Comments

8 responses to “Saturday Night at the Oldies: Memorable Instrumentals from the ’60s.”

1. 

   Mark

   March 7, 2009

   Albert’s Shuffle has got to be the best electric blues ever recorded, on an otherwise throwaway record: Super Sessions.
   Thanks for the memories.

   Reply
2. 

   ocham

   March 8, 2009

   Bill thanks for posting the link to Embryonic Journey by the Airplane. It’s rare to get extensive footage of the people in the crowd. And the piece itself was lovely. I recently got my grandfather’s handsome old Washburn re-strung and I will see if I can get back to the fingerpicking.

   Reply
3. 

   Bill Vallicella

   March 8, 2009

   Right, Mark, it was from “Super Sessions.”
   O,
   I was looking for Lonnie Mack’s “Memphis” which also features some good guitar-playing but couldn’t find it.

   Reply
4. 

   Malcolm Pollack

   March 8, 2009

   Let’s not forget “Classical Gas”, by Mason Williams, and the related “Anji”, made famous by Simon and Garfunkel.

   Reply
5. 

   Malcolm Pollack

   March 8, 2009

   Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s also give a nod to “Java”, by Al Hirt, and “Love is Blue”, by Paul Mauriat, huge hits both.

   Reply
6. 

   Malcolm Pollack

   March 8, 2009

   … and a string of hits by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, of course.

   Reply
7. 

   Bill Vallicella

   March 9, 2009

   Hi Malcolm,
   Those are all good choices. The Venture’s “Walk Don’t Run” also belongs on the list. I seem to recall a Lawrence Welkish Percy Faith arrangement, something about a summer place . . . .
   But are there any memorable instrumentals from the ’70s and beyond?
   Amazing how eclectic pop music was in the ’60s. All sorts of music charted high: C & W crossover stuff, R & B, jazz, geezer music, folk, folk rock, blues. . . . E.g., Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” cheek-by-jowl with Don Gibson’s “Sea of a Heartbreak,” etc.

   Reply
8. 

   Malcolm Pollack

   March 9, 2009

   There were some – there was “Frankenstein”, by Edgar Winter, for example. There were also a lot of disco near-instrumentals like “The Hustle”, which had occasional group vocal parts (e.g. “Do the Hustle!”). “Rock and Roll, Part 2”, by Gary Glitter was an instrumental save for some non-verbal chanting.
   I can’t recall any instrumental hits from the 90’s and beyond, though.

   Reply