10 Legendary Musicians That Play Multiple Instruments

When you're first starting off in the world of rock, you're going to need to look out for yourself more than anyone. Starting at ground zero, you need to make sure that you can create anything that comes into your head, whether that's on guitar or behind a keyboard. And while Prince's first albums felt like a colossal musical experience, it's all coming from that one Purple mind.

Still in his late teens, Prince's first few records were made completely by himself, playing every single instrument from drums to guitar to vocals. While there were definitely some session musicians brought in after the fact, it wasn't for lack of ability on Mr. Nelson's part, being more than capable of laying down a funky groove and than melting your face off with a guitar solo just a few seconds later. Prince wasn't just looking to play every instrument just to show off though.

If you go back and listen to his early work, most of his flashiness never gets in the way of a good song, always leaving room for the hooks to take over on songs like When You Were Mine. By the time he got hits under his belt though, he wasn't ready to stop pushing himself, covering every genre from rock to psychedelia to even jazz in his later years. Even if he had the hit making portion of his career, Prince was always more interested in following wherever his muse took him.