The Oldies Music Board » What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

GrimsbyFan · January 27, 2025 10:42 am

Last edited by GrimsbyFan (January 27, 2025 10:43 am)

Taz · January 27, 2025 12:32 pm

Last edited by Taz (January 27, 2025 12:38 pm)

C.D.P. · January 27, 2025 1:34 pm

The Lonely One - Duane Eddy
40 Miles of Bad Road - Duane Eddy
Bonnie Came Back - Duane Eddy
Theme From Dixie - Duane Eddy
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Boots Randolph
I Fall to Pieces - Boots Randolph
You Can't Always Get What You Want - unknown artist, from funeral scene in The Big Chill
Only You - Franck Pourcel's French Fiddles

Taz · January 27, 2025 3:19 pm

Last edited by Taz (January 27, 2025 4:52 pm)

Little Rich · January 27, 2025 5:30 pm

Classical Gas - Mason Williams
Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat
Star Wars (Main Title - Album Version) - London Symphony Orchestra
Miami Vice Theme - Jan Hammer
Exodus - Ferrante & Teicher
Dueling Banjos - Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell
Gonna Fly Now - Theme from 'Rocky' - Bill Conti
Nadia's Theme from The Young and the Restless - Ray Conniff
TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) - MFSB and The Three Degrees
The Entertainer - Marvin Hamlisch

C.D.P. · January 27, 2025 5:32 pm

That's a heckuva all-time top ten Instrumentals list, Taz. (35 titles at last count). Do you intend to work on it to eventually conform and create a (max) top 10 report?

C.D.P.

Last edited by C.D.P. (January 27, 2025 5:33 pm)

memphis boy · January 27, 2025 6:48 pm

1. Route 66..........Nelson Riddle
2. The "In" Crowd.......Ramsey Lewis Trio
3. Green Onions........Booker T & The MGs
4. Washington Square....Village Stompers
5. Pink Panther......Henry Mancini
6. Maria Elena....Los Indios Tabajaras
7. A Swinging Safari....Billy Vaughn
8. Walk On The Wild side....Jimmy Smith and the Big Band
9. Pipeline......Chantays
10. Summer Samba.....Walter Wanderly

There's so many more to chose from

Taz · January 27, 2025 7:05 pm

C.D.P. wrote:
Do you intend to work on it to eventually conform and create a (max) top 10 report?

C.D.P.

conform? Whats that mean? I don't think I do that.

aflem · January 27, 2025 8:45 pm

I can't believe no one has mentioned one of the most famous of all - Wipeout by The Surfaris.

Here are some others, not in any real order, despite the numbers.

1) Cast Your Fate To The Wind - Sounds Orchestral

2) Soulful Strut - Young-Holt Unlimited

3) Love Is The Answer - Van McCoy

4) The Happy Organ - Dave "Baby" Cortez

5) Teen Beat - Sandy Nelson

6) Last Date - Floyd Cramer

7) Percolator (Twist) - Billy Joe & The Checkmates

8) No Matter What Shape Your Stomachs In - The T-Bones (from an Alka Seltzer commercial)

9) Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela

10) Time Is Tight - Booker T & The MGs

11) Outa-Space - Billy Preston

12) Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group

13) Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra

14) Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione

15) Rise - Herb Alpert

16) Hocus Pocus - Focus

Not to mention the Theme from The Rockford Files and Hill St. Blues, as well as the Theme from S.W.A.T.

Little Rich · January 28, 2025 8:17 pm

Thx aflem. Only having the Top 10 made the decision-making process difficult, at best, BUT you helped fill out several that I would have like to have added, including the three Theme songs.

Taz · January 28, 2025 9:12 pm

Little Rich wrote:
Thx aflem. Only having the Top 10 made the decision-making process difficult, at best, BUT you helped fill out several that I would have like to have added, including the three Theme songs.

I know the feeling. 5 on his list were on mine before I cut it down and I had Let There Be Drums by Sandy Nelson rather than Teen Beat.

Before I ripped everything to mp3, I had 2 of the towers below but taller. One side of one was all instrumental only CDs, mostly Bill Black Combo, Ace Cannon and Boots Randolph but Magic Organ, Jo Ann Castle, Lawrence Welk and Myron Floren were well represented too along with many, many others.

Last edited by Taz (January 28, 2025 11:07 pm)

Cary · January 29, 2025 7:18 am

1. Asia Minor-Kokomo
2. Comin’ In The Back Door-Baja Marimba Band
3. Because They’re Young-Duane Eddy
4. Hungry For Love-San Remo Golden Strings
5. Woodchopper’s Ball-Willie Mitchell
6. Walk, Don’t Run-Ventures
7. Sleep Walk-Santo & Johnny
8. Soft Summer Breeze-Eddie Heywood
9. The Big Heavy-Cozy Eggleston
10. Time-Dave Clark 5

RobN · January 29, 2025 1:11 pm

Here's mine:
1. Perfidia - The Ventures
2. Mexico - Bob Moore
3. Because They're Yount - Duane Eddy
4. The Magnificent Seven - Al Caiola
5. Tear Drop - Santo & Johnny
6. Rinky Dink - Dave 'Baby' Cortez
7. Topsy - Part II - Cozy Cole
8. Asia Minor - Kokomo
9. Time is Tight - Booker T. & the M.G.s
10. Wild Weekend - Rockin' Rebels
I originally thought it would be tough to find 10 instrumentals, but then I started listing them and found it really hard to limit the list to 10.

RobN · January 29, 2025 1:13 pm

Oops, at least one spelling error (#3)

StereoTom · January 29, 2025 6:19 pm

Wild Weekend by the Rockin' Rebels is my #1, and Gale Winds by the Egyptian Combo is my #2. I'm not sure what would follow after that, but I'm seeing a lot of other favorites getting listed by others. It would be really hard to pick my top 20 favorites, really.

Last edited by StereoTom (February 21, 2025 11:45 pm)

Jim Southern · January 30, 2025 1:36 pm

My fave instrumentals cover many styles and decades and I listen to them all the way through whenever they show up!
Theme from "Dying Young" -- Kenny G
Green Onions -- Booker T & MG's
Song For Anna -- Herb Ohta
I Cover The Waterfront -- Ray Conniff
Begin The Beguine -- Artie Shaw
Walk Don't Run -- Ventures
Pipeline -- Chantays
Jay-Dees Boogie Woogie -- Jimmy Dorsey Orch.
Greensleeves -- Mantovani
Hot Toddy -- Ralph Flanagan Orch.

aflem · January 31, 2025 9:19 am

Here's one history making instrumental that hasn't been mentioned here yet.

‘Rumble’: the reason why an instrumental song was banned from radio

Cloud9 · February 1, 2025 12:27 am

Wonderland By Night - Bert Kaempfert
Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Stranger On The Shore - Pete Fountain
Swingin Shepherd Blues - Moe Koffman
Last Date - Floyd Cramer

Cary mentioned "Comin' In The Back Door" by the Baja Marimba Band.. It was my sign-on instrumental when I worked for CHAK in the early 70s. I'd time it so that last note hit top of the hour news from the national network.

Last edited by Cloud9 (February 1, 2025 12:27 am)

memphis boy · February 1, 2025 9:37 am

aflem wrote:
Here's one history making instrumental that hasn't been mentioned here yet.

‘Rumble’: the reason why an instrumental song was banned from radio

One of my favs!!

GrimsbyFan · February 1, 2025 7:44 pm

Just heard this British instumental that I have never heard before. If I had, it might have made my top-ten list.

Scarlett O'Hara - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ePG1LWGIM

Taz · February 3, 2025 8:39 am

GrimsbyFan wrote:
Just heard this British instumental that I have never heard before. If I had, it might have made my top-ten list.

Scarlett O'Hara - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ePG1LWGIM

You were on my hate list for about two hours. The song sounded SO familiar but I’d never heard it before. Finally figure it out.

Taz · February 3, 2025 7:42 pm

Did everybody else get it or am I wrong in thinking there is at least a very strong similarity between;

Scarlett O'Hara - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ePG1LWGIM
posted by GrimsbyFan

and the Dallas theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i54iR-7j0nY
starting about 12 seconds in on each song?

aflem · February 4, 2025 11:05 pm

It wasn't such a bit hit in the U.S. (#41) but Hagood Hardy's "The Homecoming" made it to #14 on the Canadian charts in 1975 and went gold.

Lorne · February 5, 2025 8:24 am

Taz wrote:
Did everybody else get it or am I wrong in thinking there is at least a very strong similarity between;

Scarlett O'Hara - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ePG1LWGIM
posted by GrimsbyFan

and the Dallas theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i54iR-7j0nY
starting about 12 seconds in on each song?

I listened to Scarlett O'Hara and then the Dallas theme, which I knew but had forgotten. I wasn't really picking up on much similarity, but then decided to listen to Scarlett O'Hara again. This time, with me now being able to think of the Dallas theme as I listened to Scarlett O'Hara, I could hear what you were getting at.

And I can relate to you trying to figure out something like this. Over the years I've often had a new song, or one that's new to me, bring another to mind right away, even if I haven't heard the second song in many years. But if I don't make the connection fairly quickly, but keep hearing the new song because it's a hit, then I'll keep trying over and over but generally won't succeed. So I'm glad that in this case, you were able to eventually figure it out.

Lorne · February 8, 2025 9:40 am

Here's my list:
Soul Coaxing - Raymond Lefevre
That Happy Feeling - Bert Kaempfert
Time Is Tight - Booker T. and the MG's
Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat
Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson
Soul Finger - Bar-Kays *
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - Hugo Montenegro *
The "In" Crowd - Ramsey Lewis Trio
Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures
Truck Stop - Jerry Smith
* Considered to be instrumentals by Joel Whitburn despite their limited vocals, and although I like their vocals they would still make my list without them

Beverly Cardinals · February 12, 2025 8:59 pm

Strange one on the shore- Acker Bilk
The good, the bad and the ugly-Hugo Montanegro
Midnight in Moscow-Kenny Ball
Love is blue-Paul Mauriat

C.D.P. · February 13, 2025 12:14 pm

Beverly Cardinals wrote:
Strange one on the shore- Acker Bilk

GOOD ONE, BEV

c.d.p.

Scotty · February 14, 2025 3:08 pm

Time Is Tight - Booker T and MG's
Soul Coaxing - Raymond LeFerve
Theme From Endless Summer - Sandals
Telstar - Tornados
Pipeline - Chantays

Taz · February 16, 2025 6:55 pm

I see Paul Mauriat’s Love is Blue got mentioned a few times. I also liked it for a while but now hearing just the first few notes reminds me of Claudine Longet and I find it hard to listen.

I’ll also add Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown to the list.

Robbie · February 17, 2025 6:23 pm

Just five or ten? I've got way more than that.

Cannonball-Duane Eddy
Manhattan Spiritual-Reg Owen
Big Mr. C.-Link Eddy Combo
In The Mood-Ernie Fields Orchestra
The Lonely Surfer-Jack Nitzsche
Rumble-Link Wray
Route 66 Theme-Nelson Riddle
Raunchy-Bill Justis
Cast Your Fate To The Wind-Vince Guaraldi Trio
Sleep Walk-Santo & Johnny
Harlem Nocturne-Viscounts
Green Onions-Booker T. & the MG’s
Nut Rocker-B. Bumble & the Stingers
One Mint Julip-Ray Charles
Because They’re Young-Duane Eddy
The Pink Panther-Henry Mancini
Honky Tonk-Bill Doggett
Apache-Jorgen Ingmann
Let There Be Drums-Sandy Nelson
Rocka Conga-Applejacks
Hawaii Five-O-Ventures
The Swingin’ Shepherd Blues-Moe Koffman Quartette
Bongo Rock-Preston Epps
Wiggle Wobble-Les Cooper
Out Of Limits-Marketts
Wild Weekend-Rockin’ Rebels
Raw-Hide-Link Wray
Watermelon Man-Mongo Santamaria
Midnight Oil-Charlie Blackwell
Bonnie Came Back-Duane Eddy

Index » The Oldies Music Board » What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

C.D.P. wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Little Rich wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

aflem wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

GrimsbyFan wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Taz wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Beverly Cardinals wrote:

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Re: What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Index » The Oldies Music Board » What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Board footera

Index
» The Oldies Music Board
» What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)

Index
» The Oldies Music Board
» What Are Your All-Time Top Ten Instumentals? (Or Top 5 / Or Top 3)