Are there any singer/pianists who ......

axisus · March 2022

.... only have piano backing to their songs?

Everyone I think of seems to go for full band arrangements. I'm just wondering if there is a singer/songwriter who records just as voice + solo piano.

I can't think of anyone?

thecolourbox · March 2022

Norah Jones I think does it quite a bit I think? Some great videos of her doing that on YouTube. Did Carole King do it way back when?

I can think of a fair few who have done it on occasion but without it being their usual mode of delivery, Thom Yorke springs to mind, St Vincent did it.

I do it about 50% of the time when I get the chance to perform as myself, but I'm guessing that is of limited interest.

I think it's quite hard on a piano to do really simple but effective arrangements without it sounding a bit crap. The equivalent of guitar chord strumming sounds shit on piano

mart · March 2022

Randy Newman?

Grunfeld · March 2022

axisus said:

.... only have piano backing to their songs?

....I can't think of anyone?

Adele, Someone Like You

Springs to mind.

Just piano and a vocal. A bit of double tracking on the vocal at one point. Other than that, beautiful simplicity.

Winny_Pooh · March 2022

I cant think of anyone who does it permanently.
Tori Amos & Ben Folds did a fair few individual songs like that.

Drums and Piano:
Kate Bush - 50 words for snow
Fiona Apple - fetch the bolt cutters

This is a the most fitting I can think of from recent times:

Just piano and some woodwinds/brass here and there:

https://open.spotify.com/album/573sQD1eaIsFkQJu8VyOYN?si=IWX8SYW6Q_CMViIu0vUogw&utm_source=copy-link