User:Abie the Fish Peddler/List of musicians who served in the military

Traditionally, the military employs more musicians than any other organization. In the United States and Britain, the military is one of the largest employers of musicians.

Notable musicians

Name	Country	Service	Rank	Instrument	Notes
José Bernardo Alcedo	Peru	Peruvian Army		Composer	Peruvian 4th Battalion. Soldier in Peruvian military band, then band leader with the 4th Battalion. Wrote the original music for the "Himno nacional", the National Anthem of Peru.
Kenneth Alford	United Kingdom	Royal Marines	Major	Composer	Real name, Frederick Joseph Ricketts. Joined the Royal Irish Regiment as a musician in 1895 and was commissioned into the Royal Marines as a Director of Music in 1927. Retired in 1944 with the rank of Major. Best known for his marches such as Colonel Bogey March.
Gilad Atzmon	Israel	Israel Defense Forces	Paramedic	Saxophonist	Served during 1982 Lebanon War.
Gene Autry	United States	United States Army Air Forces	Flight Officer	Singer-songwriter	Served as a C-47 Skytrain pilot in the United States Army Air Forces, with the rank of Flight Officer in the Air Transport Command during World War II flying dangerous missions over the Himalayas between Burma and China.
Samuel Barber	United States	United States Army Air Forces	Corporal	Composer	In 1945 on inactive duty, Barber wrote the Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 22. Serge Koussevitzky, then music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, helped get Barber discharged from the military. Barber's Adagio for Strings from the slow movement of the String Quartet No 1. Op 11 (1936) is considered one of the most familiar American concert pieces and has been played at the funerals of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and was featured in the war film, Platoon.
Evgeny Belyaev	Soviet Union	Red Army	Sergeant	Tenor	Awarded the Army Olympiad Prize in WWII. Fought in Czechoslovakia in the 4th Ukrainian Front under the command of General-Colonel Andrei Yeremenko. Known as the "Russian Nightingale".
James Blunt	United Kingdom	British Army	Captain	Singer-songwriter	Trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Life Guards, where he later made Captain. Deployed as an armoured reconnaissance officer in Kosovo in 1999, where he carried his guitar strapped to the outside of his tank. While on duty in Kosovo, Blunt would sometimes perform for locals, and it was here that he wrote the song "No Bravery".
Dennis Brain	United Kingdom	Royal Air Force		Horn	Appointed to first horn in the National Symphony Orchestra at age 21, but was soon conscripted in WWII. He joined the Central Band of the Royal Air Force with his brother and joined the Royal Air Force Symphony Orchestra.
Jack Brymer	United Kingdom	Royal Air Force		Clarinettist	Joined the RAF as a physical training instructor. Stationed at Morecambe. Played the clarinet part in the crescendo in the Beatles' "A Day in the Life."
Chris Burnett	United States	United States Army	First Sergeant	Saxophonist	Joined Army music program in 1974. Accepted into Army Band Group Leader Course of Instruction and assigned to an Army band in Germany, beginning a military career lasting more than two decades.
Johnny Cash	United States	United States Air Force	Sergeant	Singer-songwriter	Enlisted for four years in the Air Force. Basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Stationed at Landsberg, Germany as code intercept operator. Honorably discharged as sergeant.
John Coltrane	United States	United States Navy	Seaman First Class	Saxophonist	Served from August 6, 1945-August 11, 1946. Stationed in Hawaii. Played alto saxophone and clarinet in the "Melody Masters", a Navy big band composed of ~14 musicians. The Melody Masters replaced the "Cloudbusters", a 44-member group based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the "first all-black navy band" known as Unit Band Number One.
Billy Cox	United States	United States Army		Bassist	Stationed at Fort Campbell. Met bandmate Jimi Hendrix during service.
César Cui	Russia		Lieutenant-General	Composer	Taught fortification classes at several military academies based on experience during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Member of the Russian Five ("The Mighty Handful"), led by Mily Balakirev.
Patrick Gilmore	Ireland	Union Army	Colonel	Composer	Bandmaster of the Union Army under the command of General Butler. Wrote "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", one of the best known tunes of the American Civil War.
Percy Grainger	Australia	United States Army		Composer	Pianist. Oboist in the U.S. Army Band during World War I, after which he became a naturalized American citizen. During World War II, Grainger appeared in concerts supporting the Allies, subsequently retiring to White Plains, New York. He is best known for composing and arranging the English folk tune "Country Gardens", and for experimenting with electronic music as early as 1937, culminating in his work on Free Music machines with Burnett Cross in the 1950s, known as the "Electric Eye Tone Tool". This machine was considered the forerunner of the modern electronic synthesizer.
Al Grey	United States	United States Navy		Trombonist	Trained at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Vince Guaraldi	United States	United States Army		Pianist	Served in the Korean War. Best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip, in particular, "Linus and Lucy" from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Hawkshaw Hawkins	United States	United States Army	Staff Sergeant	Singer-songwriter	During World War II, Hawkins served as an engineer stationed near Paris, Texas where he performed at local clubs. As a staff sergeant, he was stationed in France and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, winning four battle stars during 15 months of combat. While stationed in Manila, he performed on Philippine radio.
Jimi Hendrix	United States	United States Army		Guitarist	After being caught riding in stolen cars, Hendrix was given a choice between the Army or going to jail for two years. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 31, 1961, completed boot camp, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Considered a sub-par soldier, his commanding officers submitted a request that Hendrix be discharged from the military after he had served only one year.
Ice-T	United States	United States Army		Rapper	Served in the 25th regiment.
Ion Ivanovici	Romania	Romanian Army	Inspector of Military Music	Composer	6th Army Regiment. Learned to play clarinet in the army, became one of the best musicians in the regiment, eventually becoming bandmaster, and winning the coveted March Prize.
Jo Jones	United States	United States Army		Drummer	Inducted in 1944.
Hachiro Kasuga	Japan	Imperial Japanese Army		Singer	Joined army in 1944, sent to Taiwan. Returned to Japan in 1945.
Karel Komzák II	Austria	Austrian Army	Bandmaster	Composer	84th Infantry Regiment. Starting in his father's 11th regiment band, eventually led his own. Led his acclaimed regiment band through widespread tours up until his death.
Kim Jong Kook	South Korea			Singer	Completed much publicized two year mandatory service
Kris Kristofferson	United States	United States Army	Captain	Singer-songwriter	Achieved the rank of captain. Became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Completed Ranger School. Deployed to West Germany in the early 1960s as a member of the 8th Infantry Division. When tour of duty ended in 1965 was offered position as a professor of English Literature at West Point, which he declined in favor of professional songwriting.
Joseph Küffner	Germany	Bavarian Army		Composer	Served as director of Bavarian regimental band.
Alex Lithgow	Australia	Australian Army		Composer	Australian Army's 12th Battalion. Member of Army's Launceston Regiment Band. Bandleader.
Frankie Lymon	United States	United States Army		Singer	Reported to Fort Gordon, Georgia. Repeatedly went AWOL. Dishonourably dishcharged.
Glenn Miller	United States	United States Army Air Force	Major	Bandleader	Composer, arranger. Joined Army air force at the height of his career, gave 800 performances, made recordings, and gave a weekly radio broadcast. En route to perform for the soldiers who had liberated Paris, his plane disappeared. Status is missing in action.
Haruo Minami	Japan	Imperial Japanese Army		Singer	Sent to Manchuria in 1944, was captured by the Russian army and spent four years at a prisoner of war camp near Khabarovsk. Returned to Japan in 1949 and resumed singing career.
Modest Mussorgsky	Russia	Russian Imperial Guard		Composer	Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment. Served in military hospital. Member of the Russian Five ("The Mighty Handful"), led by Mily Balakirev.
Haruo Oka	Japan			Singer	In 1944 during the Pacific War, was dispatched to Ambon Island, but soon returned due to sickness.
Ole Olsen	Norway	Norwegian Army		Composer	In 1884, became conductor of military band. Composed large number of military marches.
Elvis Presley	United States	United States Army	Sergeant	Singer	Much publicized service. Trained at Fort Hood, stationed at Friedberg, Germany. Two year stint, honorably discharged.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	Russia	Imperial Russian Navy	Officer		His time as Inspector of Naval Bands has been cited as enabling him to enhance his grasp of brass and wind playing. Member of the Russian Five ("The Mighty Handful"), led by Mily Balakirev.
Marty Robbins	United States	United States Navy	LCT coxswain	Singer-songwriter	While stationed in the Solomon Islands during WWII, he learned to play the guitar, began writing songs, and developed a love for Hawaiian music.
Shaggy	Jamaica	United States Marines Corps	Field Artillery Cannon Crewman	Singer	Perfected his singing style during cadences. Served with the 5th Battalion 10th Marines during the Gulf War, where he found the inspiration for his song Boombastic.
Artie Shaw	United States	United States Navy		Bandleader	Clarinetist. Formed a band during WWII which played for Navy personnel, sometimes four concerts a day in battle zones. After 18 months received a medical discharge for exhaustion.
John Philip Sousa	United States	United States Navy	Lieutenant	Composer	Trained musicians at Great Lakes Naval Station.
Albert Spalding	United States	Office of Strategic Services	Lieutenant	Violinist	Awarded the Cross of the Crown of Italy. In WWI, Spalding served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, in the Signal Service of the Aviation Corps in France. He returned to serve in World War II for the OSS.
Clark Terry	United States	United States Navy		Trumpeter	Fluegelhorn player. Played in a Navy band during World War II.
Bin Uehara	Japan			Singer	Killed in battle during the eastern New Guinea campaign.
Georgi Vinogradov	Soviet Union	Red Army		Tenor	Entertainment division, Alexandrov ensemble. Served from 1941 until the end of WWII entertaining troops and making several successful recordings with the official army choir of the Soviet Armed Forces.
Bobby Vinton	United States	United States Army	Chaplain's Assistant	Singer	Songwriter. Served two years as chaplain's assistant, during which time he wrote his 1964 hit Mr. Lonely. Later wrote and sang the hit Coming Home Soldier, which was a favorite on the American Forces Radio Service.
Lester Young	United States	United States Army		Saxophonist	Based in Fort McClellan, Alabama. Court martialed and convicted for possession of marijuana, sentenced to year in detention barracks. Dishonorably discharged. The composition "D.B. Blues" is named after his detention barracks punishment.

See also

• Military music

Further reading

• Randel, Don Michael, ed. (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674011635.
• Southern, Eileen (1997) [1971]. The Music of Black Americans: A history (3 ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393038432.
• Tyson, Florence (1981). Psychiatric Music Therapy: Origins and Development. Creative Arts Rehabilitation Center. ISBN 0960687602.