Nobody knew it at the time, but "Dr. Feelgood" would mark the last time Vince Neil's voice was heard on a Mötley Crüe album until 1997. With "Dr. Feelgood" performing extremely well on the charts, it seemed as if the Crüe was due for several more years of dominance in the rock scene. Sure, you can say that Nirvana made sure that wasn't going to happen when "Nevermind" broke down the door for grunge, but there was another key event around that same time that contributed to the Crüe's sudden decline, and that was Neil's departure from the band in early 1992.

As detailed by Ultimate Classic Rock, Mötley Crüe's official statement suggested that they fired Neil because he was too preoccupied with his hobby of auto racing. However, in an interview later that year, the singer alleged that creative differences were the main reason behind his ouster — the band wanted a bluesier direction, but he felt this was a "stupid idea that will alienate the fans." Further complicating matters is Nikki Sixx's continued insistence that Neil left of his own volition (via Rolling Stone).

Regardless of what really happened, we do know that Neil was out of Mötley Crüe in 1992, that their attempts to go grunge didn't set the world on fire, and that Neil was back for 1997's "Generation Swine," which, if anything, was even more divisive than their self-titled 1994 album with John Corabi on lead vocals.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCCj2lpcWtfqbWmedOrrK2gXZavsMHTZqSorJyaxm6v0a6crGWWnr%2B0wIysppudomKura7UpmY%3D