiences) in subsequent decades, he proved a man of his word. Following his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, Withers said, ”What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain’t a genre that somebody didn’t record them in. I’m not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with.”

For twelve years, Dan Spitz was lead guitarist for thrash metal band Anthrax. During his tenure, the band recorded half a dozen albums, which sold an estimated 30 million copies. The band’s sound was largely attributed to the aggressive style of its guitarists, Spitz and Scott Ian. Shockingly, in 1995, Dan Spitz left Anthrax (and music) to attend WOSTEP (the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry) to become a certified maker of Swiss watches. Turns out, Spitz is actually a third generation Master Watchmaker. While Spitz briefly toured with Anthrax in the mid-2000s, he returned to watchmaking, where he is considered one of the best in the world. Of his initial departure, Spitz says, “By the time 1995 rolled around I was the first one in the band to have children, and I missed them when I was on the road. We’d do an album and tour for years at a time, then start the cycle over again. Time at home was not there.”

In each instance, these musicians choose their moment of departure to pursue life differently. Would you have the guts to do what these rockers did? Is there any reason you’d leave a life of stardom behind?