Plus, socializing while playing cards adds a level of unpredictability that gives your brain a charge--something solo games don't offer.

CNN: Helpful ways to boost your memory

"Don't continue flying solo, " he thundered.

CNN: THE FEUDING MINISTERS

You get a certain amount of freedom if you do a solo record which you don t really have if you re in a band.

NPR: Mick Jagger: A Stone Alone

On her first solo album, Knives Don't Have Your Back, Haines finds a way to ratchet up Metric's lyrical intimacy, while injecting eerily infectious melodies that render its songs as catchy as they are harrowingly doomstruck.

NPR: 'Our Hell': Making Misery Beautiful

Mozart used trombones for this purpose in his operas The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, and he included a prominent trombone solo in his Requiem.

NPR: Young Tuba Player Gets Nod from Phila. Orchestra

John Mayer joined Paisley for a guitar summit on "Beat This Summer" and Taylor Swift and Keith Urban joined Tim McGraw on stage for "Highway Don't Care, " which Urban finished off with a scorching guitar solo.

NPR: No One More Surprised Than Luke Bryan By ACMs Win