Brad Bensko lists and remarks on five of his favorite “oneman band” moments:

1 “Every Night” by Paul McCartney — “One of my favorite tracks off of his debut LP, I love the simplicity and space in the arrangement, and how he uses the drums sparingly until the chorus. I also love how the chorus is mostly word-less. The sentiment of the song is something I also find very relatable: Feeling restless, whether you’re busy or idle, and finding comfort in being near a loved one.”

2 “Mind Mischief” by Tame Impala — “This song demonstrates (Tame Impala’s) Kevin Parker’s genius at arrangement, with his riffs, the unconventional drumming, the interplay between the rhythms on all of the instruments — and the sound he got was PHENOMENAL.”

3 “It Takes Two To Tango” by Todd Rundgren — “This song broadened my idea of how to arrange and record a song, in particular his choices in percussion and his idea of speeding up his backing vocals on tape to sound like female backing singers.”

4 “Climb A Ladder” by Of Montreal — “I found this early in high school and was blown away that Kevin Barnes (leader) did this by himself: The complex arrangements, chord changes, harmonies, counterpoint in the instrumentation — and that bass line just dances between and glues together all of those chords so well.”

5 “How High The Moon” by Les Paul and Mary Ford — “Okay, this one isn’t completely a one person band, but close, and they recorded it all on their own. This is one of my favorite recordings of all time and such a great interpretation of a classic song. The sound is so smoky and fuzzy, but somehow still timeless despite being recorded over fifty years ago.”