Ry Cooder’s voice is nothing special, and he sang all over his 70s and 80s albums. Not awful, just kind of flat and lifeless. I’m not sure what the litmus test for “reasonably well” is, but if he got up in a bar and sang karaoke nobody would guess he was a professional musician.
More to the point of the OP, I think most talented instrumentalists will see their limitations and keep their singing to a minimum of simple tunes or novelty-type tracks. Examples: I’m not a huge fan, but I do recognize that the late Michael Hedges was an immensely talented guitarist, and I heard him sing live once and his voice was very ho-hum. Ditto jazzman Larry Coryell, who sang a song or two when I saw him years ago. Like Hendrix or Carlos Santana or Robbie Robertson, they weren’t flat-out Shaggs bad, just much more limited compared to their guitar playing.
Back in 1979, Keith Richards got busted for heroin in Canada. As part of his sentence, he had to do some free concerts as a "community service " sort of thing. He put together a group called "The New Barbarians " that had a rather amazing lineup. In addition to Keith, the was fellow Stones guitarist Ron Wood, keyboardist extraordinaire Ian McLagen (who had played with Wood in the Faces), and bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke. After doing their free shows in Canada, they went on the road, and I saw them in Atlanta.
Trouble was, they forgot to add a vocalist, and Richards and Wood did all the singing. What a mixed bag! Unbelievable musicianship and the worst night of singing I have ever heard in my life!
Very true, but there are some top-talent guitarists who are also truly amazing singers, too.
Vince Gill started as a session guitarist and has chops for days, but ended up developing a truly great career as a solo artist that emphasizes his singing. This is straight from the Glen Campbell school - another over-the-top great guitarist (despite playing Ovations - yechhh) who evolved into a singing-first solo act. Roy Clark has already been mentioned…
Stevie Ray Vaughn was a great singer
Keith Urban is a surprisingly great guitarist - I mean really good, not just decent for a pretty-boy singer
Bonnie Raitt is a highly respected slide player whose singing is some of the best out there…
And to totally hijack the thread for just a moment–
At the end of the Grammys, there was a tribute to New Orleans, with just about everybody. Elvis Costello and Joe Perry were playing guitar, Bonnie was singing backup. I mused to myself “why is the best guitar player on stage not playing guitar?”
I came here to mention Alex Lifeson, but I see that he’s been mentioned. I will say that his ability to sing a little back up with Rush improved after their tenth album or so.
Now now…Satch was a passable singer. Remember “Big Bad Moon?” I thought he sounded a little like George Thoroughgood. Not great, but not wretched either. I liked his instrumental stuff much better.
You’re just starting trouble with this, aren’t you? Waters has a great voice for the wacked out stuff he does. Check out his solo efforts if you want to hear him ‘sing’ a little more than he did with Floyd.
The New Barbarians were actually put together to promote Ron Wood’s album “Gimme Some Neck”. The timing of the arrest and concerts was just coincidental. I was doing some side work for a radio station in San Diego at the time and was in studio for an interview with the band the afternoon before the SD concert. I also got to watch the show from backstage. Being the last show in the states, they all had a good time and much booze was consumed during the concert. They cut short a show in L.A. a few days earlier when the arena manager banned them from drinking on stage.
Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood doesn’t have a mic set up ever and is so embarrased by the sound of his own voice that he never does any interviews. That part on Paranoid android “Rain Down, rain down come on rain down on me” That is Ed O’Brien not, according to popular belief, Johnny Greenwood.
Johnny Greenwood : Fantastic Guitarist , unkown quantity as a singer.
I’m not sure if he qualifies as a “great” guitarist, but James Iha’s vocals on Let It Come Down are definitely nothing to write home about. Unless you’re writing to tell somebody about bad singing, I guess.
I’m glad someone has already mentioned Eric Johnson. Zeus-like guitar playing, but oh, if he would only give up the singing…
For old people like myself who can remember the 70s, a very good example would be one of my early prog rock heroes, Mike Oldfield. Brilliant guitarist, wonderful virtuoso of instrumental rock, a musician who has explored almost every musical texture and mood… but he just can’t sing, can’t even produce a ‘half decent, you get the gist of the tune’ kind of vocal sound. After his first four or five albums, when he began to want to record shorter tracks and 3 minute chart-bound pop songs, he had to rely on a succession of ‘guest vocalists’. Since the media (and especuially TV directors directing pop music shows) tend to always focus on the singer, this led to some strange moments when a ‘Mike Oldfield’ song appeared on TV and Mike himself was more or less a shadowy figure, un-noticed in the background.
