Brian Eno’s skill with playing found objects has steadily increased throughout his career.
The canonical answer to this question must be Sid Vicious, who went from not knowing how to play bass at all to learning the basics over the course of one night. His bandmate Viv Albertine described it as follows:
Could Sid play bass? I don’t know, but one thing I do know was that Sid did things quickly. One night, he played the first Ramones album nonstop, all night, then next morning, Sid could play the bass. That was it; he was ready! I told you Sid did things quickly!
It’s generally accepted that he never learned to play the bass particularly well, but everyone who worked with him agreed that he at least tried in earnest to learn and made some progress.
I haven’t followed his career much in the last thirty years (because of artistic reasons, but also because I learned that he is a racist prick, and in latest news also a Covid-denier), but I haven’t given up on his older recordings up until 1994 or so. His singing impressed me most on his cover of Ray Charles’ “Hard Times” on the live “24 Nights” from 1991, in which his singing really is true to the blues.
I was thinking of both Duane and Gregg Allman, though I can’t prove it.
If we can include singing, I remember reading that when Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek (?) were talking about starting a band, Morrison said you play keyboards and I’ll sing. Manzarek said, “you can sing?” to which Morrison replied, “fuck, no.”
mmm
Agree that he’s a jerk, but a brilliant musician. Hey, Ginger was a complete a-hole until the day he died, but there’s no denying his skills! 
His singing is not bad, much better than the fake raspy voice he uses now. I think he did a decent job on Stormy Monday at the Cream reunion.
I spent decades following him hoping he would get back to his playing style with Cream. His Layla remix nearly killed all hope and the Cream reunion and discovery of almost all the Cream bootlegs made me realize that 1966-68 was a magic moment in time that can never be rekindled.
Oh, I know exactly which voice you mean. The last album of his I bought was “From The Cradle” from 1994. I was really looking forward to it because I had read that it was a studio album of only classic blues covers, and I always liked it best when he played and sang the blues. But that album sounds sterile, and he uses exactly that annoying raspy voice you mention in most of the songs. I was very disappointed and never bought a new Clapton album afterwards.
The irony is that his idol and inspiration, Robert Johnson doesn’t have that low raspy voice he tries to imitate. At least he wasn’t using that voice when he did Me and Mr. Johnson.
Maybe he wants to go after Charley Patton or Howlin’ Wolf, I don’t know. I’m a big fan of classic blues (and thus of Robert Johnson), and the disappointment about “From The Cradle” was the reason I never gave “Me And Mr Johnson” a listen, because I was afraid that Clapton would spoil the songs.
So does an example like this and the Beastie Boys count if they started playing instruments because they were famous.
Beastie Boys did not start playing instruments because they were famous. They had all played for years prior to diving head first into rap and hip hop. Early Beastie Boy recordings are excellent examples of early '80s NY punk rock.
Do you have any insight into Ringo’s drum playing? I’ve seen a few remarks that he wasn’t a great player. I don’t have the expertise to judge.
He was a drummer who always played the right part. He wasn’t particularly flashy, in my opinion, but he never got in the way and he always kept the song going and solid.
I didn’t include him because he was already an accomplished drummer when he joined the band. I think he was the only professional musician at the time the band was formed. His early drumming isn’t particularly complex, but it’s fast and solid. His later drumming is sometimes more complex, but astonishingly so.
Agreed. He has an unorthodox style, in part because he was self-taught, and in part because he is a lefty who learned to play on a right-handed kit, but his hallmark was consistency, and knowing what sort of fill or beat would best fit at a given point.
And, as quoted in Starr’s Wikipedia entry, regarding his rock-solid playing:
One of the things that becomes clear if you watch the Get Back documentary is that, compared to the other three, Ringo was the guy who is always there on time, and always ready to work.
Yes, definitely the professional of the group. Any time they started fiddling around, he would jump in with some appropriate drum beat. That said, I don’t think he improved much over the years, and certainly not like Paul and George.
Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. When the band first rose to fame, Sixx’s bass playing was… not good. Now he’s just okay. But that was never really his job. He was a promoter, primarily, and he essentially created the image of Motley Crue.
And he wrote a few songs.
Dave Davies of The Kinks. His solos on the early hits, recorded when he was 17-18, are gloriously sloppy and chaotic, like he’s picking out notes while falling down a flight of stairs. (That’s not a bad thing - it rocks) Listen to live versions of those same songs from the 80s and he’s much more in command of his instrument. Whether that’s better or not is up to you.
Ian Anderson’s soul has already reincarnated into Lizzo.
Not to detour this discussion too much, but Ringo’s playing is unique and seems just right. The music got more complex, so it could be argued he got better, but the hallmarks are there from the beginning.
John Denver wrote in his book that touring challenged him. His late 70’s road band included guys that had played with Elvis a a few years earlier. (Elvis’ death meant his former band had to find work with Emmylou Harris and John Denver).
John had played for years as a single or duo in folk clubs. He had a major adjustment after getting successful.
Flea took a college music theory course long after the Peppers were famous. I can’t attest to whether it improved his bass playing or composing, but I’d think it probably did.