# What famous musicians played more than one instrument? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155 "2009-07-15T21:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/21 "2009-07-16T01:12:45Z")
A perfect thread for Cafe Society, where you can discuss the Arts and still get factual answers. Moved. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/22 "2009-07-16T01:45:26Z")
**Todd Rundgren**. He’s well-known for playing all the instruments on his albums. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/23 "2009-07-16T01:51:09Z")
Country singer Barbara Mandell played the saxophone, steel guitar, banjo and bass. Her sister Louise played drums, accordian, fiddle and bass. On their variety show in the 1980s the Mandrell sisters would sometimes perform numbers taking turns on multiple instruments – well, Barbara and Louise would; Irlene was lucky to beat the time correctly on the drums. Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks plays pretty much anything with strings, from the dobro to the sitar, and also the accordion. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/24 "2009-07-16T02:00:49Z")
The Band - Levon Helm played drums, mandoline, guitar and bass. Richard Manuel played piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ. Rick Danko played bass, violin, trombone. Garth Hudson played organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone. Robbie Robertson played guitar and piano. Everyone but Garth also sang. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/25 "2009-07-16T02:06:13Z")
All the members of Queen. ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/26 "2009-07-16T02:19:34Z")
Jimi Hendrix played both the viola and the guitar. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/27 "2009-07-16T02:22:02Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > The Band - > Levon Helm played drums, mandoline, guitar and bass. > Richard Manuel played piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ. > Rick Danko played bass, violin, trombone. > Garth Hudson played organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone. > Robbie Robertson played guitar and piano. > > Everyone but Garth also sang. ## Hijack (sorry) Have you heard Levon’s new album “Electric Dirt” yet? It’s been critically acclaimed, and with good reason, as it is a real return to top form for Levon Helm; a unique and uplifting effort by a true American musical craftsman… ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/28 "2009-07-16T02:23:08Z")
Joni Mitchell plays piano, guitar & dulcimer. Tony Hicks plays guitar & bango. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/29 "2009-07-16T02:30:57Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > ## Hijack (sorry) > > Have you heard Levon’s new album “Electric Dirt” yet? > > It’s been critically acclaimed, and with good reason, as it is a real return to top form for Levon Helm; a unique and uplifting effort by a true American musical craftsman… iTunes’ thank you note to you is in the mail… ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/30 "2009-07-16T02:35:43Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Paul McCartney plays bass and regular guitar, and also plays the piano. And also apparently the mandolin and ukulele, according to Wikipedia. He also recorded on banjo with the Bonzo Dog Band. **John Paul Jones** of Led Zeppelin played bass and organ. **Steve Winwood** of Traffic played organ, piano, bass, and guitar. **Chris Wood** of Traffic played sax, flute, drums, and organ. **Ian McDonald** of King Crimson, McDonald and Giles, and Foreigner played guitar, piano, organ, saxes, flute, vibes, drums, horns, clarinet, and zither. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/31 "2009-07-16T04:14:37Z")
Phil Collins: Drums, keyboards, guitar, bass. Mark Rivera: Saxophone, percussion, guitar, keyboards. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/32 "2009-07-16T04:28:36Z")
When I saw Boston in concert last summer, Tom Scholz played guitar and keyboards. My understanding is that he played most of the instruments on most of the tracks of the first album. On the most recent ELO album, Zoom, Jeff Lynne played guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, and cello. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/33 "2009-07-16T04:48:29Z")
The members of **Gentle Giant** were notable multi-instrumentalists. **Derek Shulman** played saxophone, bass, recorder, and percussion **Ray Shulman** played bass, violin, acoustic guitar, trumpet, recorder, and percussion **Phil Shulman** played saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, piano, and percussion **Kerry Minnear** played keyboards, vibraphone, cello, recorder, and percussion **Gary Green** played electric & acoustic guitars, mandolin, recorder, and percussion **John Weathers** played drums/percussion, xylophone, and guitar All of them sang. ---
**Author:** ![Blisters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Blisters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blisters)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/34 "2009-07-16T05:25:47Z")
if I am not mistaken Jerry Garcia played harmonica, piano and banjo in addition to the guitar ---
**Author:** ![I-VI-ii-V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/35 "2009-07-16T06:17:59Z")
Sting also plays guitar, saxophone, Taurus pedals and the lute. Bowie also plays sax. Stewart Copeland also plays bass, guitar and keyboards. Check out his Klark Kent albums. George Harrison played sitar. From **X** , Billy Zoom plays clarinet, D.J. Bonebrake plays vibes, and John Doe also plays guitar and harmonica. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/36 "2009-07-16T07:24:08Z")
Benny Carter played alto sax, clarinet and trumpet. It’s fairly common to play both sax and clarinet, but not so common to play both brass and reed instruments. Bix Beiderbecke played both cornet and piano. In 1941 Sidney Bechet made one the first overdubbed records in history on which he played soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet, piano and drums. It was billed as “Bechet’s One=Man Band,” and the sides were “Sheik of Araby” and “Blues of Bechet.” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/37 "2009-07-16T07:27:31Z")
George Michael - multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire. (Betcha weren’t expecting _that_, huh?) Played many of the instruments on _Faith_, and, IIRC, all but the trumpet on his beautiful album, _Older_. He’s also praised for his skills as a producer and songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/38 "2009-07-16T12:09:19Z")
Jethro Tull - Around the time of the album ‘Bursting Out’, they would do at least one number in concert where they all traded instruments. That album is in storage, so I can’t check out who changed over to what… ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/39 "2009-07-16T15:25:07Z")
Emitt Rhodes played all the instruments on his albums - guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155/40 "2009-07-16T16:17:52Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Jethro Tull - Around the time of the album ‘Bursting Out’, they would do at least one number in concert where they all traded instruments. That album is in storage, so I can’t check out who changed over to what… Ian Anderson himself was always a guitarist before Mick Abrahams joined Jethro Tull. Abrahams was so much better on guitar that Anderson started playing flute instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-musicians-played-more-than-one-instrument/503155.md?page=3)