# Lead singers as guitarists. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815 "2016-03-13T00:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/21 "2016-03-13T11:31:20Z")
Bonnie Raitt is a respected slide player, so doesn’t count. I seem to recall reading that Susan Tedeschi was debating about whether to present herself as a singer or as a singer/player. She can really play, but tends to focus on rhythm. Sheryl Crow is a brilliant musician - keys, bass, guitar, vocals. I am sure she can play fine lead guitar if she chose. ---
**Author:** ![Flare4roach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@Flare4roach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flare4roach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/22 "2016-03-13T13:44:29Z")
Peter Frampton is an excellent guitarist and a decent front man. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/23 "2016-03-13T14:03:30Z")
This starts to get tough because eventually if they are good enough the singer becomes as well known for their guitar as their singing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/24 "2016-03-13T14:16:04Z")
Glenn Campbell was a very good singer and guitar player. He was an ex studio musician. He’s an example of a guitar player that sings. Johnny Cash was just the opposite. He was a singer that could play guitar. But only basic chords. He never used barre chords. He’s joking with Willie Nelson in this video that he can’t play a F# minor barre chord. But he really couldn’t play that chord. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gXMHQxjvMps/hqdefault.jpg "Family Bible - Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXMHQxjvMps) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/25 "2016-03-13T14:21:53Z")
Rik Emmett, sole guitarist and lead vocalist for Triumph (a.k.a. the _other_ late-70s-to-late-80s Canadian power trio), was (is?) a master at singing beautifully while playing great guitar. Naturally, he plays “rhythm” when singing (strummed or arpegiatted chords), and “lead” during guitar solo passages. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/26 "2016-03-13T14:49:47Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Thanks all. Don’t really care though who can play and sing at the same time. Just what singers who don’t normally show off their chops (like Clapton does) are actually really good guitarists. > [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I think he wants singers who stand out the front strumming a barely audible guitar who probably have another guitarist for all the fancy bits. He’s wondering, who are the singers like this who are actually pretty good on the guitar but who choose not to display it for whatever reason. My sister and I saw country singer John Michael Montgomery live, many years back. Like most solo country singers, he strummed an acoustic guitar while another guy in his backup band handled all of the lead guitar work. For his encore, however, he strapped on a Strat and performed a cover of _Sweet Home Alabama_, and played an excellent, 10-minute-long guitar solo in the middle of it. I was like, “Holy crap, why doesn’t he play lead on every song? He’s good!” ---
**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:** [March 13, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/27 "2016-03-13T14:55:41Z")
Tom Petty almost never plays lead guitar. As far as I know, the only song on which he does (at least for the solos) is “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. From what I understood even this required a lot of encouragement by his long-time collaborator and lead guitarist, Mike Campbell. I recently discovered [this soundboard recording of Courtney Love’s guitar and vocals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-xUwDARVb4) at a 2010 live performance. The guitar-playing is shockingly bad. The description of that YouTube video links to a similarly bad performance on another date of the same tour, but I don’t think these are necessarily indicative of her overall skill level. One of my favourite bands is Monster Magnet. The lead singer and songwriter, Dave Wyndorf, usually uses a guitar when playing live, though I have to wonder if it’s much more than a stage prop. I have no doubt that the guy can play rhythm guitar in the studio, but I’ve never been able to make out his part when the band is playing live. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/28 "2016-03-13T15:06:45Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Tom Petty almost never plays lead guitar. As far as I know, the only song on which he does (at least for the solos) is “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. From what I understood even this required a lot of encouragement by his long-time collaborator and lead guitarist, Mike Campbell. Well sure but lead doesn’t mean better, just different. Keith Richards doesn’t play lead either. It is just a different role in the band. Great rhythm players do more than strum chords, they create the drive and texture and often lead the dynamics of the band. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/29 "2016-03-13T15:50:24Z")
Steve Miller is a surprisingly good guitarist in live shows - better than I expected, since the guitar in his songs is pretty basic. Buck Dharma, of Blue Oyster Cult, plays lead guitar and sings probably about half their songs, and he’s pretty great at both. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/30 "2016-03-13T16:15:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > …Jorma Kaukonen with Hot Tuna played lead/rhythm and sung. > > I think Jerry Garcia did it. Jorma and Jerry shut up onstage when they got down to their serious guitar work. Isn’t that common in general? Who wants to play a guitar solo while there’s singing going on? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/31 "2016-03-13T17:11:38Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Jorma and Jerry shut up onstage when they got down to their serious guitar work. > > Isn’t that common in general? Who wants to play a guitar solo while there’s singing going on? Question: Who does play lead guitar and sing simultaneously? It’s not common. Hendrix might have done it a little. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/32 "2016-03-13T17:15:24Z")
**Ezra Koenig** of **Vampire Weekend** plays a lot of lead work while singing at the same time. Hard to do! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/33 "2016-03-13T18:43:26Z")
Without reading the thread: You must be joking! Watch Springsteen live. He’s a damn good guitarist. I’ve seen him live dozens of times, and he never fails to wring every ounce of passion from his guitar solos. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/34 "2016-03-13T19:03:24Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Well sure but lead doesn’t mean better, just different. I didn’t mean to imply that Petty was a _poor_ guitarist; only that he was clearly uncomfortable playing lead rather than rhythm. I just dug out the liner notes for the _Playback_ boxed set and here’s what he had to say about “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”: > [@Tom Petty](#): > > I got to play a lot on the record which I don’t usually, because Michael’s so good that I feel intimidated. He’s been encouraging me to play solos and that was one where I had this lick in there and he was playing it in slightly different syncopation. I said, “No, no, it’s like this,” and Mike said, “Look, there’s no need you teaching me, why don’t you just do it?” And when it came to the solo he just said, “You should do it, you’re doing fine.” So he let me have the solo at the end and he did the nice one in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![jerry\_smissingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@jerry\_smissingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerry_smissingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/35 "2016-03-13T20:08:13Z")
I think Anders Osborne is and has been doing a phenomenal job on the road lately. Very soulful voice combined with some of the most unique guitar playing I have seen recently. Also he’s a very entertaining showman ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/36 "2016-03-13T20:26:38Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Question: Who does play lead guitar and sing simultaneously? It’s not common. Hendrix might have done it a little. I tried to think of rock lead singers who are also lead guitarists (besides those already mentioned) that I could find video footage of. I came up with [Justin Heyward of the Moody Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCj7HzbH8A) and [Mike Roe of the 77s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om35dPOksUg). Both do sing and play at the same time, though I didn’t really see them singing and playing anything very complicated at the same time (though [here’s](https://youtu.be/X3jZwteYWFU?t=189) a better example of Roe singing and playing simultaneously). ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/37 "2016-03-13T21:41:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I tried to think of rock lead singers who are also lead guitarists (besides those already mentioned) that I could find video footage of. I came up with [Justin Heyward of the Moody Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCj7HzbH8A) and [Mike Roe of the 77s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om35dPOksUg). Both do sing and play at the same time, though I didn’t really see them singing and playing anything very complicated at the same time (though [here’s](https://youtu.be/X3jZwteYWFU?t=189) a better example of Roe singing and playing simultaneously). It looks like Justin is playing rhythm while singing, then taking a lead. Roe looks to be playing rhythm and then fingerpicking a little while singing. His left hand doesn’t do much articulation while singing. Robyn Hitchcock does that a lot. I’m gonna say that if someone can do it it’s real parlor trick. If they do and it’s not some unison melody line, then I think we would have heard of them. One song you can do it with a little is “Movin Out” by Aerosmith, in the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/38 "2016-03-13T22:34:20Z")
Probably not what the OP is looking for, but it bugs me, so I’m gonna mention it so’s it will bug you, too: George Benson sings (actually, scats) in unison over top of some of his lead guitar runs, “On Broadway,” in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/39 "2016-03-13T22:50:13Z")
Jack White’s singing is an acquired taste for some, but for me it fits the material and complements his guitar-playing beautifully: [The White Stripes cover of _Jolene_ is a good example, where he just howls it out while he lays fire and waste to the chords.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGdktWXWKms) Spine-tingling stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815/40 "2016-03-14T03:56:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Oh - wait! I have one: **Amy Winehouse**!!! A couple of years ago, I caught a concert on Palladia (now MTV Live), [The Strat Pack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strat_Pack), which was a 2004 all-star tribute for the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster. In it, I was stunned to see Winehouse – this was a couple of years before her breakout album, “Back to Black”, and she wasn’t yet wearing the extreme make-up or beehive hairstyle. And, she really could play. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-as-guitarists/748815.md?page=3)