# Favorite "Does Everything Him/Herself" Musicians
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 28, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427 "2002-06-28T17:48:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/1 "2002-06-28T17:48:45Z")
I was listening to the radio the other day and “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney came on, and for the first time in a while I thought, “Wow, every single instrument and voice on this song is done by McCartney.” He did it twice in his career: Except for a couple of keyboard and vocal backings credited to Linda, everything on the _McCartney_ and _McCartney II_ was performed completely by Paul.
What are some of your favorites in this category? A few of mine besides the above:
**Prince** –his first five albums are pretty much all him. A couple of keyboard and guitar tracks by other musicians, Andre Cymone playing the bass on one album, and some backing vocals on _1999_ by others. Otherwise, he played every part and sang every line on everything up until _Purple Rain_. Absolutely incredible.
**Chris Mars** –former drummer for the Replacements. He’s put out four excellent power-pop albums on which he has played everything except the bass. (Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum guested on one album, but only on one song.)
---
### Author:  [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/2 "2002-06-28T17:58:43Z")
**Trent Reznor** –Everything on the original (non-remix) Nine Inch Nails albums are all pretty much outta his head, played by him, and sung by him.
**Stephin Merrit** –Sometimes he gets guest vocalists, but many of the songs by The Magnetic Fields and The Gothic Archies have his distinctive almost-too-low voice. He plays all the istruments on the albums by The Sixths, but always has guest vocalists…
---
### Author:  [@Jerevan\_Somerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerevan_Somerville)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/3 "2002-06-28T18:12:46Z")
**Nancy Wilson** of **Heart** periodically “does it all” for a track on the band’s albums. “Raised On You”, for instance, on _Bebe Le Strange_.
**Tori Amos** ’s early stuff was mostly just her, her songs, her voice and her piano.
---
### Author:  [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/4 "2002-06-28T18:18:44Z")
Dave Grohl played all the instruments for the first Foo Fighters album, I thought that was kinda cool.
---
### Author:  [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/5 "2002-06-28T19:41:15Z")
Jim “Foetus” Thirwell
Particularly his song about doing lots of amphedimines and working obsessionally. Well, no kidding.
Trent Reznor just wants to be Foetus 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/6 "2002-06-28T19:51:02Z")
Jane Child… her two albums on Warner Brothers were excellent.
---
### Author:  [@Broodha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broodha)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/7 "2002-06-28T19:57:45Z")
**Ani Difranco** has done a lot of cool punk folk while recording all of the instrument and vocal tracks.
---
### Author:  [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/8 "2002-06-28T20:28:06Z")
Little Stevie Wonder
Need I say more?
---
### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/9 "2002-06-28T20:28:54Z")
On one hand, it’s impressive that Paul McCartney played all instruments on the “McCartney” album… on the other hand, it wasn’t a very good album, in my opinion.
I can think of several artists who’ve done albums all by themselves, playing multiple instruments. I know that Paul (Bad Company) Rodgers did it, and so did Steve Winwood. But again, the albums in question weren’t very good.
So, by default, I suppose I’d have to say the BEST of the do-it-yourselfers is Stevie Wonder, who’s made a lot of very good recordings unassisted.
---
### Author:  [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/10 "2002-06-28T20:32:53Z")
**Astorian** , will you marry me?
---
### Author:  [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/11 "2002-06-28T20:56:27Z")
John Fogerty. Listen to most of his solo work, great stuff, one-man-band-style. He was CCR; look what happen when he let the other guys have more control, that _Mardi Gras_ album.
_Blue Ridge Rangers_ was all him doing covers of country and gospel songs. It sounds like a lost CCR album; I like to surprise people with that one from time to time. If you haven’t heard it, seek it out.
Although even I have to admit _John Fogerty_ and _Eye Of The Zombie_ are kind of weak albums.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/12 "2002-06-29T00:44:34Z")
\*\*[Happy Rhodes](http://www.auntiesocialmusic.com/) \*\* has 10 albums (and is almost finished with her 11th). She did everything herself on her first 4 albums. She started working as an apprentice engineer at a recording studio, and to learn the equipment she recorded her own songs. The owner of the studio loved them and gave her free time to use whenever she wanted. She eventually amassed enough songs for 4 albums. They’re all quite wonderful too.
---
### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/13 "2002-06-29T01:04:40Z")
What, **Mike Oldfield** hasn’t been mentioned yet?
Tubular Bells. All instruments. _The dude was 18 years old at the time._
And isn’t **Beck** another multi-instrument virtuoso? I don’t know if he ever made a recording where he played everything, though.
---
### Author:  [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/14 "2002-06-29T01:14:18Z")
I was going to mention **Mike Oldfield** but Coldy beat me to it. So, instead I’ll give a vote for **Roy Wood** who, with Jeff Lynne, formed The Move, went on to for The Electric Light Orchestra and the put out **Boulders** which is one of the best one-man shows I’ve ever heard.
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/15 "2002-06-29T01:30:32Z")
[Emett Rhodes](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A8v7tk6sx9kr0). He played all the instruments on his debut album, which was pretty damn good in any case. Alas, he was done in by his record company and fell into obscurity, but his album was better than McCartney’s effort (who he sounded something like).
---
### Author:  [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/16 "2002-06-29T06:46:28Z")
[not quite on topic]
Not that she played all of her own instruments, but Mariah Carey did write and produce her debut album at only 21 years old. I believe it had 6 number one hits. Thats a pretty major accomplishment for someone that young. The irony is that it is the only one that isn’t filled with nothing but pop crap and actually had some musicality.
---
### Author:  [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/17 "2002-06-29T10:59:44Z")
There was (alas!) a folk singer called **Stan Rogers** who wrote almost all of his own material as well as playing guitar and singing on his albums. He played with a band, but the music is good, pure, folk with some incredible harmonies. Listening to the live version of _Barrett’s Privateers_ makes me glad I’m a heterosexual woman (4-part acapella male harmony! Mmmm!!), and the song _45 Years From Now_ was one of the reasons I accepted a marriage proposal.
On a more recent note, when **Billy Joel** put out _For the Longest Time_, I seem to remember hearing that he didn’t like the way anyone else handled the harmonies, so he recorded all the vocal tracks himself.
CJ
---
### Author:  [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/18 "2002-06-29T15:11:19Z")
I was a huge **Mike Oldfield** fan at one time, but the ‘multi-instrumentalist’ tag doesn’t bear close scrutiny. He’s a very accomplished guitarist, who can produce good work on acoustic guitar, electric or bass.
He can’t play keyboards in any meaningful sense of the word ‘play’. He can hold down simple chords. He can pick out one-key-at-a-time-tunes, and sometimes used to do this with the tape at half-speed (and the tune transposed down an octave) to make ‘fast’ sections easier to play.
He can’t play drums, although he can bang a timpani or a gong about as well as any beginner.
For everything else - ‘normal’ drum and keyboard parts, woodwind, brass etc - he has always happily used other musicians. In live gigs all he has ever played is various guitars.
And of course he doesn’t sing or write good songs on his own (he has done ‘vocal noises’ on a few tracks, used a vocoder once or twice, which is once or twice to often, and spoke the lyrics to ‘On Horseback’).
I’d say for real multi-instrument versatility, plus great songwriting and singing, I’d vote for Stevie Wonder or McCartney. Wonder: any keyboard, harmonica, drums, songwriting, singing. McCartney: guitars, bass, some piano, drums, songwriting, singing.
---
### Author:  [@Fibonacci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibonacci)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/19 "2002-06-29T15:33:49Z")
No one mentioned Todd Rundgren yet? I would have thought he’d have shown up here by now.
I have to say my favorite “does everything himself” musician live in concert would be the late Duster Bennett. I saw him open for John Mayall back in the late 60’s/early 70’s. He sang, played guitar, harmonica and drums. All organic, no electronic beat boxes or tapes. A true one-man band.
---
### Author:  [@Dirty\_Earthworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Earthworm)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427/20 "2002-06-29T16:35:05Z")
I used to have **Lenny Kravitz** ’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way” on cassette back in the day, and I thought in the liner notes it said that, aside from one or two guest appearances on some tracks, he played every instrument himself. I could be wrong.
Also, same goes for **Duff McKagan** from Guns N’ Roses; on his first (and so far only) solo recording, he played all instruments (again, except for a few ‘guest’ spots) and produced the album himself.
-Dirty
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-does-everything-him-herself-musicians/116427.md?page=2)