My little brother Rich and I trade song lyrics from oldies we grew up with, e-mailing them to each other from time to time.

Along the way I’ve come across a handful of guys who had solo hits, but who got their start years earlier with bands that also had hits.

One of them is Gerry Rafferty. He had a big solo hit in 1978 with “Baker Street” on his album City to City.

“Right Down the Line” was his second hit from the same album.

But Rafferty had had an earlier big hit, with his band Stealers Wheel and the 1973 song “Stuck in the Middle with You.”

Jay Ferguson is another such artist. He’s a one-hit-wonder as a solo act, with his smash single “Thunder Island” from 1977.

Almost a decade earlier, though, Ferguson was part of Spirit, the band that was also a one-hit-wonder with their song “I Got a Line on You.”

(Incidentally, Spirit remains in the news today; their lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for stealing the tune to their song “Taurus” and using it in “Stairway to Heaven” was revived by a judge just last month.)

In 1984, John Waite had a #1 hit with his solo single “Missing You.”

But much earlier – way back in 1977 – Waite was with a band called The Babys, and had a hit with their single, “Isn’t It Time.”

The Babys would have another hit in 1979, with “Everytime I Think of You.”

Our final subject is one Paul Carrack. In 1987 he hit it big with his solo single, “Don’t Shed a Tear.”

Unlike the others above, though, Carrack had multiple hits with multiple previous bands. First there was the band Ace, with their hit “How Long.”

Then he made the charts with Squeeze, and their hit “Tempted,” in 1981.

Then he joined Mike & The Mechanics, and had several hits. First was “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)” in 1985.

Next up was “The Living Years” in 1988.

Finally, there was “Over My Shoulder” in 1995.

There you go. What similar examples can you think of?