23 Lead Guitarists Who Also Sing Lead Vocals

Guitar players who sing. There are loads of them! Seeing a frontperson singing lead vocals and playing guitar is a pretty normal thing. 

But lead guitarists? That’s a whole ‘nother thing! Now, I’m not saying that these musicians are singing and playing solos at the same time, because that would sound pretty horrible. But today’s blog will highlight some of the extreme talents out there who boss it on both vox and lead guitar. Some of these will be obvious, and some might not.

To be clear, this isn’t about folk like Dave Grohl or Courtney Love, who sing lead but tend to be rhythm guitarists. Here are some amazing singers who can also rip on the guitar…

Prince

Prince was the first name who came to mind here for this subject. Insanely talented, with skills that encompassed writing, playing every instrument, vocals, producing, engineering and performing, there was nothing related to music that this guy couldn’t do. 

Prince was destined to be a superstar, and his songs sound as fresh today as they did back when they were released. Many of them are also quite unusual (When Doves Cry has no bass part at all, for example), and his guitar wailing was always top notch.

Jimi Hendrix

Another obvious choice is Jimi. We revere him so much as a guitarist that he sometimes isn’t seen as much as a singer. The fact that he was iconic in both musical avenues is testament to his electrifying abilities. Hendrix’s voice was as much of an expressive instrument as his guitar ‘voice’: together, they made for a legend.

Bruce Springsteen

It can be something of a surprise to fans when they find out that the lead guitar player in Bruce Springsteen’s band is Bruce Springsteen. Sure, he always has at least two other guitar twangers in the E-Street band - normally Stevie Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren - but it’s Bruce who rips out the leads!

David Gilmour

He’s the voice of Pink Floyd, unless you reckon that Roger Waters deserves that honourific! Okay, half of the voice of Pink Floyd, but also one of the greatest and best-loved guitarists in the world. It’s David Gilmour, whose silky vocals provide a pretty contrast to Waters’ effective but abrasive vocals. Dave outright wins on the guitar front though, but it’s not like I’m keeping score. 

Just make friends, you two!

Brent Hinds

The world recently lost this excellent human being, and it’s a sad shame for us all. Mastodon’s co-lead singer (they had three co-lead singers before Hinds left) and lead guitarist was an explosive combination of talents, mixed with a huge dose of uniqueness.

Mastodon are a powerhouse any way you look at them, but Hinds added a wonderful, banjo-inspired oddness to the music, which blended equal parts cosmic horror and cosmic Americana to the metal. Hinds is a hard rock legend, it’s as simple as that.

Mastodon fans can read my Bill Kelliher interview for more on the band!

Matt Bellamy

Muse’s prodigiously talented frontman is a great example of an amazing lead guitarist who is also a great vocalist and writer. He’s one of those guys who makes it all look so easy, and is equally adept on the piano/keyboard too.

For more on Matt, check out my deep-dive article How to Sound Like Muse, which contains a Q&A with Adrian from Manson Guitarworks!

Mark Knopfler

People from all walks of life (see what I did there?) love Mark Knopfler. His music is top tier but also really approachable; finesse in an accessible package. A great writer first and foremost, he’s obviously ‘a Dylan guy’ when it comes to singing, and his fingerstyle guitar playing provides infinite inspiration to countless fans.

Samantha Fish

Blues hurricane Samantha Fish is an inspiration. She has built her career fan by fan, show by show, and now she’s one of the best-known performers in the business.

A formidable player, Samantha is also an incredible vocalist. Because of this, she is a force on nature on the stage, and well worth seeking out during her frequent tours.

For more on Samantha, check out my first Smantha Fish Interview, and my second Interview with Samantha Fish.

Eric Clapton

He started off as a guitar hero in the Yardbirds and Cream, but once he went solo, Eric Clapton was as much of a lead singer as anything else. His solo career has been so much more popular and visible than his earlier work that to most people, Eric Clapton is a singer who plays guitar. Given that he’s one of the most influential guitarists in the world, that’s a pretty crazy notion!

John Mayer

Following on is the modern version of Eric Clapton: John Mayer. Smooth, talented, full of star power and enormously successful, it’s like he was specially created in a lab to be an entirely agreeable pop/rock/blues star.

John’s a fantastic player, and a dedicated one. He’s also a singer and frontperson, influential to many and a poster-boy for modern day tasteful soft rock.

Joe Bonamassa

Another Clapton acolyte is Joe Bonamassa, who has been on a mission for years now to become a legitimate guitar legend. I’d say he’s pretty much there, with his fiery voice, fierier licks and a full stable of tasty vintage guitars. 

Bonamassa is the guitar nerd who made it, and he’s living his dream.

Neil Young

Neil Young does not care what you think of him. That’s one of his greatest strengths, though it can make him somewhat mercurial. He’s a world-class songwriter who sings beautifully haunted songs, and then sticks rambling 5 minute solos in the middle of them.

Hey, they are his songs! This model train enthusiast has more classic songs under his belt than almost anybody, and his guitar style is immediately recognisable.

Jeff Buckley

Jeff Buckley’s career seems ghostly and ethereal in hindsight of his accidental death. That’s maybe not how it should be seen, though, since he appeared to be quite a jovial practical joker in life, and not a glum waif. Still, the haunted beauty of his-one-and-a-bit albums remains as clear, potent and different as it did in the 90s.

Buckley’s guitar playing was the product of hard work at Berklee School of Music, but his voice? That was from somewhere else entirely.

St Vincent

Annie Clark has blazed a unique trail through the world of music, from her early days in The Polyphonic Spree to collaborations with David Byrne. She is all about the singular vision, and that includes her choice of guitar: a ‘genderless’ Music Man St Vincent signature.

Devin Townsend

Heavy metal guru Devin Townsend doesn’t take too many opportunities to lay out some shreds, but when he does, it’s obvious that he has spent the hours practising!

Dev is a masterful vocalist and grade-A riff writer, as many will know. He is also a very adept lead player, using his signature open C tuning to create parts with intervals that are beyond the reach of those who play in standard tuning.

Anna Calvi

Londoner Anna Calvi mixes exotic, dramatic guitar playing with a voice that’s equally powerful. Favouring a twangy Telecaster tone, Calvi has brought the very idea of a central musician who can play, sing and perform to the masses again. It’s never really been away, but who else is doing it with the commitment and elan that Calvi is?

Stevie Ray Vaughan

I hardly need to say much about SRV, do I? He’s the player that all of you Strat fans want to emulate, from his playing to his tone to his hat. He’s a forever touchstone for blues fans, and like a lot of blues players, he was a lead singer as well as lead guitarist.

Billy F Gibbons

Talking about good Texas tone and great hats, here’s the OG: Billy Gibbons! If SRV had the Strat tone to die for, then Rev Willy here has the ultimate Les Paul tone, played straight from Pearly Gates, his famous 1959 Sunburst LP Standard.

Gibbons is all about laid back vibes, storytelling sass and a voice as laconic as his playing is tasty.

Billy Corgan

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman is easily one of the greatest players from the 90s Alternative Rock era. Blending No-Wave fuzz with the grandiose pomp of 70s rock, Corgan wove a beautiful if nihilistic tapestry of sound for the post grunge years and beyond.

As songwriter and vocalist, Corgan is equally influential, and continues to influence well into his late 50s. Not a traditionally ‘beautiful’ voice, there is no other voice out there capable of such a snarl and such delicateness.

Dave Mustaine

It’s a well-known fact that Dave Mustaine was the lead guitarist in Megadeth for a spell. That’s enough to earn you a seat at the heavy metal top table, but Mustaine then went on to become the main element of thrash masters Megadeth. 

Megadeth have always had another lead guitarist, but it’s wrong to assume that Dave is a rhythm guy: he takes a number of leads himself, and is a pretty jaw-dropping shredder. His singing voice is easily his most distinctive trait, though: all snarl and snake-like venom, it’s a perfect foil to his crunchy riffing.

Alexi Laiho

The late, great Alexi Laiho didn’t have a long life, but he left his mark upon the world of metal with his voice and guitar. Laiho was an unnaturally gifted guitarist, and would no doubt be one of the world’s most famous players today had he lived.

Gary Moore

Irish musician Gary Moore was an old school guitar hero of the extended solo, scrunched-up facial expression persuasion. His blues-inflected rock was like dynamite to his legions of fans, and his voice was a strong sounding as he looked. No messin’, basically.

Kurt Cobain

Some people still roll their eyes when Cobain is mentioned as a lead guitarist. Those people will have to get over it one day, because Kurt’s guitar mangling was sublime. It was expressive, colourful, edgy and deliberately counterintuitive. Those who understand it, love it.
And his voice? I have only one word: extraordinary.

Who Did I Miss? Honourable Mentions

This blog just kept on getting longer and longer as I recalled more and more lead guitarists who sing lead vocals. It’s actually less unusual that one might first expect, so here are some extra lead players who sing lead vocals too…

• Stephen Malkmus
• Josh Homme
• Susan Tedeschi
• J Mascis
• Adrian Belew
• Hugh Cornwell
• Lenny Kravitz
• Orianthi

They all deserve a longer space on the list, but time’s a-fleeting, and this list is already pretty epic! I hope this inspires you to try some vocals, or indeed some lead playing. Have fun!