The music
I have been curious for a long time why instrumentals dont figure in todays popular music,but I cant figure out why.
shareBecause today's demographic would much rather listen to hostile vitriolic lyrics against a backdrop of tuneless rhythms.
I don't know. that was the first awful thing I thought of. I'm too old to pay attention to current music -- my "ear" having lost interest after 1974 or
so. ;-)
Thats what I was thinking....sad huh?
shareIt IS sad. I grew up in the 60's and came of music age when the Beatles (their anniversary of their appearance on Ed Sullivan is Feb 9th) made it to the U.S. So, growing up to the big bands/Frank Sinatra, et al, as a youngster, then rock 'n' roll and "graduating" (i use that loosely) to other music -- it was all about the lyrics (Crosby Stills Nash/Young; etc.) and the music combined. Now, what do the kids have? oh well.
shareI'm just trying to think of the last time an instrumental was a hit record, a long time ago!.....The kids now have some squeaky voice teen girl singing banal lyrics over the same old tuneless electronic backing track. Not only that,where is a kid going to get the inspiration to learn to play the trombone or any other horn instrument.
share? Love is Blue? Paul Mauriat?
shareI was thinking maybe Horst Jankowski A Walk in the black forest,or was that earlier?
shareI don't know -- Love is Blue was 1968 -- and what's so funny is, last night (during the superbowl) I was also listening to CBS-FM here in ny -- they were playing the top 25 from February 1968 -- and what was number 1? Love is Blue!
we should look up the horst song.
Then there's 'Classical Gas' but not sure of the year
shareGood old Wikipedia has an article, "Instrumental" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental), which includes a list of Number 1 instrumental hits. The latest one that wasn't a TV or movie theme seems to have been "Rise," by Herb Alpert, in 1979.
It kind of depends on how "pure" you want to be about instrumentals. I'd thought of "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" by MFSB in 1974, but it has some vocals at the beginning and during the fadeout.
Ah, remember the days of:
"Grazing in the Grass" Hugh Masekela & Company
"Chameleon" Herbie Hancock-Headhubters
"Soulful Strut" Young-Holt Unlimited
"The In Crowd" Ramsey Lewis Trio
"Theme From 'A Summer Place'" Percy Faith Orchestra
"Take Five" Dave Brubeck Quartet
"Lara's Theme (Theme From 'Doctor Zhivago')" Ray Coniff Orchestra
"Outa-Space" Billy Preston
"Scorpio" Dennis Coffey
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
I think the last big band hit was So Rare by Jimmy Dorsey - and I would add Like Young by Andre Previn to the list. Music changes - Rock Around the Clock was the beginning of a revolution in music - and early rock in my opinion was powerful (Jerry Lee Lewis Chuck Berry) but there has been a collapse in musical taste since the 50's (Fabian Tab Hunter) there was a revival by the beatles
and the occasional great composition (Billy Joel Stevie Wonder to name two) but Now ----I can't listen to it and technically it isn't even music ( to be music it must have a sustained melody; harmony and rhythm)The question - why this change (which was inevitable) had to be so ugly is beyond me