Arteconciencias: 10 iconic guitarists who had surprising day jobs before they were famous

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January 25, 2023

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Editor's Note

Rock 'n' roll doesn't always pay the bills...

For a few years in college, I worked as a night-shift security guard. I sure wish that, during the ample quiet time I had at that gig, I developed into a songwriter on par with Eddie Vedder – who also worked in his teens and early '20s as a night security guard – but unfortunately, that never quiiiiiite came to pass.

As we all know, but for a (increasingly tiny, in the streaming age) small minority of successful practitioners, rock 'n' roll doesn't really pay the bills. Indeed, even the biggest guitarists of all time had to start somewhere, and make ends meet while they honed their craft.

Our roundup of 10 guitar greats who had surprising day jobs before they were famous certainly contains some interesting examples in that regard.

One was a welder in a grim factory (an environment that would go on to serve as a huge inspiration for the music he created), while another cut his hands constantly loading sugar into supermarkets.

Of course, there's also the guitarist who entertained LA-area bachelorette parties as an exotic dancer...

As that particular player noted, though, "the rent is not going to pay itself."

Jackson Maxwell – Associate Editor, guitarworld.com

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