10 Legendary Musicians That Play Multiple Instruments

In the world of rock and roll, having a bass player who doubles as the singer isn't something you see every day. Outside of writing the main melody to the song, you also have to be in touch with the rhythmic foundation of the song, always locking in with the drummer and making sure there's a nice anchor for the rest of the song. When it comes to Primus though, Les Claypool makes all of that leg work look easy...along with some of the most bonkers ideas ever to be heard in rock.

Compared to the heaviness of songs like Tommy the Cat, a lot of Les's style is rooted in more funk based bass players like Larry Graham, which lends pretty well to the out of control weirdness of Primus's work. If you listen to something like Lacquerhead, Les doesn't even need notes half of the time, almost using his bass as a rhythm instrument while also singing.

Les is a virtuoso though, and there comes a point where even the one bass guitar gets to be a little boring after a while. In between his stints in Primus, Les has been known to switch between fretted and fretless bass, beefing it up to six strings, and even using a bow on the strings every now and again just to try something new. It has been over 3 decades since Les came onto the scene, and thanks to Les' willingness to experiment, the music has still not gotten any less weird.