Richard Nixon, pianist/accordion player

National Archives/Newsmakers

President Richard Nixon waged wars against cancer, drugs and the Vietnamese before resigning in shame after the Watergate scandal in 1974. However, before he was effectively ousted from office, he made a name for himself as one of America's more musically inclined presidents. Nixon was famously photographed shaking hands with Elvis and performed 'God Bless America' live on piano at the Grand Ole Opry. He also played the accordion and was the inspiration for the opera 'Nixon in China,' which was penned by the presidentially named John Coolidge Adams.