What's Your Favorite Pop Instrumental(s)?

[vchimpanzee]

So Rare - Jimmy Dorsey

Dial Global plays this, and it has Ray Conniff-style vocals, actually.

Repsonding to another post, I don't want anything to do with Enya. I'm relieved I haven't heard her on Dial Global lately.

 

[Silkie]

Here is a beautiful rendition of "More", with many other tributes to those who have gone before.

http://www.ezgeta.com/more.html

 

[Silkie]

No Matter What Shape Your Stomach Is In - T Bones

 

[elchupacabras]

Anything by Ray Coniff. He was the absolute best!

On a more contemporary vein:

1) Smiles and Smiles to Go - Larry Carlton
2) Last Train Home - Pat Metheny

 

[bub]

Hang 'em High by Booker T and the MG's.

 

[ChrisInMI]

I don't recall seeing this one mentioned yet, but my all time favorite has to be "Summer Samba (So Nice)" by Walter Wanderley, from 1966. I know it's in the Dial Global library, and every time I hear it it takes me back to when I was a child listening to Detroit's beautiful music station WJOI 97.1 FM (now WXYT-FM). The bossa nova sound has a mystery and sultriness to it that is hard to put into words. Connie Francis and Vikki Carr both did vocal versions which made the BB Easy Listening chart but didn't even "bubble under" the Hot 100, while Wanderley reached #26 pop.

I've always loved Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme" and Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" for the same reasons. And Frank Mills' "Music Box Dancer."

Speaking of Frank Mills, anyone remember his follow-up to "Music Box Dancer" called "Peter Piper"? It peaked at, I believe, #46 on the Hot 100 in 1979. Really interesting pipe-organ part in that one. The only station I've ever heard play it was CFCO in Chatham, Ontario (Mills is Canadian), before they dropped their Classic Gold format for country.

 

[Bongwater]

I don't recall seeing this one mentioned yet, but my all time favorite has to be "Summer Samba (So Nice)" by Walter Wanderley, from 1966. I know it's in the Dial Global library, and every time I hear it it takes me back to when I was a child listening to Detroit's beautiful music station WJOI 97.1 FM (now WXYT-FM). The bossa nova sound has a mystery and sultriness to it that is hard to put into words. Connie Francis and Vikki Carr both did vocal versions which made the BB Easy Listening chart but didn't even "bubble under" the Hot 100, while Wanderley reached #26 pop.

I've always loved Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme" and Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" for the same reasons. And Frank Mills' "Music Box Dancer."

Speaking of Frank Mills, anyone remember his follow-up to "Music Box Dancer" called "Peter Piper"? It peaked at, I believe, #46 on the Hot 100 in 1979. Really interesting pipe-organ part in that one. The only station I've ever heard play it was CFCO in Chatham, Ontario (Mills is Canadian), before they dropped their Classic Gold format for country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbHkgWD3gk4

That Walter Wanderley tune conjures up EVERYTHING about '60's B/EZ to me

 

[elchupacabras]

I don't recall seeing this one mentioned yet, but my all time favorite has to be "Summer Samba (So Nice)" by Walter Wanderley, from 1966. I know it's in the Dial Global library, and every time I hear it it takes me back to when I was a child listening to Detroit's beautiful music station WJOI 97.1 FM (now WXYT-FM). The bossa nova sound has a mystery and sultriness to it that is hard to put into words. Connie Francis and Vikki Carr both did vocal versions which made the BB Easy Listening chart but didn't even "bubble under" the Hot 100, while Wanderley reached #26 pop.

I've always loved Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme" and Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" for the same reasons. And Frank Mills' "Music Box Dancer."

Speaking of Frank Mills, anyone remember his follow-up to "Music Box Dancer" called "Peter Piper"? It peaked at, I believe, #46 on the Hot 100 in 1979. Really interesting pipe-organ part in that one. The only station I've ever heard play it was CFCO in Chatham, Ontario (Mills is Canadian), before they dropped their Classic Gold format for country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbHkgWD3gk4

That Walter Wanderley tune conjures up EVERYTHING about '60's B/EZ to me

Ditto. Add any Getz/Jobim tune in there and you could (can) really chill! Love the Brazilian sound!

 

[MikefromDelaware]

A Swingin' Safari"-Bert Kaempfert (Bert needs a shout out here. Can you listen to this song and NOT think of the 60's TV game show, "Concentration"?)

One minor correction here, A Swingin' Safari was the theme song for "The Match Game" with Gene Rayburn. Still it was a great song.

Another great pop instrumental was Classical Gas - Mason Williams
Also the theme song for the original Star Trek.
Another one was Herb Alpert & TJ Brass with Lollipops and Roses (I believe the title was), also his version of Flamingo.

 

[Silkie]

"One minor correction here, A Swingin' Safari was the theme song for "The Match Game" with Gene Rayburn. Still it was a great song."

But did you ever put A Swingin' Safari on a turntable alongside The Lion Sleeps Tonight on another turntable and listen to them simultaneously? Same melody, same rhythm, same time.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

The same chord pattern and beat are probably used, just a different arrangement of the melody line. You can only copyright the melody, not the arrangement of chords. So many songs have the same chords possibly for the entire song, but more often for 8 bars and then the chords are different for the bridge.

Another song that sounds even more like the other is Elvis's "Love Me Tender". It actually uses the same notes as an old folk song "Aura Lee" that many of us sang in school as kids. My guess with this song is that any copyrights on Aura Lee had expired and it is now in the Public Domain like many of the old hymns sung in churches all around the world. Meaning Elvis could take that song and esentially do a parody of it using his words and pay no royalties.

 

[Bongwater]

The same chord pattern and beat are probably used, just a different arrangement of the melody line. You can only copyright the melody, not the arrangement of chords. So many songs have the same chords possibly for the entire song, but more often for 8 bars and then the chords are different for the bridge.

The same could be said for ALL music really, varying only really slightly. (Except for some songs, hip-hop/rap music mostly. You probably remember the old classical record TV ad that mentioned a classical tune was the inspiration for a pop song like.....

Aww hell, I can't describe it. Here's the YouTube video on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBhGjo9TuAc

Another song that sounds even more like the other is Elvis's "Love Me Tender". It actually uses the same notes as an old folk song "Aura Lee" that many of us sang in school as kids. My guess with this song is that any copyrights on Aura Lee had expired and it is now in the Public Domain like many of the old hymns sung in churches all around the world. Meaning Elvis could take that song and esentially do a parody of it using his words and pay no royalties.

That's how it is. "Weird" Al Yankovic and Bob Rivers (of KZOK-FM Seattle) have made successful careers out of that (in spite of the usual pathetic political attempts made by everybody from Rush Limbaugh to Air America.) Everything is open pretty much to parody. Or totally changed into something else (Dr. Demento anyone?)

My belief is (and as a musician myself) is we are ALL influenced by all kinds of music. Even the most dedicated classical composer of today cannot avoid rock/jazz/country and R&B as influences and in the end, it's some AMAZING and AWESOME music.

Classical music to me is an aural illustration of the time it was composed. When you take it in a broader sense. VIRTUALLY everything can count as "Classical" music. But what makes pre-20th century Classical so appealing is it's not how SMART. Or WEALTHY you are. My biggest point in TRUE Classical music is whether you can see the forest for the trees. It's actually the same in rock n' roll. But much more critical in Classical music.

 

[CKLW fan]

...and the hit[instrumentals]s just keep on comin'!

I'll second these two:
The Assembled Multitude - Overture From "Tommy" [fantastic energy]
Raymond Lefevre - Soal Coaxing [great intro]

And add:
Edgar Winter Group - Frankenstein
Herb Alpert - Rise
Andre Gagnon - Wow [some nifty guitar work for a Disco/Pop single; cancon]
Bar-Kays - Soul Finger [*the* most partying instrumental I have *ever* heard...outta the park!]
Meco - Star Wars Medley [the 15:00 version is a surprisingly wonderful piece of work!]
Allman Brothers Band - Jessica [this song put the "class" in classic rock]
Da Hool - Meet Her At The Love Parade [great melody; probably considered "pop" in Europe]
Almost any version of "Misirlou"
Floyd Cramer - Theme From "Dallas"

Great thread eveybody!

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Thanks Bongwater for the trip down memory lane. I used to really enjoy that commerical. I enjoyed seeing it again, thanks !

Yes, many pop songs came from the classics. Benny Goodman's theme song "Let's Dance" came from Weber's "Invitation to Dance". Frankie Carle and his Orchestra did a pop version of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor in the late 1930's. Frankie Carle was quite a good pianist even though he led a supperclub or "sweet" swing band and he did a great job on that tune.

The biggest difference between classically trained musicians and jazz / rock musicians is the classically trained play exactly whats written, no ad libbing or making their own arrangement of the piece; where as swing/jazz/rock musicians do ad lib make their own version (arrangement) of a particular song. Many swing bands played the "St. Louis Blues", but each did it their own way so even though it was the same song, the styles, tempo, soloists ad libs, etc were all unique to that arrangement. Glenn Miller even made a march out of it while leading his Army/AirForce Band.

Getting us back to the original idea of this thread;

CKLW fan, your post reminded me of another great instrumental, The Assembled Multitude's arrangement or version of the "Overture to Jesus Christ Superstar". The first time I heard that was on NBC radio's Monitor and I had a hard time finding the record in any stores. A few years later, I was working part time at the then WBBX-AM 1380 Portsmouth, NH, (ABC sportscaster Curt Goudy owned it - did get to meet him) and they had it, I recorded it onto reel to reel (recorded my show) and in later years transferred it to a cassette, and have enjoyed hearing even to this day on a cassette.

Another great instrumental was "Soulful Strut" by Young Holt Unlimited.

 

[Paige Turner]

Adding to the discussion of two different songs really being the same song...

A few years ago I picked up a Percy Faith CD of one of his albums from the early '60s. It contained an instrumental version of a song I had definitely heard before. The title was "Julie" and it didn't take me long to realize it was the same song as Percy Faith's "Christmas Is."

 

[vchimpanzee]

One minor correction here, A Swingin' Safari was the theme song for "The Match Game" with Gene Rayburn. Still it was a great song.

I don't think Gene Rayburn was the host at that time. I remember him having another theme song.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I only watched started watching The Match Game while Gene Rayburn was host ( I'm not into TV game shows). I do remember hearing A Swingin' Safari as the theme. I tuned in to watch the Match Game for the first time because, Rayburn was also on NBC Radio 's "Monitor" and I wanted to see what he actually looked like. You know how it is, the radio voice never looks like what we picture. Gene Rayburn did a great job on Monitor and on the Match Game. He was a very personable on air person. But at least during the time I watched the show, A Swingin' Safari was the theme song.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I only watched started watching The Match Game while Gene Rayburn was host ( I'm not into TV game shows). I do remember hearing A Swingin' Safari as the theme. I tuned in to watch the Match Game for the first time because, Rayburn was also on NBC Radio 's "Monitor" and I wanted to see what he actually looked like. You know how it is, the radio voice never looks like what we picture. Gene Rayburn did a great job on Monitor and on the Match Game. He was a very personable on air person. But at least during the time I watched the show, A Swingin' Safari was the theme song.

Did they have all the bawdy jokes from Brett Somers, fannie Flagg and charles Nelson Reilly at that time?

The theme I remember started with a rock-style introduction with a guiltar that seemed to say "Wow". That's wehn they introduced the celebrities, then there was a synthsized brass section. Hardly the sort of thing that I could imagine being a hit song.

This morning for "Big Bands Remembered" on Dial Global standards, Jeff Rollins did "Hooked on Swing". It starts with "In the Mood" and I think ends with that too. "String of Pearls" is in there somewhere, and I mention that because Jeff played the original last week. It didnt sound as good as I remember.

I also heard "Petite Fleur" this morning.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Hooked on Swing". It starts with "In the Mood" and I think ends with that too. "String of Pearls" is in there somewhere, and I mention that because Jeff played the original last week. It didnt sound as good as I remember.

Wikipedia says:
The instrumental was a medley of swing jazz hits - "In the Mood", "Cherokee", "American Patrol", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Don't Be That Way", "Little Brown Jug", "Opus #1", "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart", and "String of Pearls".

 

[elchupacabras]

"Hooked on Swing". It starts with "In the Mood" and I think ends with that too. "String of Pearls" is in there somewhere, and I mention that because Jeff played the original last week. It didnt sound as good as I remember.

Wikipedia says:
The instrumental was a medley of swing jazz hits - "In the Mood", "Cherokee", "American Patrol", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Don't Be That Way", "Little Brown Jug", "Opus #1", "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart", and "String of Pearls".

I was a big fan of the Elgart Brothers and their heavy trombone/reed lead sound. Unfortunately, "Hooked On Swing" came at the end of of the disco era and was a massively commercial track. Think it came out in 1981.