Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/10-instrumental-tracks-that-reached-the-billboard-top-40/
Pop radio runs on voices, hooks and choruses you can sing in the car. Every so often, though, a record with no lyrics at all climbs the Hot 100 anyway. A guitar line, an organ riff or a synthesizer pulse does the talking.
These ten tracks all made , and most went well beyond it. They come from film scores, TV themes, studio jams and disco experiments, and together they cover a few decades of American listening habits.
Santo & Johnny, Sleep Walk (1959)
Brothers Santo and Johnny Farina, from Brooklyn, recorded Sleep Walk with a steel guitar and a standard electric guitar. The writing credit also includes their sister Ann. It was released on the Canadian American label.
The record reached number one on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1959. Its slow, drifting melody sounds nothing like the rock and roll of the time, yet it found a huge audience.
Percy Faith, Theme from A Summer Place (1960)
Max Steiner composed this melody for the 1959 film A Summer Place. Canadian born bandleader Percy Faith then recorded a lush orchestral arrangement of it. His version became the hit, not the original film recording.
It spent nine weeks at number one on the Hot 100 in 1960. It also won Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards, which is rare for a record with no vocals.
Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Green Onions (1962)
—-
Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-10-09 06:04:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
—-
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8