List of musical instrument players (all time)

Adam Thomas Jones (born January 15, 1965) is a three-time Grammy Award-winning American musician and visual artist, best known for his position as the guitarist for Tool. Jones is also the director of the majority of Tool's music...

Albert King Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known professionally as Albert King, was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing. One of the "Three Kings of the B...

Aleksandar Živojinović, (born August 27, 1953), better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that would becom...

Alexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen (born May 8, 1953) is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie Van Halen had taken lessons for drums,...

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known by the pseudonym Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first...

Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 22, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degre...

Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist best known as a co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC.

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is often called "The...

Ben Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

William Thomas "Bill" Berry (born July 31, 1958) is a retired American musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other...

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth-best-selling recording artist and the thir...

Kenneth E. Gaspar (born February 3, 1953), more commonly known as Boom Gaspar, is an American musician who has performed with the American rock band Pearl Jam as a piano/keyboard/organ player since 2002...

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and humanitarian. He is best known for his work with his E Street Band. He is nicknamed "The Boss".

Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who has worked within many genres of music. His music spans such diverse areas as progressive metal...

Carlos Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican and American musician who first became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and Latin American music. He has won 10 Gram...

Charlie Parra del Riego (born March 5, 1985 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian guitarist and composer. He is also known as Charlie Parra.

Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, and is the lead vocalist and co-founder of the band Coldplay.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica. Burton joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the ban...

Daniel Edwin "Danny" Carey (born May 10, 1961) is an American drummer best known for his work in American Grammy Award-winning progressive rock band Tool. He has also contributed to albums by artists such as Zaum, Green Jellÿ, Pig...

David James Abbruzzese (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Matt Chamberlain in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's...

David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer who is best known as the former drummer for the grunge band Nirvana and the founder and frontman of the rock band Foo Fig...

David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician who is best known for being the original drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam and for his work on the band's debut album, Ten. Krusen was also a member of the...

David John "Dave" Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is a South African-born American singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. Matthews was born in...

David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, and lead singer of the American thrash metal band Megadeth, and well known as the original lead guitaris...

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones, 8 January 1947) was an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, painter, and actor.

David Jon Gilmour (born 6 March 1946) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he is best known for his work as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the progre...

Darren Arthur Reed (born June 18, 1963), known by his stage name Dizzy Reed, is an American contemporary rock musician, and occasional actor. He is best known for his tenure as the keyboardist, pianist and percussionist for the ro...

Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and author. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved wo...

Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26, 1955 in Nijmegen) is a Dutch-American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van H...

Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner since 1967; they have collaborated o...

Eric Patrick Clapton (born 30 March 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the...

Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-born American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the...

Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar along with Albert King and B.B. King. Freddie King based h...

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country pop singer-songwriter. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climb...

Geddy Lee Weinrib (born Gary Lee Weinrib, July 29, 1953), OC, known professionally as Geddy Lee, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group...

George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Although...

Gilbert "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American guitarist and record producer best known for a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use...

Glenn Lewis Frey (November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, producer and actor, best known as a founding member of rock band the Eagles. During the 1970s, Frey played guitar with the band, as well as...

Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but plays the bass right-handed...

Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N'...

Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the founding drummer of American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the former drummer of Pearl Jam, Eleven and The Wallflowers. He has worked with J...

Jack White (born John Anthony Gillis; July 9, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and occasional actor.

James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and lyricist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield is mainly known for rhythm playing, but has also per...

Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American metal musician, known for playing bass guitar with the bands Metallica (in which he did occasional lead vocals), Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 aft...

Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding...

Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor, singer and producer. He comes from a prominent acting family, and appeared on the television series Sea Hunt (1958–60), with his father, Lloyd Bridges and b...

Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, musician, and playwright. He founded a nonprofit theater company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan. He has performed in a n...

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter.

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, Jr., OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer mostly known as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his care...