Instrumentals that were hit singles

I forgot about this one. I love songs that build up. I epecially like where it goes full ragtime.

 

Ah it WAS mentioned!
Mea Culpa!

 

This will make a nice compilation cd, thanks for the idea!

 

Hide Away - Freddie King

 

There's still quite a few that haven't been mentioned just from the 60s. Some of the best:

"Harlem Nocturne" by The Viscounts



"Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline) - Raymond Lefevre and His Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgi-2i4ukNE

"Image (Pt. 1) - Hank Levine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGcDQZSRHic

 

Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White a.k.a. Cerezo Rosa; Patricia - Perez Prado

 

Let There Be Drums - Sandy Nelson

 

Here's a list of every #1 instrumental single on the Billboard singles chart since 1950 (Best Sellers and Hot 100 charts), though I might have missed a couple:

"The Third Man Theme," Anton Karas
"Blue Tango," Leroy Anderson
"Delicado," Percy Faith
"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," Perez Prado
"Autumn Leaves," Roger Williams
"Lisbon Antigua," Nelson Riddle
"The Poor People of Paris," Les Baxter (has some la-la-la vocals)
"Moonglow and Theme from 'Picnic'," Morris Stoloff
"Tequila," The Champs (except for the title, which is said three times)
"Patricia," Perez Prado
"The Happy Organ," Dave "Baby" Cortez
"Sleep Walk," Santo & Johnny
"The Theme from 'A Summer Place'," Percy Faith
"Wonderland by Night," Bert Kaempfert (except for a couple of "Wah" sounds)
"Calcutta," Lawrence Welk
"Stranger on the Shore," Mr. Acker Bilk
"The Stripper," David Rose
"Telstar," The Tornadoes (some la-la vocals near the end)
"Love Is Blue," Paul Mauriat
"Grazing in the Grass," Hugh Masekela
"Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet," Henry Mancini
"Frankenstein," Edgar Winter Group
"Love's Theme," Love Unlimited Orchestra
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)," MFSB (except at the very end)
"Pick Up the Pieces," Average White Band (except for the title, which is repeated a few times)
"The Hustle," Van McCoy (except for the occasional repeat of "Do it... Do the hustle")
"Fly, Robin, Fly," Silver Convention (might as well be, as its only lyrics are "Fly robin fly/Up up to the sky")
"Theme from S.W.A.T.," Rhythm Heritage
"A Fifth of Beethoven," Walter Murphy
"Gonna Fly Now (Theme from 'Rocky')," Bill Conti (it does have three short verses, but some consider it an instrumental, so here it is)
"Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band," Meco
"Rise," Herb Alpert
"Chariots of Fire - Titles," Vangelis
"Miami Vice Theme,' Jan Hammer

 

Miami Vice ... the last #1 instrumental.

 

Was it a hit single? I remember Sounds Orchestral having a big hit with their cover.

 

Scorpio by Dennis Coffey was great, but seems to always get overlooked and seems to stay obscure.
No Matter What Shape Your Stomachs In by The T-Bones was used in an alka selzer commercial in the 60s... great song
Space Invader, the only song by the pop group the Pretenders I like enough to have a copy of.

Theme From Midnight Cowboy by Ferante and Teisher is another good one.


The T Bones had a hit in the early 70s after changing their name to Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds.

 

Shut yo mouth!

My favorite instrumental of the 1960s might be "Soul Coaxing":



Ah, and just noted Damiano above got this song as well.

 

With a follow up by Herb Alpert's "Flamingo":



There's a lot of good ones from that era. "Casino Royale" is another favorite of mine -- you can't talk about instrumental hits without including Bacharach in there somewhere.

I count at least 37 #1 instrumental hits from 1950 to the present, depending on how you count the 2-sided hit singles:

5/6/1950 | Anton Karas - "The Third Man Theme" [London 45-30005]
5/6/1950 | Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians - "The Third Man Theme" [Decca 24839]
5/17/1952 | Leroy Anderson & His 'Pops' Concert Orchestra - "Blue Tango" [Decca 9-27875]
7/5/1952 | Percy Faith & His Orchestra - "Delicado" [Columbia 4-39708]
4/30/1955 | Perez Prado & His Orchestra - "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" [RCA Victor 47-5965]
5/14/1955 | Les Baxter & His Orchestra - "Medic" [Capitol F-3055]
5/14/1955 | Les Baxter & His Orchestra and Chorus - "Unchained Melody" [Capitol F-3055]
10/29/1955 | Roger Williams - "Autumn Leaves" [Kapp 116]
2/25/1956 | Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra - "Lisbon Antigua" [Capitol 3287]
3/17/1956 | Les Baxter with His Chorus & Orchestra - "The Poor People of Paris (Jean's Song)" [Capitol 3336]
6/2/1956 | Morris Stoloff & His Orchestra - "Moonglow and Theme from 'Picnic'" [Decca 29888]
3/17/1958 | The Champs - "Tequila" [Challenge 1016]
7/28/1958 | Perez Prado & His Orchestra - "Patricia" [RCA Victor 47-7245]
5/11/1959 | Dave 'Baby' Cortez - "The Happy Organ" [Clock 1009]
9/21/1959 | Santo & Johnny - "Sleep Walk" [Canadian-Amer. 103]
2/22/1960 | Percy Faith & His Orchestra - "The Theme from 'A Summer Place'" [Columbia 41490]
1/9/1961 | Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra - "Wonderland by Night" [Decca 31141]
2/13/1961 | Lawrence Welk & His Orchestra - "Calcutta" [Dot 16161]
5/26/1962 | Mr. Acker Bilk - "Stranger On the Shore" [Atco 6217]
7/7/1962 | David Rose & His Orchestra - "The Stripper" [MGM 13064]
12/22/1962 | The Tornadoes - "Telstar" [London 9561]
2/10/1968 | Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra - "Love Is Blue (L' Amour Est Bleu)" [Philips 40495]
7/20/1968 | Hugh Masekela - "Grazing in the Grass" [Uni 55066]
6/28/1969 | Henry Mancini & His Orchestra - "Love Theme from 'Romeo & Juliet'" [RCA Victor 0131]
5/26/1973 | The Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein" [Epic 10967]
2/9/1974 | The Love Unlimited Orchestra - "Love's Theme" [20th Fox 2069]
4/20/1974 | MFSB featuring The Three Degrees - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" [Phil. Int'l. 3540]
11/9/1974 | Bachman-Turner Overdrive - "Free Wheelin'" [Mercury 73622]
2/22/1975 | The Average White Band - "Pick Up the Pieces" [Atlantic 3229]
7/26/1975 | Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - "The Hustle" [Avco 4653]
2/28/1976 | Rhythm Heritage - "Theme from 'S.W.A.T.'" [ABC 12135]
10/9/1976 | Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band - "A Fifth of Beethoven" [Private Stock 45073]
7/2/1977 | Bill Conti & His Orchestra - "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from 'Rocky')" [UA 940]
10/1/1977 | Meco - "Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band" [Millennium 604]
10/20/1979 | Herb Alpert - "Rise" [A&M 2151]
5/8/1982 | Vangelis - "Chariots of Fire (Main Title)" [Polydor 2189]
11/9/1985 | Jan Hammer - "Miami Vice Theme" [MCA 52666]

 

We called them The Tornados over here!

 

Points of order:

Does Arthur Lyman's #4 – Yellow Bird count if the Mills Bros, et al went first?

Not sure about hit but:

Weather Report's – Birdland, bumped by the Manhattan Transfer cover?

(Chris) This Is Not America – Pat Metheny instrumental and Bowie vocal (on the same soundtrack yet)

Soul Sacrifice definitely. Samba Pa Ti and Treat probably. Europa maybe?

 

These were great sets, with some nice, quirky choices:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/rock-instrumental-classics-vols-1-5-mw0000175139

 

I can't find information indicating that it got on the charts but there are lots of claims online that it was popular and it did win the Grammy that year for best original jazz composition... I think you're right though that the cover by Sounds Orchestral did register higher on the charts.

 

"Shaft" is not an instrumental.

 

Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
Rock & Roll Jelly - Stanley Clarke
Jessica - Allman Brothers Band
Route 101 - Herb Alpert
Theme from Tommy - Assembled Multitude

 

One of my favorite 45s when I was a kid was The Green Hornet Theme performed by Al Hirt. I just checked wiki and it didn't even crack the top 100.
(I'm still going to add it to my playlist )

 

None. The Friends Of Distinction's version had the vocals.

 

Rhinoceros- Apricot Brandy, may have broken the Top 40, got a lot of airplay on Baltimore Radio.

 

If Allbros - Jessica was a "hit," we should toss Airplane's - Embryonic Journey into the hat too. Yay.

 

IIRC, Eroc's "Wolkenreise" was a hit over here in Germany.

 

The real instrumental version of "This is not America" can be found on the 12" of the same name.