Beyond Elvis: 15 Musicians Who Served in the Military

When you think of famous musicians who have honorably served in the United States Armed Forces, it’s impossible not to go first to Elvis Presley (1935-1977)! Photos abound of the handsome, young Elvis in a crisp Army uniform. In fact, the airport was mobbed with screaming fans when he arrived for basic training.

Upon being drafted, Elvis Presley entered the United States Army in spring of 1958 and served until spring of 1960, receiving his discharge from the Army Reserve in 1964. At the time of his draft, he was the most well-known entertainer in the Armed Forces. And despite being offered a safer, more plum role in the Secret Services, Elvis chose to serve as a regular soldier.

During his active military career, Elvis served in Germany for around 18 months as a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor.

When he was discharged, he returned to Hollywood and began making a series of films to build on his post-service popularity not just among youth audiences, but also among older adults. In fact, it may be his military service that helped him earn the adoration of a more adult audience.

However, Elvis isn’t the only famed musician to serve their country. Let’s look at eight other musicians you might be surprised to learn served their country in the United States Armed Forces.

Howlin’ Wolf

The blues giant whose parents gave him the name of Chester Arthur Burnett (1910–1976) served in the US Army during World War II. He enlisted in 1941 and was stationed at Fort Custer in Michigan and Fort McClellan in Alabama, working as a radio operator and supporting troops overseas.

After his discharge in 1943, Howlin’ Wolf returned to the South and dove headfirst into the blues, pouring all the fire and fury of “Smokestack Lightning” into his music. His voice was raw, thunderous, and unmistakable—when Howlin’ Wolf sang, you felt it in your bones. With tracks like “Killing Floor,” he didn’t just play the blues, he embodied it, becoming a towering figure who paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll. His influence stretched far beyond the Delta, inspiring legends like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Wolf wasn’t just a performer; he was a force that reshaped the sound of American music.

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) was a Jamaican American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who is known as the “King of Calypso.” At the age of 17 he enlisted in the US Navy toward the end of World War II, where he served 18 months between 1944 and 1945 at Port Chicago near San Francisco. 

During this time, the military was segregated and Black service members were not typically fighting on the front lines, which is why Belafonte was assigned to load military ships headed to the South Pacific. He witnessed the aftermath of a massive explosion that  took place at the port, killing about 320 people, the majority of which were Black sailors. As an act of protest against the unsafe and segregated work conditions, Black sailors refused to load ammunition onto the ships in what became known as the Port Chicago Mutiny; 50 were convicted and sentenced to prison. 

“We didn’t know at the time. Nor could we know that the political reverberations of the Port Chicago disaster would help lead to desegregation of all the armed forces in 1948,” said Belafonte in his 2011 memoir.  

After the war, Belafonte used the GI Bill to study acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York. To help pay for his classes, he started singing at jazz night clubs, backed by legendary performers including Charlie Parker, Max Roach, and Miles Davis. His music and acting career took off from there. 

The racial inequalities that Belafonte saw and experienced during his time in the military and in the entertainment industry inspired his work as a civil rights activist, where he was a close confidant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

LEARN ABOUT BERKLEE ONLINE’S MILITARY BENEFITS!

John Coltrane

Jazz legend John Coltrane (1926-1967) was one of the most influential saxophonists and composers of all time. Known for his own recordings (more than 50) and his collaboration with other jazz greats, including Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, Coltrane died young of liver cancer but leaves behind an exceptional musical legacy.

To avoid being drafted by the Army in 1945 during World War II, Coltrane enlisted in the Navy on the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. He trained as an apprentice seaman and was sent to Pearl Harbor.
During this time, his musical talents came to light, and he joined the Melody Masters, the base swing band. By the end of his service, he had assumed a leadership role in the band, and it was during this time that he made his first recording with other Navy musicians, playing alto saxophone on jazz standards and bebop tunes.

Johnny Cash

The Man in Black was first a man in uniform. Johnny Cash (1932-2003), singer, songwriter, and one of the bestselling musicians of all time, had a career that spanned decades, genres, and generations.

Before he was an award-winning musician, Cash served in the United States Air Force. At age 18 and directly after high school, Cash enlisted and attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas.

He was assigned to the 12th Radio Squadron Mobile of the Air Force Security Service in Germany as a Morse code operator, intercepting Soviet transmissions.

His earnings in the military allowed him to buy his first guitar while stationed in Germany and he actually formed his first band, the Landsberg Barbarians, in the Air Force. Upon his discharge, he took advantage of the GI Bill to attend a radio announcing course in Memphis before launching his country music career.

And if it weren’t for his time in Germany, we probably wouldn’t have this version of “I Walk the Line” to contemplate!

Kris Kristofferson

Before Kris Kristofferson (1936–2024) came up in country music—first as a songwriter, and eventually as a performer—he followed a family tradition of joining the armed forces. One of his grandfathers was a colonel in the Army; the other was in the Swedish Army before emigrating to the US; and his father was a major-general in the Air Force, serving in WWII and Korea. Enlisting was basically a family expectation for him and his brother. After college, Kris joined the Army, training as a helicopter pilot and becoming a Ranger in the early ’60s. He volunteered for Vietnam, but was turned down. Though his family expected him to take a job as an English teacher at West Point, he decided instead to get into the music business.

The story about his big break in the industry is anything but traditional. While Kristofferson was working as a janitor at Columbia Records in Nashville, he gave a cassette of his songs to the musician you’ll find above him on this list, Johnny Cash, who never listened to the tape. Legend has it that Kristofferson grew so frustrated about not making any headway in his career that he borrowed an Army helicopter, and landed it in Cash’s yard, with a beer in one hand and another copy of the tape in the other, refusing to leave until Cash listened to his songs. As you’ll see below, that story is only partially true. But fortunately, the man who wrote “Me and My Bobby McGee” and “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” had strong enough songs to impress the Man in Black. 

Willie Nelson

Singer, songwriter, and grassroots activist, Willie Nelson (b. 1933) is one the most famous voices in country music. He’s well-known for his work supporting American farmers and advocating for the legalization of marijuana through his role as co-chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

After he left high school, Nelson enlisted in the Air Force and served for about nine months before receiving a medical discharge due to back issues.
And while he didn’t serve very long, he has stayed passionate about veteran issues throughout his storied career as a singer, songwriter, author, and actor, advocating for increased medical care for veterans and supporting veteran advocacy groups, helping to raise awareness about homelessness among veterans.

He grew up in Texas during the Great Depression. After tumultuous early years, he moved to Arkansas to live with his grandparents, and he began playing honkytonks to avoid field work.

Tony Bennett

With a career that spanned more than six decades, Tony Bennett (1926-2023) was the voice of American pop standards, jazz classics and, more recently, contemporary duets with other legends such as Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga. He earned 20 Grammy awards, two Emmy awards and is a Kennedy Center Honoree. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide in his lifetime.

However, before he was Tony Bennett, he was Anthony Benedetto, who was drafted into the United States Army in November 1944 during the final stages of World War II. As a replacement infantryman, he served across France and into Germany, and in March 1945, he joined the front line.

During active combat, Bennett narrowly escaped death several times and he participated in the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp, where American prisoners of war from the 63rd Division were also freed.

During his service, he also sang with the Army military band under the stage name Joe Bari, and played with many musicians who went on to have post-war music careers. Once discharged, Bennett studied at the American Theater Wing on the GI Bill.

Jimi Hendrix

American rock legend Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) remains one of the most influential guitarists of all time, despite an incredibly short career of only four years.

Well known for his groundbreaking electric guitar playing and his legendary performance at Woodstock, Hendrix entered the military as one of two choices given to him by police after being caught twice in stolen cars: it was prison or the military.

Hendrix enlisted in May 1961 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Kentucky. Hendrix next completed paratrooper training and was given the prestigious Screaming Eagles Award in early 1962.

However, it seems that Hendrix wasn’t well suited to military service and was given an honorable discharge just six months later. While Hendrix later claimed that he received a medical discharge after breaking his ankle in a parachute jump, he was actually discharged due to “unsuitability” for service.

John Fogerty

John Fogerty (b. 1945)—best known as the frontman for Creedence Clearwater Revival—served in the US Army Reserve during the Vietnam War era. In 1966, Fogerty was drafted, but he opted to enlist in the Army Reserve, where he served for two years. His time in the military kept him stateside, primarily in California, where he trained as a supply clerk.

After his military service, Fogerty returned home to focus on his music with Creedence. Seeming to make up for lost time, the band released one album in 1968, and three(!) in 1969. The band quickly rose to fame with peppy hits like “Proud Mary” and “Down on the Corner,” but it was the release of “Fortunate Son” in the autumn of ’69 that showed Fogerty’s passion for bringing attention to the inequalities that working-class soldiers faced. In the lyrics he castigated the type of privileged person who could get out of being drafted, and the song became an anthem of protest against the Vietnam War. While Fogerty’s own service was less directly impacted by the war, his music reflected the frustration and disillusionment many felt during that time. 

George Strait

Country music singer, songwriter, and producer, George Strait (b. 1952), AKA the “King of Country,” is considered by many to be one of the most popular and influential country music artists of all time. George Strait is famed for his neo-traditionalist style, his cowboy look and 60 No. 1 Billboard country music hits.

In 1971, Strait eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma, then joined the United States Army. He was enlisted in the Army from 1971 to 1975 and was stationed in part in Hawaii. While there, he launched what would become a lifelong career, singing with the Army-sponsored band called Rambling Country. 

Strait’s commitment to the men and women of the Armed Forces has continued throughout his illustrious career. He even served as the spokesman for the Wrangler National Patriot program, which raises awareness and funds for American wounded and fallen military veterans and their families.

Ice-T

Tracy Lauren Marrow (b. 1958), known as his stage name Ice-T, is one of many young adults who found themselves turning to military service as a way out of a tough situation. Dealing drugs on the streets of Los Angeles to support himself, he knew he needed to turn his life around when his daughter was born.

Marrow enlisted in the Army and served four years in the 25th Infantry Division at the Tropic Lightning Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. During his time in Hawaii, Marrow served as a squad leader at Schofield Barracks. It was during this time that he purchased musical equipment and began work to hone his skills, save money and prepare to launch a career in music.

As Ice-T, Marrow went on to a dynamic career first as a Grammy Award-winning musician, rapper and songwriter, then as an actor on television on the hit show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

MC Hammer

Stanley Burrell (b. 1962), known professionally as MC Hammer, is an American hip-hop recording artist, dancer, and producer who enjoyed tremendous success during the 1980s and ’90s with hits such as “U Can’t Touch This” and “2 Legit to Quit.”

After graduating from high school in Oakland, Burrell took undergraduate classes in communications. Discouraged by his lack of success, he was at a crossroads. He vacillated between considering work as a drug dealer or a job in the military.

He ultimately decided to join the United States Navy for three years, serving as an Aviation Storekeeper 3rd Class at the Naval Air Station at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California until his honorable discharge.

Shaggy

When Orville Richard Burrell (b. 1968) moved from Jamaica to New York at 18, he was already going by the name Shaggy and performing the type of dancehall reggae that would eventually bring him fame. His music career was not enough to financially sustain himself, so he chose to join the Marine Corps serving as an artilleryman with the 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, and 2nd Marine Division. From the years of 1990-1991 he was deployed to the Middle East during the liberation of Kuwait. During his years of service, his rankings were reduced a few times due to unauthorized absences, as he was traveling to New York on a regular basis because of his music career. 

After his discharge from the Marine Corps in 1992, he began to focus more on music, which turned out to be a good decision. He won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album just four years later, for his third album, Boombastic. He has sold more than 40 million albums, and is currently the third-most streamed reggae artist (behind Bob Marley and Sean Paul). He received the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander Award in 2007 and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University in 2022. Shaggy continues to salute his military past by performing free concerts for the military around the world.  

Sturgill Simpson

Long before his rise to fame as a singer-songwriter (and even longer before he adopted the Johnny Blue Skies alter ego!) Sturgill Simpson (b. 1978) served in the US Navy. Simpson enlisted after high school and was stationed in Japan, where he served as part of the Pacific fleet. He has said in interviews that his time in the Navy exposed him to a broader world beyond his small-town Kentucky roots, but it also left him feeling disillusioned with authority, a theme that would later show up in his music.

After leaving the military, Simpson worked a variety of jobs before deciding to focus on music full-time. His breakthrough came with the release of his second album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, in 2014, which—as the title suggested—blended traditional country with psychedelic and philosophical elements. Songs like “Turtles All the Way Down” showcased his willingness to push boundaries and defy genre conventions. He followed this with A Sailor’s Guide to Earth in 2016, a concept album inspired by his time in the Navy and written as a letter to his wife and newborn son. The album won a Grammy and cemented his place as one of country music’s most innovative artists. 

Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan (b. 1996) is a country singer-songwriter who has sold more than 30 million albums. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the US Navy, following in the footsteps of his father, mother, and grandfather, all of whom had military careers. As a Petty Officer Second Class, Bryan was stationed in Washington and Florida and did tours of duty abroad in Bahrain and Djibouti. 

In 2017, Bryan started writing and uploading songs to YouTube as a way to pass the time while he was deployed. In 2019, he uploaded a vertical iPhone video of himself performing his song “Heading South” outside his Navy barracks, which went viral.

This led him to release two independent albums, then sign with Warner Records. Bryan remained in the Navy as his music grew in popularity up until 2021 when he was honorably discharged to pursue music full-time. 

“If it was my decision, I would never get out of the world’s greatest Navy, but here I am and they kindly honorably discharged me to go play some music,” said Bryan in an Instagram post.

LEARN ABOUT BERKLEE ONLINE’S MILITARY BENEFITS!