# Front men/women who can't play an instrument **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 15, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386 "2021-11-15T15:08:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/81 "2021-11-16T02:49:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Did Pavarotti play an instrument? A cursory reading of his wiki bio didn’t enlighten me on that question. Many sources say that he could barely read music and his musical career started relatively late, so quite possibly not. On the other hand, if he wasn’t reading the music to learn his parts, he must have had a good ear and must have learned them by memory, which is also one way to play an instrument. He had a piano in his NYC apartment but maybe that was for an accompanist to play when he was rehearsing. > **[See inside Luciano Pavarotti's Manhattan apartment](https://www.classicfm.com/artists/luciano-pavarotti/pictures/pavarotti-new-york-apartment/)** > > The singer's home is on the market – and here's a peek inside his central New York pied-à-terre ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/82 "2021-11-16T02:59:39Z")
Lou Gramm was originally a drummer, and gave that up because it’s difficult to be a frontman behind the drumkit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Michael Stipe play any instrument more sophisticated than the bongos. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/83 "2021-11-16T03:05:25Z")
I don’t think Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvann of Milli Vanilli could play an instrument. (And it turns out they couldn’t sing either!!!) ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/84 "2021-11-16T03:11:24Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Various accounts say Ann Wilson of Heart was given a guitar when she was 12 but didn’t much care for it. I guess she at least learned a few chords even if she never played in public. Of course, when you can play the flute that well, letting your sister do the guitar work is a no-brainer… ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/85 "2021-11-16T03:20:07Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > Michael Stipe? The last time I saw REM in Sydney, Peter Buck handed Michael Stipe a guitar and showed him where to place his fingers on the frets. He got to strum that one cord a few times in the song (I forget which one). So I think he counts! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/86 "2021-11-16T03:22:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Iggy Pop plays guitar. Jamming good With Weird and Gilly And the … no, wait … ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/87 "2021-11-16T10:53:55Z")
Yeah, and, like a lot of these guys, harmonica in his early years. It’s right there in his Wikipedia entry, which I didn’t bother checking before posting. You know, in general (not in reference to Stewart), just because somebody apes a few moves doesn’t mean they really know how to play the instrument. It’s comparable to chimps smearing some paint across a canvas. Unfairly unflattering but comparable. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/88 "2021-11-16T11:16:41Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > I don’t think Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvann of Milli Vanilli could play an instrument. They certainly played their audience, though. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/89 "2021-11-16T11:23:55Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I watched SNL last weekend, and was amused when Taylor Swift “wore” a guitar for part of a song - and there was NO sonic difference when she was strumming and when she wasn’t! ;). I presume she CAN play an instrument when she cares to. She learned to play guitar as a child and usually does a solo acoustic set at the midpoint of her concerts, in addition to occasionally playing piano onstage. She’s the sole credited songwriter on a good number of her songs, so presumably she has some level of musical competence. Here’s an example of her playing, from one of her live albums; [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QBRUs5PIhSg/maxresdefault.jpg "Bette Davis Eyes (Live/2011)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBRUs5PIhSg) On the topic of singers wearing guitars, though - Eric Bloom, of Blue Öyster Cult, didn’t play an instrument when he first became the group’s lead singer, but Sandy Pearlman thought he’d look cooler if he had a guitar. Shortly thereafter, a music critic referred to his mimed guitar playing as “stunning”, which lead to him being credited as playing “stun guitar” on the group’s early albums before he eventually started playing legitimately. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/90 "2021-11-16T11:58:48Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Various accounts say Ann Wilson of Heart was given a guitar when she was 12 but didn’t much care for it. I guess she at least learned a few chords even if she never played in public. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/M44M7pOAQQw/hqdefault.jpg "Heart - The Battle of Evermore (1995)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M44M7pOAQQw) That is credited as Lovemongers on the “Singles” soundrack, not Heart, but she’s playing guitar all right. > **[Heart (band) | 1991–2001: The Lovemongers, Desire Walks On, and Nancy Wilson hiatus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_(band)#1991%E2%80%932001:_The_Lovemongers,_Desire_Walks_On,_and_Nancy_Wilson_hiatus)** > > Heart released its first complete live album in the autumn of 1991. Rock the House Live! largely featured tracks from Brigade rather than more familiar hits in an effort to capture the harder rock side of the band. The album's single, a version of John Farnham's "You're the Voice", received moderate airplay on rock stations and hit number 20 on the Mainstream Rock chart. > The Wilson sisters then put together an informal acoustic group called Lovemongers with longtime Heart songwriting collaborat... ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/91 "2021-11-16T13:14:59Z")
Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies? A quick Google and a peek at her Wikipedia page doesn’t show any instruments other than her voice. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/92 "2021-11-16T14:06:29Z")
Membership in The Germs should never be considered dependent on or even corollary with an ability to play a particular instrument. Hell, it’s arguable whether Darby Crash was capable of vocals, let alone singing. Yes, of course I have all of their recorded output. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/93 "2021-11-16T14:09:03Z")
Like I said, I presumed she was capable of playing. But for that presentation, it was clearly nothing more than a prop. And I often find that amusing. I regularly play acoustic music with several groups. One reason I am less interested in much electrified music is the dependence on recorded music. At points during TS’s song, I was wondering whether the vocals were lip-synched - but did not conclude that they were obviously so. Similar to the prop guitar, you often see vocalists singing away - paying no attention to the mic. I’m less interested in that sort of theater than I am in live music. Maybe we should expand this to whether the sampler, turntable scratcher, or even synthesizer button pusher is a “musician”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/94 "2021-11-16T14:16:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Does that mean I can still ask about Art Garfunkel? You’d be about ten years too late. Back in 2012 I started [a thread asking about Art Garfunkel’s instrumental ability](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-art-garfunkel-play-any-instruments/614738) which turned out to be very enlightening. I still reread it from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/95 "2021-11-16T14:22:52Z")
I don’t believe Johnny Rotten knew how to play any instruments when he fronted the Sex Pistols, though he seems to have learned later during his solo career. I do remember reading (probably in his autobiography) that in his youth he and Sid Vicious used to busk in Underground stations with a guitar and violin. They were so utterly devoid of talent that passersby would give them money just to stop playing. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/96 "2021-11-16T14:28:00Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies? Good one; I think you’re right. I’m sure at some point she plinked on her brother’s guitar but I see no signs that she’s done so professionally. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/97 "2021-11-16T14:28:03Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Anthony Kiedis, who fronted one of the most successful bands of the 1990s and 2000s, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, played no instrument. The rest of the band’s lineup, which changed numerous times, all had a high level of technical proficiency on their instruments, but Kiedis is strictly a vocalist. Kiedis is also by far the weakest talent of RHCP. The other guys are stellar instrumentalists, but Kiedis is barely OK as a vocalist. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/98 "2021-11-16T14:36:32Z")
Stipe played harmonica on some of the earlier albums, and also the melodica on the quasi-instrumental _Endgame_ (Out of Time.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/99 "2021-11-16T14:44:42Z")
The three lead singers for Three Dog Night (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negrom, and Cory Wells) did not play any instruments. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386/100 "2021-11-16T14:56:04Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I don’t believe Johnny Rotten knew how to play any instruments when he fronted the Sex Pistols, … Which begs the question as to whether the other guys could either! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/front-men-women-who-cant-play-an-instrument/954386.md?page=6)