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MY List of Top 100 Instrumental Songs/Artists - and at #1 Frankenstein (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Tom Skerritt
- Start date
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
one of the first songs I thought of when I started following.
The other is a solo act that was on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#41. Theme from The Pink Panther - Henry Mancini
"The Pink Panther Theme" is an instrumental composition by Henry Mancini written as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Pantherand subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 37th Academy Awards but lost to the Sherman Brothers for Mary Poppins. The eponymous cartoon character created for the film's opening credits by David DePatie and Friz Freleng was animated in time to the tune. The tenor saxophone solo was played by Plas Johnson.
The song was included on the film's soundtrack album and issued as a single (in the United States) in 1964; the single reached the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard adult contemporary chart and won three Grammy Awards.
Various recordings of the composition appeared in the opening credits of all The Pink Panther films except A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. It has also been used in countless works in which the animated Pink Panther appears.
"The Pink Panther Theme", composed in the key of E minor, is unusual for Mancini's extensive use of chromaticism.
In his autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini talked about how he composed the theme music:
I told [the animators] that I would give them a tempo they could animate to, so that any time there were striking motions, someone getting hit, I could score to it.
[The animators] finished the sequence and I looked at it. All the accents in the music were timed to actions on the screen.
I had a specific saxophone player in mind–Plas Johnson. I nearly always precast my players and write for them and around them, and Plas had the sound and the style I wanted.
"The Pink Panther Theme" is an instrumental composition by Henry Mancini written as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Pantherand subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 37th Academy Awards but lost to the Sherman Brothers for Mary Poppins. The eponymous cartoon character created for the film's opening credits by David DePatie and Friz Freleng was animated in time to the tune. The tenor saxophone solo was played by Plas Johnson.
The song was included on the film's soundtrack album and issued as a single (in the United States) in 1964; the single reached the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard adult contemporary chart and won three Grammy Awards.
Various recordings of the composition appeared in the opening credits of all The Pink Panther films except A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. It has also been used in countless works in which the animated Pink Panther appears.
"The Pink Panther Theme", composed in the key of E minor, is unusual for Mancini's extensive use of chromaticism.
In his autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini talked about how he composed the theme music:
I told [the animators] that I would give them a tempo they could animate to, so that any time there were striking motions, someone getting hit, I could score to it.
[The animators] finished the sequence and I looked at it. All the accents in the music were timed to actions on the screen.
I had a specific saxophone player in mind–Plas Johnson. I nearly always precast my players and write for them and around them, and Plas had the sound and the style I wanted.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#40 Theme from A Summer Place - Percy Faith & His Orchestra
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental by Hugo Winterhalter. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", the piece is not the main title theme of the film, but a secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue.
Following its initial film appearance, the theme has been recorded by many artists in both instrumental and vocal versions, and has also appeared in a number of subsequent films and television programs. The best-known cover version of the theme is an instrumental version by Percy Faith and his orchestra that was a Number One hit for nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960.
Percy Faith recorded the most popular version of the theme, an instrumental orchestral arrangement, at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. It was released in September 1959 as a single on Columbia Records, credited to "Percy Faith and his Orchestra," prior to the November 1959 release of the film A Summer Place.
The single was not an immediate hit and did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart until mid-January 1960, finally reaching #1 six weeks later on February 22, 1960. It went on to set an at-the-time record of nine consecutive weeks at #1, a record which would not be broken until 1977, when "You Light Up My Life" spent ten weeks at #1. (Elvis Presley's double-sided hit "Don't Be Cruel/ Hound Dog" remained at #1 for 11 weeks in 1956 prior to the 1958 creation of the Hot 100 chart; The Beatles' "Hey Jude" tied, but did not break, the nine-week record in 1968.) It remains the longest-running #1 instrumental in the history of the chart. Billboard ranked Faith's version as the Number One song for 1960.
The Faith version reached #2 in the UK. It was also a #1 hit in Italy under the title "Scandalo Al Sole."
Faith won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961 for his recording. This was the first movie theme and the first instrumental to win a Record of the Year Grammy.
Faith re-recorded the song twice: first, in 1969, as a female choral version, then, in 1976, as a disco version titled "Summer Place '76."
In 2008, Faith's original version was ranked at #18 on Billboard's top 100 songs during the first 50 years of the Hot 100 chart. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits called it "the most successful instrumental single of the rock era."
As seen in National Lampoon's Animal House
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental by Hugo Winterhalter. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", the piece is not the main title theme of the film, but a secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue.
Following its initial film appearance, the theme has been recorded by many artists in both instrumental and vocal versions, and has also appeared in a number of subsequent films and television programs. The best-known cover version of the theme is an instrumental version by Percy Faith and his orchestra that was a Number One hit for nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960.
Percy Faith recorded the most popular version of the theme, an instrumental orchestral arrangement, at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. It was released in September 1959 as a single on Columbia Records, credited to "Percy Faith and his Orchestra," prior to the November 1959 release of the film A Summer Place.
The single was not an immediate hit and did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart until mid-January 1960, finally reaching #1 six weeks later on February 22, 1960. It went on to set an at-the-time record of nine consecutive weeks at #1, a record which would not be broken until 1977, when "You Light Up My Life" spent ten weeks at #1. (Elvis Presley's double-sided hit "Don't Be Cruel/ Hound Dog" remained at #1 for 11 weeks in 1956 prior to the 1958 creation of the Hot 100 chart; The Beatles' "Hey Jude" tied, but did not break, the nine-week record in 1968.) It remains the longest-running #1 instrumental in the history of the chart. Billboard ranked Faith's version as the Number One song for 1960.
The Faith version reached #2 in the UK. It was also a #1 hit in Italy under the title "Scandalo Al Sole."
Faith won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961 for his recording. This was the first movie theme and the first instrumental to win a Record of the Year Grammy.
Faith re-recorded the song twice: first, in 1969, as a female choral version, then, in 1976, as a disco version titled "Summer Place '76."
In 2008, Faith's original version was ranked at #18 on Billboard's top 100 songs during the first 50 years of the Hot 100 chart. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits called it "the most successful instrumental single of the rock era."
As seen in National Lampoon's Animal House
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Been super busy at work and out of town the past two weekends. Sorry for the break. But now, back to the countdown!
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#39. Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson
"Cliffs of Dover" is an instrumental composition by guitarist Eric Johnson which appeared on his 1990 Ah Via Musicom album. The album version of the song is composed in the key of G major, the song was played with a Gibson ES-335 (as well as a Fender Stratocaster) through a B. K. Butler Tube Driver and an Echoplex plugged into a 100-watt Marshall amplifier. The song takes its name from the White Cliffs of Dover, an extensive and visually stunning chalk outcrop that runs along the southeast coast of England. It is also featured on the video game Guitar Hero III and is available as DLC for the game Rocksmith 2014.
"Cliffs of Dover" begins with an ad-libbed electric guitar solo, using techniques such as string skipping and hybrid picking. In the solo intro, Johnson does not adhere to any distinct time signature. Drums are then added as the song settles into a 4/4 rhythmic shuffle verse accompanied by a very accessible set of melodies that, throughout the song intro, feature variations (octavations for example) on the main chorus.
The outro or coda then recalls the freestyle mood and timing of the ad-libbed intro.
While he did indeed compose "Cliffs of Dover", Johnson does not take full credit, saying "I don't even know if I can take credit for writing 'Cliffs of Dover' ... it was just there for me one day ... literally wrote in five minutes ... kind of a gift from a higher place that all of us are eligible for. We just have to listen for it and be available to receive it."
Honorable Mention to SRV
"Cliffs of Dover" is an instrumental composition by guitarist Eric Johnson which appeared on his 1990 Ah Via Musicom album. The album version of the song is composed in the key of G major, the song was played with a Gibson ES-335 (as well as a Fender Stratocaster) through a B. K. Butler Tube Driver and an Echoplex plugged into a 100-watt Marshall amplifier. The song takes its name from the White Cliffs of Dover, an extensive and visually stunning chalk outcrop that runs along the southeast coast of England. It is also featured on the video game Guitar Hero III and is available as DLC for the game Rocksmith 2014.
"Cliffs of Dover" begins with an ad-libbed electric guitar solo, using techniques such as string skipping and hybrid picking. In the solo intro, Johnson does not adhere to any distinct time signature. Drums are then added as the song settles into a 4/4 rhythmic shuffle verse accompanied by a very accessible set of melodies that, throughout the song intro, feature variations (octavations for example) on the main chorus.
The outro or coda then recalls the freestyle mood and timing of the ad-libbed intro.
While he did indeed compose "Cliffs of Dover", Johnson does not take full credit, saying "I don't even know if I can take credit for writing 'Cliffs of Dover' ... it was just there for me one day ... literally wrote in five minutes ... kind of a gift from a higher place that all of us are eligible for. We just have to listen for it and be available to receive it."
Honorable Mention to SRV
Good one. I remember when Eric Johnson hit the scene, kind of on the heels of Satriani and Vai. This song of his was big and many thought he would join that guitar pantheon, even joining G3 on a couple of tours. But he was too normal compared to those guys (I mean Satriani is practically an alien and Vai’s formative years were spent with Zappa so they look and sound unusual next to just about anyone). But Johnson kind of got lost in the shuffle. A very solid player and a great tune.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Agreed. Appreciate the commentary here. And I'm aware of the incredible talents of Satriani, Vai, and Zappa. And I'll even throw in Yngwie Malmsteen as another. And I like their music. But it's just not the type of music that I find listenable and/or re-listenable. I certainly recognize the talent though, it's just not digestible for me.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#38. Peter Gunn Theme - Henry Mancini
"Peter Gunn" is the theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the television show of the same name. The song was the opening track on the original soundtrack album, The Music from Peter Gunn, released in 1959. Mancini won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Arrangement.
In his 1989 autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini states:
The Peter Gunn title theme actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz. I used guitar and piano in unison, playing what is known in music as an ostinato, which means obstinate. It was sustained throughout the piece, giving it a sinister effect, with some frightened saxophone sounds and some shouting brass. The piece has one chord throughout and a super-simple top line.
The wailing alto saxophone solo was played by big band veteran and Hollywood studio stalwart Ted Nash.
Mancini arranged the first single version of the song for trumpeter Ray Anthony in 1959. Recorded for Capitol Records and featuring tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson, it reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the R&B chart.
Mancini has recorded several different versions of his theme music including "Señor Peter Gunn" on his 1965 album, The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini and in a new arrangement for the 1967 movie Gunn...Number One!
Lyrics were added by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first recorded in 1965 by Sarah Vaughan in an arrangement by Bill Holman on her album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook. Mancini also recorded a vocal version titled "Bye Bye" that is on his 1967 soundtrack album Gunn...Number One!.
"Peter Gunn" is the theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the television show of the same name. The song was the opening track on the original soundtrack album, The Music from Peter Gunn, released in 1959. Mancini won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Arrangement.
In his 1989 autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini states:
The Peter Gunn title theme actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz. I used guitar and piano in unison, playing what is known in music as an ostinato, which means obstinate. It was sustained throughout the piece, giving it a sinister effect, with some frightened saxophone sounds and some shouting brass. The piece has one chord throughout and a super-simple top line.
The wailing alto saxophone solo was played by big band veteran and Hollywood studio stalwart Ted Nash.
Mancini arranged the first single version of the song for trumpeter Ray Anthony in 1959. Recorded for Capitol Records and featuring tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson, it reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the R&B chart.
Mancini has recorded several different versions of his theme music including "Señor Peter Gunn" on his 1965 album, The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini and in a new arrangement for the 1967 movie Gunn...Number One!
Lyrics were added by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first recorded in 1965 by Sarah Vaughan in an arrangement by Bill Holman on her album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook. Mancini also recorded a vocal version titled "Bye Bye" that is on his 1967 soundtrack album Gunn...Number One!.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Peter Gunn Theme in popular culture:
- The song was the inspiration for The B-52's song Planet Claire, written in 1977 and released both on their self-titled album and as a single in 1979. Guitarist Ricky Wilson was a noted fan of Mancini.
- The version by The Blues Brothers was featured in the eponymous film of 1980.
- Bauhaus in 1981 used the bass-line from the Peter Gunn theme in "Hair of the Dog", the opening song on Mask.
- The song was featured in the popular arcade game Spy Hunter in 1983, when developer Midway was unable to secure the rights to the James Bond theme. The Peter Gunn theme is still featured in most re-releases of the game today.
- Ray Anthony's original 1959 recording was featured in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles.
- The song was used in the season three opener of the television series The Sopranos, mixed with The Police's song "Every Breath You Take" and Steely Dan's "Dirty Work".
- Clarence Clemons did a version on the soundtrack of the 1985 film Porky's Revenge!
- A version of the song also appears in the game Rock n' Roll Racing and the pinball Who Dunnit.
- The song was also used in Monty Python's The Bishop sketch in season 2, episode 17 of their TV show, Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- The Art of Noise version has been used for several trailers for films, including animator Ralph Bakshi's Cool World.
- In the TV series How I Met Your Mother a version of the song is featured in season 5 episode "The Rough Patch".
- The tune was the inspiration for the track "The Man From MI.5" in the episode of the same name of the TV series Thunderbirds.[
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#37. Sleep Walk - Santo & Johnny
"Sleep Walk" is an instrumental tune written, recorded, and released in 1959 by brothers Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. It was the last instrumental to hit number one in the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record. In the UK it peaked at number 22 on the charts.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra recording of "Sleep Walk" received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1998. "Sleep Walk" was a principal inspiration to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green for his 1968 instrumental "Albatross", which became a worldwide hit. "Albatross" in turn inspired the Beatles song "Sun King" from Abbey Road.
The song "Sleepwalking (Couples Only Dance Prom Night)" by the band Modest Mouse, from their 1996 EP Interstate 8, drew inspiration from "Sleep Walk" in its melody, with the main addition to the original being added vocals/lyrics.
Deftones included "Sleep Walk" on their 2011 album Covers which is a compilation album of cover songs.
"Sleep Walk" is an instrumental tune written, recorded, and released in 1959 by brothers Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. It was the last instrumental to hit number one in the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record. In the UK it peaked at number 22 on the charts.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra recording of "Sleep Walk" received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1998. "Sleep Walk" was a principal inspiration to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green for his 1968 instrumental "Albatross", which became a worldwide hit. "Albatross" in turn inspired the Beatles song "Sun King" from Abbey Road.
The song "Sleepwalking (Couples Only Dance Prom Night)" by the band Modest Mouse, from their 1996 EP Interstate 8, drew inspiration from "Sleep Walk" in its melody, with the main addition to the original being added vocals/lyrics.
Deftones included "Sleep Walk" on their 2011 album Covers which is a compilation album of cover songs.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Not sure how many will remember this arcade game, but it was ####### awesome. Driving the spy car, blowing smoke screens, oil slicks, mounted machine guns, and missiles!!! Oh... and jumping into the river and the car becomes a speed boat!
zamboni
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Wow, you're right. Can't believe I missed that. ELP is a personal favorite of mine. They will eventually make an appearance on this list, but not for the Peter Gunn Theme.
zamboni
Footballguy
Could go several directions here with ELP - will be interesting to see which one makes it.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#36. Time Is Tight - Booker T and the MG's
"Time Is Tight" is an instrumental recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s for their soundtrack to the 1968 film UpTight.
The group recorded two versions of the song - the shorter (3:14), slower version was released as a single in 1969, and became one of the biggest hits of the group's career, peaking at #7 R&B and #6 Pop. The longer (4:55) version (which was included on the official soundtrack album) is played at a faster tempo than the single version, and features an extended introduction and an instrumental 'breakdown' section, neither of which were included in the single version.
The song was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ Johnnie Walker (DJ) in the early 1970s as the back up music to the weekly BBC chart rundowns. These were published by the British Market Research Bureau on the Tuesday and then broadcast later that day on 247 metres medium wave.
The Clash recorded a notable cover of the song, which they had previously used as a "warm-up" song in live performances. The song appears on their 1980 singles compilation album Black Market Clash, and also on the 1994 album Super Black Market Clash. (The Clash's arrangement differs from the original in one major respect - it modulates to D for the 'chorus' section, whereas the MG's version modulates to G.)
A cover version appears on The Shadows album XXV.
It also features in the Blues Brothers movie as a concert intro, in medley with "I Can't Turn You Loose".
ETA: The footage of the Booker T & the MG's song is from a Creedence Clearwater Revival concert in 1970. You can see John Fogerty and other CCR members off-stage at the beginning of the video.
"Time Is Tight" is an instrumental recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s for their soundtrack to the 1968 film UpTight.
The group recorded two versions of the song - the shorter (3:14), slower version was released as a single in 1969, and became one of the biggest hits of the group's career, peaking at #7 R&B and #6 Pop. The longer (4:55) version (which was included on the official soundtrack album) is played at a faster tempo than the single version, and features an extended introduction and an instrumental 'breakdown' section, neither of which were included in the single version.
The song was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ Johnnie Walker (DJ) in the early 1970s as the back up music to the weekly BBC chart rundowns. These were published by the British Market Research Bureau on the Tuesday and then broadcast later that day on 247 metres medium wave.
The Clash recorded a notable cover of the song, which they had previously used as a "warm-up" song in live performances. The song appears on their 1980 singles compilation album Black Market Clash, and also on the 1994 album Super Black Market Clash. (The Clash's arrangement differs from the original in one major respect - it modulates to D for the 'chorus' section, whereas the MG's version modulates to G.)
A cover version appears on The Shadows album XXV.
It also features in the Blues Brothers movie as a concert intro, in medley with "I Can't Turn You Loose".
ETA: The footage of the Booker T & the MG's song is from a Creedence Clearwater Revival concert in 1970. You can see John Fogerty and other CCR members off-stage at the beginning of the video.
Last edited by a moderator:
zamboni
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#35. Rumble - Link Wray
"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States in April 1958 as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side), "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The single is the only instrumental ever banned from radio in the United States. It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord, the "major modus operandi of the modern rock guitarist".
In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.
At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' "The Stroll", Link Wray & His Ray Men came up with the instrumental "Rumble", which they originally called "Oddball". It was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night.
Eventually the instrumental came to the attention of record producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked holes in his amplifier's speakers to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings. Phil Everly heard it and suggested the title "Rumble", as it had a rough sound and said it sounded like a street fight.
It was banned in several US radio markets because the term "rumble" was a slang term for a gang fight and it was feared that the piece's harsh sound glorified juvenile delinquency. It became a hit in the United States, where it climbed to number 16 on the charts in the summer of 1958. Bob Dylan once referred to it as "the best instrumental ever". The Dave Clark Five covered it in 1964 on their first album, A Session with The Dave Clark Five; it also appeared on their second American album, The Dave Clark Five Return!.
"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States in April 1958 as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side), "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and feedback, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. The single is the only instrumental ever banned from radio in the United States. It is also one of the first tunes to use the power chord, the "major modus operandi of the modern rock guitarist".
In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.
At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' "The Stroll", Link Wray & His Ray Men came up with the instrumental "Rumble", which they originally called "Oddball". It was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night.
Eventually the instrumental came to the attention of record producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked holes in his amplifier's speakers to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite his misgivings. Phil Everly heard it and suggested the title "Rumble", as it had a rough sound and said it sounded like a street fight.
It was banned in several US radio markets because the term "rumble" was a slang term for a gang fight and it was feared that the piece's harsh sound glorified juvenile delinquency. It became a hit in the United States, where it climbed to number 16 on the charts in the summer of 1958. Bob Dylan once referred to it as "the best instrumental ever". The Dave Clark Five covered it in 1964 on their first album, A Session with The Dave Clark Five; it also appeared on their second American album, The Dave Clark Five Return!.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#34. Dean Town - Vulfpeck
Vulfpeck is a North American funk group founded in 2011. The band has released four EPs, four albums, and a silent album on Spotify titled Sleepify – royalties from which funded the band's admission-free tour in 2014. The band's most recent album, Hill Climber, was released in December 2018.
The band members attended University of Michigan's music school. They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center, a university facility that houses an arts library and other resources. After reading an interview with German producer Reinhold Mack, band founder Jack Stratton conceived of Vulfpeck as an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals. The idea was to channel that era of the live rhythm section.
The band's founding members are Jack Stratton on keyboards, drums and guitar, Theo Katzman on guitar, drums and vocals, Woody Goss on keyboards, and Joe Dart on bass. Other musicians occasionally contribute such as Antwaun Stanley, Charles Jones, Joey Dosik, Christine Hucal, David T. Walker, Bernard Purdie, Blake Mills and Cory Wong.
"Dean Town" is a tribute to Jaco Pastorius' "Teen Town," featuring a wildly syncopated bass melody over a crazy funky disco drum groove.
The funky quartet assembled in an effort to pay homage to the great rhythm sections of the past and to create music with a groove-first focus for the masses. Thanks to their strong online presence and high-energy shows, they’ve accomplished all of that and more—so much so that when the band plays its song “Dean Town” live, it’s not unusual for the crowd to sing Dart’s difficult bass lines along with him note-for-note. And on the outfit’s latest album, The Beautiful Game, Dart solidifies himself as one of the most exciting young players to emerge, thanks to his tasteful chops, funky grooves, rapid finger work, and unbelievable pocket.
An incredible live Vulfpeck cover of Stevie Wonder's Boogie On Reggae Woman (with Talk Box)
@shuke
Vulfpeck is a North American funk group founded in 2011. The band has released four EPs, four albums, and a silent album on Spotify titled Sleepify – royalties from which funded the band's admission-free tour in 2014. The band's most recent album, Hill Climber, was released in December 2018.
The band members attended University of Michigan's music school. They first came together as a rhythm section for a performance at the Duderstadt Center, a university facility that houses an arts library and other resources. After reading an interview with German producer Reinhold Mack, band founder Jack Stratton conceived of Vulfpeck as an imagined German version of the U.S. session musicians of the 1960s such as Funk Brothers, Wrecking Crew, and Muscle Shoals. The idea was to channel that era of the live rhythm section.
The band's founding members are Jack Stratton on keyboards, drums and guitar, Theo Katzman on guitar, drums and vocals, Woody Goss on keyboards, and Joe Dart on bass. Other musicians occasionally contribute such as Antwaun Stanley, Charles Jones, Joey Dosik, Christine Hucal, David T. Walker, Bernard Purdie, Blake Mills and Cory Wong.
"Dean Town" is a tribute to Jaco Pastorius' "Teen Town," featuring a wildly syncopated bass melody over a crazy funky disco drum groove.
The funky quartet assembled in an effort to pay homage to the great rhythm sections of the past and to create music with a groove-first focus for the masses. Thanks to their strong online presence and high-energy shows, they’ve accomplished all of that and more—so much so that when the band plays its song “Dean Town” live, it’s not unusual for the crowd to sing Dart’s difficult bass lines along with him note-for-note. And on the outfit’s latest album, The Beautiful Game, Dart solidifies himself as one of the most exciting young players to emerge, thanks to his tasteful chops, funky grooves, rapid finger work, and unbelievable pocket.
An incredible live Vulfpeck cover of Stevie Wonder's Boogie On Reggae Woman (with Talk Box)
@shuke
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
For those who are digging Vulfpeck, a couple of their members (Joe Dart-bass and Corey Wong-guitar) are doing a side project called The Fearless Flyers, And this #### is pretty ####### cool too.
Flyers Direct
Ace of Aces
Daddy, He Got a Cessna (with Chris Thile on electric mandolin)
Flyers Direct
Ace of Aces
Daddy, He Got a Cessna (with Chris Thile on electric mandolin)
![[scooter]](/data/avatars/m/22/22287.jpg?1659477690){kind=avatar}
[scooter]
Footballguy
Here is a young Eric Johnson performing an embryonic version of "Cliffs Of Dover" on Austin City Limits, 6 years before the studio version was released. It's amazing to see how the song evolved from bits and pieces into the masterpiece that it became.
Johnson was the featured guitarist on one of my favorite underrated (and nearly unknown) instrumental tracks -- "Lone Star" by bassist extraordinaire Stu Hamm.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#33. Third Stone From The Sun - Jimi Hendrix
"Third Stone from the Sun" (or "3rd Stone from the Sun") is a mostly instrumental composition by American musician Jimi Hendrix. It incorporates several musical approaches, including jazz and psychedelic rock, with brief spoken passages. The title reflects Hendrix's interest in science fiction and is a reference to Earth in its position as the third planet away from the sun in the solar system.
Hendrix developed elements of the piece prior to forming his group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The Experience recorded versions as early as December 1966, and, in 1967, it was included on their debut album Are You Experienced. Several artists have recorded renditions and others have adapted the guitar melody line for other songs.
In the summer of 1966, Hendrix relocated to New York City's Greenwich Village. There he explored a rock sound outside of the musical confines of the Harlem rhythm and blues scene. While performing with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames at the Cafe Wha?, Hendrix played elements or early versions of "Third Stone from the Sun". He continued to develop it after moving to England with new manager Chas Chandler. The two shared an interest in science fiction writing, including that of American author Philip Jose Farmer. Chandler recalled:
I had dozens of science fiction books at home ... The first one Jimi read was Earth Abides. It wasn't a Flash Gordon type, it's an end-of-the-world, new beginning, disaster-type story. He started reading through them all. That where 'Third Stone from the Sun' and 'Up from the Skies' came from.
Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray associates it with the "hazy cosmic jive straight out of the Sun Ra science fiction textbook." Hendrix chronicler Harry Shapiro suggests that his reference of a hen may have been inspired by "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens", a jump blues song by Louis Jordan. Jordan's song was one of the biggest hits of 1946 and was popular with rhythm and blues bands in Seattle, where Hendrix grew up and first performed.
"Third Stone from the Sun" (or "3rd Stone from the Sun") is a mostly instrumental composition by American musician Jimi Hendrix. It incorporates several musical approaches, including jazz and psychedelic rock, with brief spoken passages. The title reflects Hendrix's interest in science fiction and is a reference to Earth in its position as the third planet away from the sun in the solar system.
Hendrix developed elements of the piece prior to forming his group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The Experience recorded versions as early as December 1966, and, in 1967, it was included on their debut album Are You Experienced. Several artists have recorded renditions and others have adapted the guitar melody line for other songs.
In the summer of 1966, Hendrix relocated to New York City's Greenwich Village. There he explored a rock sound outside of the musical confines of the Harlem rhythm and blues scene. While performing with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames at the Cafe Wha?, Hendrix played elements or early versions of "Third Stone from the Sun". He continued to develop it after moving to England with new manager Chas Chandler. The two shared an interest in science fiction writing, including that of American author Philip Jose Farmer. Chandler recalled:
I had dozens of science fiction books at home ... The first one Jimi read was Earth Abides. It wasn't a Flash Gordon type, it's an end-of-the-world, new beginning, disaster-type story. He started reading through them all. That where 'Third Stone from the Sun' and 'Up from the Skies' came from.
Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray associates it with the "hazy cosmic jive straight out of the Sun Ra science fiction textbook." Hendrix chronicler Harry Shapiro suggests that his reference of a hen may have been inspired by "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens", a jump blues song by Louis Jordan. Jordan's song was one of the biggest hits of 1946 and was popular with rhythm and blues bands in Seattle, where Hendrix grew up and first performed.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#32. The Entertainer - Scott Joplin
"The Entertainer" is a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin. It was sold first as sheet music, and in the 1910s as piano rolls that would play on player pianos. The first recording was by blues and ragtime musicians, the Blue Boys in 1928, played on mandolin and guitar.
As one of the classics of ragtime, it returned to international prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s, when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached #3 on the Billboard pop chart and spent a week at #1 on the easy listening chart in 1974. The Sting was set in the 1930s, a full generation after the end of ragtime's mainstream popularity, thus giving the inaccurate impression that ragtime music was popular at that time.
The Recording Industry Association of America ranked it #10 on its "Songs of the Century" list.
Marvin Hamlisch lightly adapted and orchestrated Joplin's music for the 1973 film The Sting, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation on April 2, 1974. His version of "The Entertainer" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the American Top 40 music chart on May 18, 1974, prompting The New York Times to write, "the whole nation has begun to take notice." Thanks to the film and its score, Joplin's work became appreciated in both the popular and classical music worlds, becoming (in the words of music magazine Record World), the "classical phenomenon of the decade." In the United States, "The Entertainer" is one of many songs commonly played by ice cream trucks to attract attention.
"The Entertainer" is a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin. It was sold first as sheet music, and in the 1910s as piano rolls that would play on player pianos. The first recording was by blues and ragtime musicians, the Blue Boys in 1928, played on mandolin and guitar.
As one of the classics of ragtime, it returned to international prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s, when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached #3 on the Billboard pop chart and spent a week at #1 on the easy listening chart in 1974. The Sting was set in the 1930s, a full generation after the end of ragtime's mainstream popularity, thus giving the inaccurate impression that ragtime music was popular at that time.
The Recording Industry Association of America ranked it #10 on its "Songs of the Century" list.
Marvin Hamlisch lightly adapted and orchestrated Joplin's music for the 1973 film The Sting, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation on April 2, 1974. His version of "The Entertainer" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the American Top 40 music chart on May 18, 1974, prompting The New York Times to write, "the whole nation has begun to take notice." Thanks to the film and its score, Joplin's work became appreciated in both the popular and classical music worlds, becoming (in the words of music magazine Record World), the "classical phenomenon of the decade." In the United States, "The Entertainer" is one of many songs commonly played by ice cream trucks to attract attention.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
Really nice selections since I have been busy.
You nailed some of my very favs with Link and Jimi - plus, the SVR attachment was great as well.
As a huge Peter Sellers fan, the Mancini piece is pure gold for me.
You nailed some of my very favs with Link and Jimi - plus, the SVR attachment was great as well.
As a huge Peter Sellers fan, the Mancini piece is pure gold for me.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas was standard viewing when I was in college.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
YES!
That is my 3rd fav PS movie.
Dr. Strangelove is #2
And, Being There is #1.
However, I will never argue about the order of his movies, as I have switched my order before, and it would not surprise me if I did again.
krista4
Footballguy
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
I have never seen that.
Perhaps the only PS movie I skipped.
Thus, I cannot say anything about it, other than what I have heard about the book.
krista4
Footballguy
Ah, great movie. Great book. He's not the lead (James Mason is), so I thought that might be why it wasn't on your list. His role in the movie is a huge expansion of the character's role in the book, which is great since Sellers was amazing. I'm with you on Being There as my favorite.
Man of Constant Sorrow
Footballguy
I actually first saw Being There when it came out - '79.
I was only 11, and I wanted another Pink Panther. I did not understand Being There at all, but I loved the music.
Finally, and I don't know when, I saw it again. And, this time I understood. WHOAH!
To me, it is like Forrest Gump - way b4 Gump - and a whole lot better.
The final scene of the movie, is perhaps my all time fav movie ending.
I am very glad that you are a fan too.
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#31. The Hustle - Van McCoy
"The Hustle" is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK. It would eventually sell over one million copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.
While in New York City to make an album, McCoy composed the song after his music partner, Charles Kipps, watched patrons do a dance known as "the Hustle" in the nightclub Adam's Apple. The sessions were done at New York's Media Sound studio with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and John Tropea, and orchestra leader Gene Orloff. Producer Hugo Peretti contracted piccolo player Phil Bodner to play the lead melody.
During the summer of 1975, "The Hustle" became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
According to producers Hugo & Luigi who owned the Avco record label that originally released "The Hustle", McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979 to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco's UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12" disco single release. The new version, clocking in at just under 6-and-a-half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a "little" Moog synthesizer. It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by "The Mix Masters", identity unknown.
"The Hustle" is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK. It would eventually sell over one million copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.
While in New York City to make an album, McCoy composed the song after his music partner, Charles Kipps, watched patrons do a dance known as "the Hustle" in the nightclub Adam's Apple. The sessions were done at New York's Media Sound studio with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and John Tropea, and orchestra leader Gene Orloff. Producer Hugo Peretti contracted piccolo player Phil Bodner to play the lead melody.
During the summer of 1975, "The Hustle" became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
According to producers Hugo & Luigi who owned the Avco record label that originally released "The Hustle", McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979 to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco's UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12" disco single release. The new version, clocking in at just under 6-and-a-half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a "little" Moog synthesizer. It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by "The Mix Masters", identity unknown.
zamboni
Footballguy
I was only in elementary school when "The Hustle" came out, but growing up in the NYC area, it was everywhere. Being a member of the Kiss Army, I was mandated to hate this tune and all the other disco tunes like it, but years later I now enjoy it quite a bit - very catchy.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#30. Flight of the Bumblebee - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. Its composition is intended to musically evoke the seemingly chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of a bumblebee. Despite the piece's being a rather incidental part of the opera, it is today one of the more familiar classical works because of its frequent use in popular culture.
The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich (the Tsar's son) into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father (who does not know that he is alive). Although in the opera the Swan-Bird sings during the first part of the "Flight", her vocal line is melodically uninvolved and easily omitted; this feature, combined with the fact that the number decisively closes the scene, made easy extraction as an orchestral concerto piece possible.
"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. Its composition is intended to musically evoke the seemingly chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of a bumblebee. Despite the piece's being a rather incidental part of the opera, it is today one of the more familiar classical works because of its frequent use in popular culture.
The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich (the Tsar's son) into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father (who does not know that he is alive). Although in the opera the Swan-Bird sings during the first part of the "Flight", her vocal line is melodically uninvolved and easily omitted; this feature, combined with the fact that the number decisively closes the scene, made easy extraction as an orchestral concerto piece possible.
[scooter]
Footballguy
What's your threshold for the maximum number of words allowed before you no longer consider a song to be an instrumental?
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
I mentioned in the OP that some will have words. And most of those words will simply be the title of the song. I put The Hustle in that category.What's your threshold for the maximum number of words allowed before you no longer consider a song to be an instrumental?
zamboni
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
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Rove!
Footballguy
Strange beautiful grass of green,
With your majestic silver seas
Your mysterious mountains I wish to see closer
May I land my kinky machine?
Although your world wonders me,
With your majestic and superior cackling hen
Your people I do not understand,
So to you I shall put an end
And you'll never hear surf music again
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Tom Skerritt
Footballguy
#29. A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy
"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. The "Fifth" in the song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from which the song was adapted.
Released as a single by Private Stock Records in 1976, the song debuted at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbed to number 1 within 19 weeks, remaining there for one week. In 1977, it was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the best-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The song is one of Murphy's few Top 40 hits, and is considered one of the most popular pieces of music from the disco era.
Following its release, "A Fifth of Beethoven" was a hit, starting out at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually reaching number 1 within 19 weeks, where it stayed for one week. The single sold two million copies, while the album sold about 750,000 copies. The second single, a rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" titled "Flight '76", was less successful, reaching only number 44 on the Hot 100.
The song was featured in the video games LittleBigPlanet 2, Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 and DJ Hero 2 (mixed with "Welcome to Jamrock") and the movies Mystery Men, Semi-Pro, The Stepford Wives, and American Made. It was featured in the 2006 Family Guy episode "Hell Comes to Quahog", where at the roller rink scene, Peter Griffin and his friends dance to the song. This is a tongue-in-cheek gag, as Murphy is also one of the composers for Family Guy] It was also featured in the American Dad! episode "Wheels & the Legman and the Case of Grandpa's Key". It also served as the background music in a disco club scene in the fourth season episode "Pieces of a Broken Mirror" of the TV series Gotham.
Robin Thicke's 2002 song "When I Get You Alone" and A+'s 1999 song "Enjoy Yourself" both sample "A Fifth of Beethoven". A snippet of "A Fifth of Beethoven" can be heard during Chicago Bulls games, whenever the opposing team loses possession of the ball.
"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. The "Fifth" in the song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from which the song was adapted.
Released as a single by Private Stock Records in 1976, the song debuted at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbed to number 1 within 19 weeks, remaining there for one week. In 1977, it was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the best-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The song is one of Murphy's few Top 40 hits, and is considered one of the most popular pieces of music from the disco era.
Following its release, "A Fifth of Beethoven" was a hit, starting out at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually reaching number 1 within 19 weeks, where it stayed for one week. The single sold two million copies, while the album sold about 750,000 copies. The second single, a rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" titled "Flight '76", was less successful, reaching only number 44 on the Hot 100.
The song was featured in the video games LittleBigPlanet 2, Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 and DJ Hero 2 (mixed with "Welcome to Jamrock") and the movies Mystery Men, Semi-Pro, The Stepford Wives, and American Made. It was featured in the 2006 Family Guy episode "Hell Comes to Quahog", where at the roller rink scene, Peter Griffin and his friends dance to the song. This is a tongue-in-cheek gag, as Murphy is also one of the composers for Family Guy] It was also featured in the American Dad! episode "Wheels & the Legman and the Case of Grandpa's Key". It also served as the background music in a disco club scene in the fourth season episode "Pieces of a Broken Mirror" of the TV series Gotham.
Robin Thicke's 2002 song "When I Get You Alone" and A+'s 1999 song "Enjoy Yourself" both sample "A Fifth of Beethoven". A snippet of "A Fifth of Beethoven" can be heard during Chicago Bulls games, whenever the opposing team loses possession of the ball.
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