From Busk Till Dawn: The 6 Artists You Never Knew Were Buskers

To celebrate the launch of our pretty snazzy new Busker’s Handbook (which boasts a wealth of over 60 terribly ‘buskable’ songs to make you a *legal* quick buck) we thought we’d give you a rundown of 10 big earning artists that started their lives as buskers. So, let us begin.. 1,2,3,4…
1) Rod Stewart

Yep, the peacocking frontman has sold 100 million records worldwide. But, he wouldn’t have got anywhere if it weren’t for his initial days spent busking in the streets of Scotland as a lad.
2) B.B King

B.B King worked his way up right from the very bottom to the dizzying heights of being one of Blues’ most highly demanded artists. A true artist!
3) Tracy Chapman

Chapman‘s career blew up due to a certain Brian Koppelman taking an interest in her whilst at Tufts University – his father was record label boss Charles Koppelman who then went onto sign Tracy and watch her become the stellar success she is today.
4) Beck

Beck used to cover Lead Belly in his resident Lafayette Park before he was picked up and gained a huge local fan base.
5) Janis Joplin

Joplin is remembered most for her unforgettable voice. A voice the Texas native honed while travelling between the South and California, singing on the street and amongst groups of fellow musicians putting on impromptu performances.
6) Ed Sheeran

Not was it always a champagne lifestyle for Ed – “I’d go out and play a gig, wait until 5am when the Underground opened, sleep on the Circle Line until 12, go to a session – and then repeat. It wasn’t that bad.”
Check The Busker’s Songbook out on musicroom.com – available now for £14.95 which could be a particularly sensible investment if you decide to go as big as Sheeran did..