bands/acts that either found or lost religion midway through their career

There's a lot to said about the ins and outs of the Jackson family and the Jehovah's Witnesses too, but not many sources to draw on as they don't seem to talk about it very much. Interesting that the lapsed Jehovah's Witness (MJ) got the cold shoulder from the more recent convert (Prince)

We've forgotten Sananda Maitreya, aka Terence Trent D'arby!

Details on his faith are slim at a glance, but presumably some flavor of Buddhism? I'm sure the name change didn't help his career at all, but clips from that time show him in as fine a form as ever, maybe better even!

Oh yeah and also let's not forget Mike Love

I read Dizzy Gillespie saying in his autobiography To Be Or Not To Bop about conversion to Islam among jazz musicians in pre-civil rights era US. Apparently there was a difference in status which bypassed some aspects of segregation. Need to reread for specifics but that was the gist. I think it became easier if the player appeared to be an exotic foreigner than an American black. Pretty disgusting state of affairs really to have to do that against institutionalised racism.

Good book too.

Yeah, I remember reading about that too... Apparently, if they converted to Islam and changed their name into an arabic one, they could show their papers and people would label them as Middle Eastern, who at the time were considered white. So they could check in at segregated hotels, eat in "for whites only" restaurants, etc. According to Gillespie, this was the main reason why some jazzmen converted. Kinda funny but mostly sad, like you say.

"I read Dizzy Gillespie saying in his autobiography To Be Or Not To Bop about conversion to Islam among jazz musicians in pre-civil rights era US. Apparently there was a difference in status which bypassed some aspects of segregation. Need to reread for specifics but that was the gist. I think it became easier if the player appeared to be an exotic foreigner than an American black. Pretty disgusting state of affairs really to have to do that against institutionalised racism."

korla pandit is a pretty famous example of this (not that he converted to islam, but he got on tv presenting himself as a "mystical easterner").

Wanna mention Princess Superstar and Andrew WK who both went down the self-help/life coach/self-actualization rabbithole so far that it somehow resulted in them losing whatever it was that motivated them to make cool music.

I was curious about this...I know AWK still tours or at least does brief jaunts. What's he playing? All of I Get Wet and a few other songs or what?

Basically just plays his old stuff (half I Get Wet, quite a bit from Close Calls, this and that from whereever else) as a solo artist which is actually pretty good if it's in the right venue. Saw him twice over the last 3 or 4 years - once was great because it was a small club so him with a keyboard and an ipod and either he was in the crowd half the time or the crowd was onstage half the time. It was really fun. The other time was him in a larger venue on a big empty stage and it sucked.

Alternatively he DJs. Or does stunt gigs with his piano or guesting with people and that kind of thing.