12 Hard Rock Band Members Who Switched Instruments

When Lemmy sprung to life in the late 1940's, he was already born to raise hell. As soon as he reached his mid-teens, he was being moved by the new sounds coming from overseas like Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. Not wanting to work on a farm or factory, Lemmy was kicked out a school and started making a living in rock and roll.

Even though people know Lemmy for creating the gnarliest bass sound known to man in Motorhead, he practically stumbled on his trademark instrument by accident. For the first few years of his professional career, Lemmy was primarily playing guitar and working as a roadie during his spare time. When setting up a show with the band Hawkwind, the band's bass player called in sick. Desperate to find a musician for the show, one of the band members singled out Lemmy as a potential bass player, even though he had never touched a bass in his life.

As Lemmy recalled, one of the guitarists handed him a bass, told him to "make some noises in E," and walked away, leaving him to learn the tunes on the fly. Little did they know that it only took one sick bass player to give us one of the most stunning frontmen the rock world has ever known.