Singers Who Started Out as Instrumentalists

Examples: George Benson Karen Carpenter Nat "King" Cole Louis Armstrong Others?

• Diana Krall Allison Kraus.

• Phil Collins

  Anonymous

• Sylvia McNair

• Robert Cray

• Billy Preston

• Nina Simone

• Chet Baker. Blossom Dearie did both, wound up mostly singing, but I don't know how she started.

• The great singers Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan -- both pianists.

• Harry Connick, Jr.

• Herb Alpert?

• Sheila E.

• Half of the Motown stable. They had to work their way up from writing/playing some instrument/back-up vocals to stars. Barrett Strong - piano Smokey - songwriter Stevie - always a vocalist but his harmonica was his thing at first Marvin - drums Martha - secretary/back-up singer Diane, Mary & Flo - Hand claps Four Tops - back-up singers

  Woody Plank: "Where Did Our Love Go" was my big break

• Annie Lennox-flute

• Elton John... wasn't he a session pianist?

• Ray Parker Jr.

• Melissa Manchester

• Karen Carpenter

• Lorraine Hunt (Lieberson) started out as a last stand violist in the Boston Ballet orchestra.

• Gee, R17. What about Nat "King" Cole, Louis Armstrong and George Benson? You're either lazy or a racist.

• Annie Lennox-flute she at the guy, David, whatever, went to RCM

• Herb Alpert? Herb Alpert sand a few times, but he was hardly a singer.

• Stevie Ray Vaughan

• Philippe Jaroussky

• Jimi Hendrix

• Madonna - drummer in "The Breakfast Club"

• Glen Campbell, legendary session guitarist.

• Barry M.

  Divine Miss M.

• Vince Gill

• Mel Torme (drummer in Chico Marx's band) DL fave Kaye Ballard (flautist with Spike Jones)

• Robert Cray. Was he though? Cray?

  Sorry.

• Barry Manilow started out as a pianist, including a stint as Bette Midler's accomanist. I heard him interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air", and he was oddly proud of his years as an accompanist, like it was the only real job he'd ever held.

• Peter Gabriel started out as, "a bad drummer".

• Mary Banilow

  Bette%20Midler

• Maurice White Phil Collins