Celebrating Famous Dads in Music - Father’s Day Gift for Music Lovers
Father's Day is coming up, and we're celebrating with some of the most famous dads in music: musicians who built extraordinary careers while raising kids who, in several cases, went on to do the same. Show your dad this lot and it might just nudge him towards the instrument he's been meaning to pick up for years.
And if it does, we've matched each famous dad to a course your own dad could start this Father's Day. All of them are included in a MusicGurus gift membership.
Famous dads in music
1. Bob Dylan
Kicking off with one of the most successful dads in music. Dylan released his first album in 1962 and has put out roughly one every two years since: more than forty in all. If that doesn't inspire a musically inclined dad, nothing will.
Dylan's other instrument is the one most people forget: the harmonica on a neck rack. If your dad is a Dylan fan, Getting Fluent in the Blues Harmonica is the course. A harp fits in a jacket pocket and sounds like something within a week.
2. John Legend
The clue is in the name. Singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, EGOT winner, and a dad of four. It's hard to think of what John Legend hasn't accomplished.
For the dad who wants to play All of Me half as convincingly, start at the piano. Blues Piano: Boogie-Woogie, Billy Joel and Ray Charles teaches the left-hand patterns underneath almost every piano ballad and party song he loves. We suspect your mum will enjoy this gift too.
3. Billy Ray Cyrus
We can't leave Billy Ray Cyrus off a list of famous musical dads. Arguably as well known for his own tunes as for being dad to Miley, he starred alongside her in Hannah Montana before she went on to Wrecking Ball and everything since.
If your dad's a country lover, you're in luck. The guitar courses on MusicGurus cover everything from a first chord to authentic blues guitar, which is where most country lead playing comes from anyway.
4. Dave Grohl
An all-round music extraordinaire. Grohl started as the drummer in Nirvana, no less, and is now the singer, guitarist and lead songwriter of Foo Fighters. He's also dad to three daughters, the eldest of whom has already been on stage with him.
If your dad was a Nirvana fan in the 90s, drums are the obvious present, and nobody teaches groove like New Orleans. New Orleans Style Drumming with Pat Levett is the course; the rest of the drum courses take him from there. Let your dad relive his youth, ideally with the neighbours' blessing.
5. Lenny Kravitz
Lenny's music is a celebration of almost every genre there is, from rock and blues to psychedelia and soul, and he plays most of the instruments on his records himself. He's also dad to the equally famous Zoë Kravitz.
For the Kravitz fan, two routes. If your dad already plays guitar, put a bass in his hands: Unleash Your Funk Bass Potential with The Brand New Heavies is taught by the band that defined the sound. If he's a keys man, Authentic Hammond Language for Blues and Rock is the organ sound on half the records he owns.
The best gift for musical dads
If your dad follows any of these famous dad musicians, give him the thing they all have in common: time with people who play at that level. A MusicGurus gift membership is one payment for a month, three months or a year of every course and songbook on the site, taught by more than a hundred professional musicians, with backing tracks and interactive sheet music built in.
You choose the day it arrives and it lands in his inbox that morning with your note on top. His time starts when he redeems it, not when you buy it, and nothing renews afterwards, so there's no subscription for anyone to cancel. Kickstart your dad's musical journey this Father's Day and watch him follow in the footsteps of the famous dads above, or at least annoy the dog with a harmonica.