Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar

Play that funky music, white boy.

"Who draws the crowd and plays so loud
Baby it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show
You know, baby, it's the guitar man"

— Bread, "The Guitar Man"

The lead singer is often seen as the most recognizable member of the band and sometimes the main songwriter. The lead guitarist, meanwhile, is usually the second most recognizable member, astonishing the audience with flashy licks and guitar solos. Either one of these roles often requires a great amount of talent, and as such, the two members will just focus on mastering their instrument of choice. If either member decides to momentarily dabble in the other's role, it will often be for accompaniment. For example: the lead singer will play simple rhythmic chords, and the lead guitarist can do basic backup vocals.

Then you have this person, someone who is excels at playing guitar licks, and singing lead vocals. Their ability to simultaneously master and play two different instruments at once shows this person is The Ace and can often cement their status as the face of the band. So much so that the other band members may feel overshadowed by said talent.

This is often the case with solo guitarists who wish to sing their own songs. As well as Rock Trios with only one guitarist and said guitarist is the lead vocalist (or co-lead vocalist). It can also occur if the former lead singer quit the band or passed away and the lead guitarist has to Step Up to the Microphone.

Compare Lead Bassist and Lead Drummer, where the bassist and drummer are the lead singers, respectively. Contrast Free-Handed Performer, when the lead singer solely does vocals without any other instrument in hand.

Related to I Am the Band.

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Real-Life Examples:

Alternative Rock

• Zig-zagged with Alice in Chains. Main guitarist Jerry Cantrell, who is largely the only member to perform guitar, plays the lead parts in comparison to Layne Staley (the former lead vocalist) and William DuVall's occasional, more rhythmic guitar inputs. Cantrell is predominantly the lead singer in the studio material featuring DuVall, but the latter takes that role for current live performances of the work with Staley, on top of never playing guitar in it.
• Goo Goo Dolls: John Rzeznik, especially in the band's early years played Power Pop-inspired lead guitar and shared lead vocals with bassist Robby Takac. Downplayed as the years went on. While his status as a lead singer increased, eventually supplanting Takac's role as a vocalist, his guitar playing shifted to more of a rhythmic one, especially as the band started using fewer guitars to fit their more pop-inspired new direction.
• Jimmy Eat World's Jim Adkins is the band's lead singer and lead guitarist.
• Muse: Matt Bellamy serves as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist and primary songwriter, as expected for a classic Rock Trio setup.
• Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was definitely this in studio since he was the band's sole guitarist, but also played this role live, as he played the guitar solos and more melodic parts even when the band had another guitarist, Pat Smear, on stage.
• The Smashing Pumpkins: Lead singer/songwriter Billy Corgan is the lead guitarist, playing most of the solos and leaving fellow guitarist James Iha to rhythm guitar or more ornamental lead lines.
• Weezer: Lead singer Rivers Cuomo plays the guitar solos, as well as the more melodic guitar parts during verses/choruses. This is in stark contrast to rhythm guitarist Brian Bell's more chordal contributions.
• The White Stripes: Lead singer Jack White is a multi-instrumentalist who played rhythm and lead guitar on all their songs.
• XTC: During their initial lineup with Barry Andrews on keyboard, lead singer Andy Partridge played lead guitar as he was the only guitarist in the band. Once Andrews left the band and Dave Gregory joined, Andy often left the role of lead guitar to Dave but occasionally did still perform many lead guitar lines. This can be heard in the outro solo of "Books are Burning", which Andy and Dave both play.

Blues

• This is very common amongst classic blues singers as the genre is essentially tied to the guitar. Examples include B.B. King, Albert King, and Freddie King.
• Gary Moore is virtuoso blues guitarist and has an equally bluesy singing voice to go with it.
• John Mayer is famous both as a singer and as a skilled lead guitarist. He plays this role in his band, the John Mayer Trio.
• ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons plays lead guitar and often sings the band's songs.
• Stevie Ray Vaughan of Double Trouble was the band's frontman and lead guitarist. Much like Hendrix, he also filled the role of rhythm guitar while playing lead.

Classic Rock

• Christopher Cross: The singer-songwriter was skilled at guitar enough to substitute for a Deep Purple concert when Ritchie Blackmore fell ill in 1970.
• Throughout his career, Eric Clapton zigzags the lead singer part while keeping the role of lead guitarist constant. In Cream he occasionally sang but mostly let Jack Bruce handle lead vocals. In Derek and the Dominos and his solo career, however, he plays both roles.
• Creedence Clearwater Revival: John Fogerty was the lead singer, lead guitarist, and lead songwriter. He is the one who played every riff, lick, and solo in the band's catalogue.
• Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits plays many licks, fills, and solos throughout many songs, all while singing lead. He was also one of only two consistent members in the band, together with bassist and backing vocalist John Illsley.
• Steve Lukather of Toto is the lead guitarist and part of the group's Vocal Tag Team.
• Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green and Lindsey Buckingham from the Blues era and Pop era respectively. The former was the lead singer and lead guitarist, while the latter also played lead guitarist but shared lead vocals with Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks.
• The Grateful Dead: Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia is often the one who takes up lead vocals alongside rhythm guitarist Bob Weir.
• George Harrison played both lead guitar and sang on his solo albums, and had a song or two per album where he did both while with The Beatles.
• Jimi Hendrix of the Jimi Hendrix Experience had the daunting task of simultaneously being the lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, and lead singer. Yet he pulled off all three of them flawlessly.
• Eric Johnson is a virtuoso who's mainly notable for his guitar skills but whenever his songs do include vocals, he sings them.
• Phish: Similar to the Grateful Dead, Trey Anastasio plays improvized lead guitar most of the time but whenever vocals enter the mix, he's the one singing lead.
• Player is led by Peter Beckett, the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist.
• Stephen Stills and Neil Young played both roles in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Constantly playing off each others' licks, solos, and vocals. They then continued to sing and play lead guitar for their retrospective solo careers.
• While Steve Winwood is primarily a keyboardist and singer, he can also play lead guitar, as seen in his time with Traffic.
• Pete Townshend: Downplayed on both fronts in The Who. While he was the band's sole guitarist and played a couple of melodic lines, his guitar playing was better described as rhythmic and accompaniment, and he only sang occasionally, leaving most of the lead vocals to Roger Daltrey. Played Straight for his solo career.

Country

• Singer Brad Paisley is also notable for his guitar chops. See his performance on the instrumental "Nervous Breakdown" as proof.
• Glen Campbell had many hits where he sang and was also an in-demand session musician because of his guitar skills.
• Roy Clark was a highly renowned singer and guitar player. Able to master not just guitar, but banjo and fiddle, too.
• Keith Urban is another example of a solo artist who plays his own lead guitar. He also plays the ganjo (a hybrid of a guitar and banjo) on many of his tracks.

Hard Rock

• Blue Öyster Cult: Lead guitarist Buck Dharma shared the role of lead vocals with Eric Bloom.
• The Darkness: Frontman Justin Hawkins is the one responsible for the faster and more "shredderific" guitar licks and solos, while his brother Dan plays rhythm guitar and more simple lead lines.
• Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale is both the lead singer and co-lead guitarist.
• Mountain's lead singer Leslie West is also the band's lead guitarist.
• After Uli Jon Roth left Scorpions he was the lead guitarist and singer for his solo career and his band, Electric Sun. He also sang lead on a handful of Scorpions' songs.
• Triumph is a hard rock trio led by Rik Emmett, who plays the role of lead singer, lead guitarist, and rhythm guitarist.

Indie Rock

• Arctic Monkeys: While the band's other guitarist, Jamie Cook, plays fills throughout several songs, lead singer Alex Turner more often than not plays the guitar solos.

Jazz

• George Benson is an acclaimed guitarist known for his sophisticated improvised leads but he can also sing if his songs require vocals. Best shown in "Give Me the Night".

Metal

• All three members of New Zealand thrash band Alien Weaponry sing, with Lewis de Jong providing both lead vocals and lead guitar.
• Children of Bodom: Alex Laiho is the lead guitarist and lead singer.
• Chuck Schuldiner was the lead singer and lead guitarist of Death, being responsible for all of the band's riffs and solos.
• Mastodon: While all four members of are capable of singing, it's lead guitarist Brent Hinds who does so predominantly, whereas rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher usually only does backing vocals.
• Dave Mustaine is the lead singer and lead guitarist of Megadeth; he played the latter role more in his time with Metallica. Although, given how Megadeth's members have included shredders such as Chris Poland, Marty Friedman and Chris Broderick, Mustaine was more of a co-lead guitarist.
• Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt does the majority of the band's solos, though guitarist Fredrik Akesson plays a few solos here and there (as did his predecessor Peter Lindgren), and is considered a co-lead guitarist with Mikael.

Pop

• Orianthi of "According to You" fame is an Avril Lavigne-style pop singer who also happens to be a Van Halen-esque guitar shredder at the same time.
• Panic! at the Disco: After guitarist Ryan Ross left the band, frontman Brendon Urie took up the role of lead guitar in the studio and sometimes in live performances. Even when Ryan was in the band, Brendon usually played co-lead guitar, as seen in songs like "The Green Gentleman".
• Paul McCartney: In his time with The Beatles and Wings, Paul usually just played the role of Lead Bassist (Types A, B, and C), leaving the lead guitar to George Harrison, Jimmy McCulloch, and Denny Laine respectively. But on his solo albums, Paul was the one who played lead guitar in the studio.
• Prince is a multi-instrumentalist who can play melodic lead guitar and sing, acting as the frontman and lead guitarist of both the Revolution and the New Power Generation in addition to the material credited solely under his own name (and his unpronounceable stage name in the '90s).

Post-Punk/New Wave

• Franz Ferdinand: Alex Kapranos is the lead vocalist and lead guitarist.
• Talking Heads: Frontman David Byrne also did double-duty as guitarist in the band's early days. While the group recruited Jerry Harrison as their second guitarist shortly before recording their debut album, Byrne still served as the more prominent of the two guitar players, only briefly stepping back to let guest musician Adrian Belew play lead guitar on Remain in Light and its supporting tour. Byrne would additionally stay in the role of lead guitarist in his solo work.
• Television: Tom Verlaine was the band's lead singer and shared the role of lead guitar with Richard Lloyd. The two played off each other's contrasting guitar styles. Their albums' liner notes credit every solo to its performer.

Progressive Rock/Metal

• Camel is led by guitarist and singer Andrew Latimer.
• Coheed and Cambria: Lead singer Claudio Sanchez frequently plays dual lead guitar with Travis Stever.
• Evergrey frontman Tom S. Englund plays lead guitar, sings lead, and is the principal songwriter on top of it.
• The Moody Blues first had Denny Laine, then Justin Hayward. Laine went on to join Wings while Hayward stuck with the Moodies well into 2000's, with about five or six solo albums under his belt.
• Pink Floyd veered in and out of this. In the band's early years, they were fronted by guitarist, vocalist, and lead songwriter Syd Barrett. When his mental health declined, keyboardist Richard Wright took over briefly before David Gilmour, Barret's replacement as guitarist, sang the majority of songs from More to The Dark Side of the Moon, after which bassist Roger Waters (who consequently became Lead Bassist) became an increasingly prominent vocalist from Wish You Were Here onward. After Waters' acrimonious departure in 1985, Gilmour became the band's sole frontman, bringing things full circle.
• Styx: Tommy Shaw is the band's co-lead vocalist and lead guitarist.
• Frank Zappa was the frontman and lead guitarist of the Mothers of Invention, a band that he would continue working with throughout the '60s and '70s in between solo albums.

Punk Rock

• Green Day: For much of the band's lifetime, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was the band's sole full-term guitarist, and played all the guitar lines, although few were considerably melodic or guitar solos. Touring guitarist Jason White, who was briefly a full-term member in the 2012-2016 period, does comparatively rhythmic parts as additions to the band's live performances.
• Minutemen: Lead vocalist D. Boon is acclaimed for his lead guitar talents.

Rock & Roll

• Bill Haley & His Comets: Prior to hiring Franny Beecher as his full-time lead guitarist, Haley himself usually played lead guitar parts. This can be seen in their performance of the instrumental "Straight Jacket".
• Influential guitarist Chuck Berry both sang and played the riffs and solos to his songs.
• Buddy Holly of The Crickets was the band's frontman and lead guitarist.

Fictional Examples:

Advertising

• Chuck E. Cheese is the lead singer of his Garage Band, Munch's Make Believe Band, and since the "rockstar" reboot, is also the lead guitarist.

Anime & Manga

• Angel Beats!: Iwasawa is the leader of the band Girls Dead Monster, where she is the band's lead guitarist and vocalist.
• Macross 7: Nekki Basara is the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of his band, Fire Bomber.

Comic Books

• Josie and the Pussycats: Josie is the band's frontwoman and also its lead guitarist.

Films — Animation

• Scooby-Doo Direct-to-Video Film Series: Appearing a several points throughout the film series after making their debut in the second film Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost are the eco-goth girl rock band The Hex Girls - Thorn, Luna, and Dusk. Thorn is lead guitarist and vocalist, with Luna on keyboards and Dusk on drums and both being back-up vocalists.
• The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: In the movie's climax, SpongeBob sings "Goofy Goober Rock" (a parody of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock") and proceeds to absolutely shred a guitar solo, while wearing a wizard outfit.

Films — Live-Action

• Back to the Future: Marty McFly takes up vocal duties in Marvin Berry's band when the latter gets his arm busted. Marty sings "Johnny B. Goode" and then plays a mind-melting guitar solo afterwards.
• Shock 'Em Dead: Lead guitarist Angel became the lead vocalist after Jonny died.

Toys

• The Beatrix Girls - The Brayden doll is the lead singer who plays lead guitar.
• Polly Pocket: In the early 2000s productions, Polly is the lead singer and lead guitarist of her Garage Band, Polly and the Pockets.

Web Animation

• 50 Ways to Die in Minecraft: In the music video where Jake and the gang play the namesake parody song, Jake sings the lyrics while simultaneously playing the song's lead guitar parts.
• Minilife TV: In "Snowball's Late Night Adventure", the lead singer of the Deadbeats, a skeleton rock/ska band that performs at the Burton Night Club, also plays guitar.

Western Animation

• The Archie Show took the main characters from Archie Comics, and formed them into a bubblegum band, with Archie Andrews as the main vocalist and lead guitarist. Reggie Mantle accompanies as the bassist, Betty Cooper plays tambourines, Veronica Lodge is the keyboardist, and "Jughead" Jones handles the main percussion (i.e. the drum kit). This setup continues into the show's various spin-offs.
• Grojband: Corey is the titular band's lead guitarist and vocalist.
• The Loud House: Luna Loud is both the lead singer and lead guitarist of her high school band, the Moon Goats.
• Phineas and Ferb: Danny is the lead guitarist and lead singer of the glam rock band Love Händel.
• Vampirina: The title character is the lead singer and lead guitarist of her band, the Ghoul Girls.

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