# Which musician "other guy" would you want to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183 "2016-07-29T13:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/1 "2016-07-29T13:01:06Z")
You know them. Kinda. They’re “that other guy” that was in that band with the super-famous person before they were excised like the moldy corner on a block of cheese. Garfunkel. Oates. That other guy in **Wham!** One of **Destiny’s Child** ren _not_ named Beyoncé. One of the guys in U2 that didn’t get a cool name. Who would you want your name forever attached to, except most people only know your name as “that other guy”? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/2 "2016-07-29T13:13:48Z")
Not that I’m disparaging these people in any way. Frankly, personally I feel like it’s the ideal way to be famous. You get your share of the spotlight and glory for as long as it lasts, then you can walk away, collecting massive royalties while your former partner has to deal with all the attention, or remain in the background and still get to play and tour and collect big paydays while Bono has to go do photo shoots and deal with the press 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/3 "2016-07-29T13:17:35Z")
Great idea for a thread! Easy for me: - Aerosmith, **Brad Whitford** - Joe Perry is the only guitarist who gets discussed, who is half of the Toxic Twins with Steve Tyler, etc. But BW is a great player - I think he plays the opening riffs to songs like Mama Kin and Same Old Song and Dance. - AC/DC, \*\*Malcolm Young \*\*- Angus who? 😉 - Rolling Stones, **Ron Wood** - you’re second fiddle to Keef but you _can still play guitar like Ron Wood_. He is just a brilliant player. Cool by me! ---
**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 29, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/4 "2016-07-29T13:37:37Z")
I’d go with **Hubert Sumlin** , longtime guitar player behind blues legend Howlin’ Wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/5 "2016-07-29T13:38:43Z")
Steve Vai ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/6 "2016-07-29T13:44:13Z")
That other guy in _Wham_ is married to the dark haired girl in _Bananarama_. I’d take all of that, thank you very much. I wouldn’t like to be the third guy in _Bros_ who wasn’t a Goss. Poor kid. If I could somehow be the brother in _The Corrs_ while not actually being their brother, I would die happy. ---
**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 29, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/7 "2016-07-29T13:45:12Z")
**John Paul Jones** , bassist/keyboardist of _Led Zeppelin_. Plant and Page get all the ink, and Jones has been known to have felt overlooked from time to time even by the both of them. But Jones is a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist (From _Wiki_: organ, guitar, koto, lap steel guitars, mandolin, autoharp, violin, ukulele, sitar, cello, continuum and recorder) who’s had a remarkable in-demand career in music since _Zeppelin_ disbanded following the death of John Bonham in 1980. Many amazing _Led Zeppelin_ songs would be far less majestic if not for his contributions. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/8 "2016-07-29T13:51:39Z")
Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s lyricist. From what I understand he just writes his lyrics in his English home and dashes them off to Elton to write music. Elton has always been generous in his praise for Taupin, whether it be in interviews or in album packaging credit. So Bernie gets all the fame and money of being a big time musician without having to worry about touring/the tabloids/overzealous fans. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/9 "2016-07-29T13:53:18Z")
Charlie Watts is the coolest man on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/10 "2016-07-29T14:00:39Z")
**Vanilli.** ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/11 "2016-07-29T14:27:23Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > **John Paul Jones** , bassist/keyboardist of _Led Zeppelin_. > > Plant and Page get all the ink, and Jones has been known to have felt overlooked from time to time even by the both of them. > > But Jones is a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist (From _Wiki_: organ, guitar, koto, lap steel guitars, mandolin, autoharp, violin, ukulele, sitar, cello, continuum and recorder) who’s had a remarkable in-demand career in music since _Zeppelin_ disbanded following the death of John Bonham in 1980. Many amazing _Led Zeppelin_ songs would be far less majestic if not for his contributions. Great choice, and it’s clear that Page and Planr have not included him in their somewhat innerer circle. But anyone who can write tiffs like Misty Mountain Hop and Trampled Under Foot - yeah, that would be cool. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/12 "2016-07-29T14:46:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > **John Paul Jones** , bassist/keyboardist of _Led Zeppelin_. > > Plant and Page get all the ink, and Jones has been known to have felt overlooked from time to time even by the both of them. > > But Jones is a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist (From _Wiki_: organ, guitar, koto, lap steel guitars, mandolin, autoharp, violin, ukulele, sitar, cello, continuum and recorder) who’s had a remarkable in-demand career in music since _Zeppelin_ disbanded following the death of John Bonham in 1980. Many amazing _Led Zeppelin_ songs would be far less majestic if not for his contributions. Beat me to it. That’s the first to come to mind for me, and for all the reasons stated. ---
**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 29, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/13 "2016-07-29T14:56:51Z")
Chris Wood of Traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/14 "2016-07-29T15:51:55Z")
Probably **Michael Anthony** , most famous for being the bassist in Van Halen through 2002. I think some of his credits/rights for a couple albums (_Van Halen and 1984_) were bought out by the band around 2002, but he’s still collecting, I believe, on the rest of his work with them. And he seems like a genuinely great guy. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_X2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@Karen\_X2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_X2)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/15 "2016-07-29T16:11:21Z")
George Harrison. No explanation needed. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/16 "2016-07-29T16:34:25Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > **John Paul Jones** , bassist/keyboardist of _Led Zeppelin_. I’ve always thought the bass in Led Zeppelin songs was too low in the mix and the electric guitar too high, but then Jimmy Page (the guitarist) did produce the band’s records. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/17 "2016-07-29T18:01:19Z")
Bill Wyman or Marc Perlman …but I can’t play bass. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/18 "2016-07-29T18:46:20Z")
Jack Sonni, second guitarist for Dire Straits during the _Brothers in Arms_ era. Studied literature, had his music career, raised a family, now doing some writing. When I see him in old concert videos, he just looks like he’s having the time of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/19 "2016-07-29T19:22:57Z")
One of the Supremes. ---
**Author:** ![bryanmaguire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bryanmaguire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmaguire)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183/20 "2016-07-29T19:32:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > That other guy in _Wham_ is married to the dark haired girl in _Bananarama_. I’d take all of that, thank you very much. > > I wouldn’t like to be the third guy in _Bros_ who wasn’t a Goss. Poor kid. > > If I could somehow be the brother in _The Corrs_ while not actually being their brother, I would die happy. The third guy in Bros was the only one of three to make any money from the band. he sued the other two after they split and won a bucket load of money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-musician-other-guy-would-you-want-to-be/761183.md?page=2)