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.
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.
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!!!)
Of course, when you can play the flute that well, letting your sister do the guitar work is a no-brainer…
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!
Jamming good
With Weird and Gilly
And the … no, wait …
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.
They certainly played their audience, though.
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;
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.
That is credited as Lovemongers on the “Singles” soundrack, not Heart, but she’s playing guitar all right.
Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies? A quick Google and a peek at her Wikipedia page doesn’t show any instruments other than her voice.
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. 
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”?
You’d be about ten years too late. Back in 2012 I started a thread asking about Art Garfunkel’s instrumental ability which turned out to be very enlightening. I still reread it from time to time.
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.
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.
Kiedis is also by far the weakest talent of RHCP. The other guys are stellar instrumentalists, but Kiedis is barely OK as a vocalist.
Stipe played harmonica on some of the earlier albums, and also the melodica on the quasi-instrumental Endgame (Out of Time.)
The three lead singers for Three Dog Night (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negrom, and Cory Wells) did not play any instruments.
Which begs the question as to whether the other guys could either! 