Making a memorable album along a gaggle of bandmates takes exhausting paintings, willpower, skill and a bit little bit of good fortune. Doing it totally on my own is even more difficult.

Right through rock historical past, many musicians have attempted their hand at being a one-man-band, to various ranges of good fortune. Such an endeavor is rarer than you assume. Even if an artist ditches their bandmates and is going “solo,” they are continuously joined within the studio by way of consultation musicians, backing vocalists, particular visitors and any selection of employed weapons to assist their subject material shine.

Nonetheless, there are some who’re courageous sufficient to take the whole thing on their shoulders, and it is the ones artists we are that includes under. Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, John Fogerty and Dave Grohl are simply one of the vital musical luminaries who’ve launched one-man-band albums during their storied careers. Prince used to be every other icon who famously sought to do the whole thing himself, going one hundred pc solo on two of his early LPs, whilst Wolfgang Van Halen proved prodigious skill does not fall a long way from the tree, recording his debut album totally himself.

Some artists applied their one-man standing to embody new musical types or challenge into uncharted songwriting terrain. Others merely shouldered the musical burden with the intention to problem themselves.

We check out 17 artists who’ve launched one-man-band albums, at the side of a handful of honorable mentions, under.