Despite the immense talent in the British progressive rock band Supertramp, it took them a few years and a few different lineups before they really hit it big. The late 1960s found musician Rick Davies in the band Joint, where he drew the attention of a Dutch millionaire. When Joint broke up, that same millionaire offered to finance a band for Davies, and all Davies had to do was fill the roster and release the music. He first added Roger Hodgson, who was also a songwriter, and Supertramp was formed. They had two different drummers in their first few years and also embarked on a tour. The albums they released flopped and the band broke up.

Davies and Hodgson stayed together and kept the band name. They added Bob Benberg, John Helliwell and Dougie Thomson. They released their third album but the first with the new lineup, Crimes of the Century, in 1974. The album did much better and reached number on in the U.K. Their next release, Crisis? What Crisis?, did well with established fans, but did not have a hit single. The result was similar for 1977's Even in the Quietest Moments. The dry streak would end, however, when Breakfast in America was released in 1979.

Not only was the album a number one in the U.K., it also hit number one in the U.S. and elsewhere. It was followed up with more successful albums like ...Famous Last Words.. and the live album Paris. Hodgson broke to release a solo album, but could not replicate the success he had with Supertramp. The band released Brother Where You Bound in 1985, which gave the band another successful album and charting single. Hodgson returned to help sell the bands compilation album in 1987, but the band fizzled afterwards. Supertramp came back together without Hodgson in 1997 and released Some Things Never Change followed by Is Everybody Listening in 2001, Slow Motion in 2002 and a live album in 2006.