Today we begin a series of posts on that ‘unsung’ mode of popular music – the instrumental. Since inception of the UK Top 20, there have been more than 1,350 number ones; of these, instumental tracks have topped the chart on only 27 occasions for a total of 89 weeks. Probably my first experience of a memorable instrumental was Stranger on the Shore by Acker Bilk.
“Stranger on the Shore” is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named “Jenny” after her. The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to Leon Young who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end. The recording was subsequently used as the theme tune of the eponymously named BBC TV drama serial for young people. It was first released in 1961 in the UK, and then in the US, and reached number 1 in the US and number 2 in the UK. In May 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 took “Stranger on the Shore” on their mission to the moon.
This was period in musicwhen the instrumental was seen as a popular musical form probably because much of the music that preceded it – jazz, swing and the big bands etc were producing music for dancing. The next piece we are featuring is “Telstar” from 1962, written and produced by Joe Meek for the Tornados. The track reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard in December 1962 (the second British recording to reach number 1 on that chart in the year, after “Stranger on the Shore” in May), and was also a number one hit in the UK and US Singles Charts. The record was named after the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched into orbit on 10 July 1962. It featured either a clavioline or the similar Jennings Univox, both keyboard instruments with distinctive electronic sounds.
It is impossible to consider the development of pop instrumental without mention of the Shadows. They were not only Cliff Richard’s backing group but also had five instrumental number ones, between 1960 and 1963. The Shadows have had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Their 5 instrumental No. 1’s is still a record for any musician. Our selection is today is “Apache” written by English composer Jerry Lordan. The Shadows recorded “Apache” in June 1960; when it was released the next month, their version topped the Uk SIngles Chart for five weeks.
So far our offering have all been from the UK, however my interest in soul music from the Stax, Atlantic and Tamla Motown labels during this period also brought to my attention the music of Booker T and the M.G.’s. Green Onions was their debut album, released on Stax in October 1962. It reached number 33 on the pop album chart in the month of its release. The title single had been a hit worldwide and was covered by dozens of artists, including the Blues Brothers and the Shadows. Green Onions was the first album released on the Stax label. The album features only instrumental songs and features the legendary Steve Cropper playing a Fender Telecaster. Having two white members (Cropper and Steinberg, later Donald Dunn) and two black members (Jones and Jackson Jr.), Booker T. & the M.G.’s was one of the first racially integrated rock groups, at a time when soul music and the Memphis music scene in particular were generally considered the preserve of black culture. I have chosen a later version of the song to include because it features Cropper, Dunn and Willie Hall (drums) who all starred in the Blues Brothers.
I would like to have included footage of B. Bumble and the Stingers, playing their song “Nut Rocker” It reached number 23 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962 and went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1962. It is a version of the march from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. However the best I can do is to use this play out from Top of The Pops, which is worth it just to see people trying to dance this track.
Although there are other instrumentals from this period that I have not referenced, particularly Wipe Out by the Surfaris, I will end this post here because the next big intrumental hit would not occur for another 6 years. More tomorrow.
