All Instrumental Top 20 Songs |
All the best instrumentals since 1960 including every Pop Top 20 popular instrumental song since 1960, and more, on four pages.
|
| Dec 1959 through Jun 1962 | Sep 1962 through Oct 1966 | Oct 1966 through Jun 1973 | Nov 1973 through present | Hit Rock Instrumentals |
Tune Timeline of Hit Instrumentals
| blue # = pop chart |
| 1 | In The Mood | 5 | Dec 1959 |
| Ernie Field's Orchestra |
 |  |
| In The Mood was originally made popular in 1940 by Glenn Miller And His Orchestra. Ernie Fields followed-up his version with other instrumental remakes, but his version of In The Mood was a top 20 one hit wonder. |
| 2 | Smokie - Part 2 | 19 | Jan 1960 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| Smokie was broken up into parts one and two on the single record. Part two was the famous part. This song was written by Bill Black. |
| 3 | The Theme From A Summer Place | 1 | Feb 1960 |
| Percy Faith And His Orchestra |
| |
| Well into the rock era, band leader Percy Faith brought this orchestra instrumental to number one. The song became the top song of the year 1960, top song of the decade, and won Grammy Awards for both Song and Record Of The Year. The song also became a Christmasclassic. There were many instrumental and vocal versions, including some by Percy Faith himself. This song was from the movie A Summer Place. This song was written by Max Steiner. |
| 4 | Tracy's Theme | 12 | Feb 1960 |
| Spencer Ross |
| |
| Tracy's Theme was an instrumental from the television production of Philadelphia Story. Spencer Ross took his stage name from the characters. The song was featured as the back side of the single The Theme From A Summer Place by Percy Faith. Spencer Ross became a top 20 one hit wonder. Tracy's Theme was written by Robert Ascher. |
| 5 | Beatnik Fly | 16 | Mar 1960 |
| Johnny And The Hurricanes |
| |
| Jimmy Crack Corn was an American folk song from before the US Civil War. The song was repopularized in 1948 by Burl Ives And The Andrews Sisters as Blue Tail Fly. Johnny And The Hurricanes updated the song for the rock era, removing the words and changing the title. The writer of this traditional song is uncertain. |
| 6 | White Silver Sands | 13 | Apr 1960 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| Bill Black took his instrumental remake of White Silver Sands to number 13. The vocal version of White Silver Sands was a 1957 number 11 hit for Don Rondo. |
| 7 | Because They're Young | 3 | Jul 1960 |
| Duane Eddy |
| |
| This song was from movie Because They're Young. It was written by: Don Costa, Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder. |
| 8 | Josephine | 11 | Jul 1960 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| This song was written by: Burke Bivens, Gus Kahn, Wayne King. |
| 9 | Look For A Star | Aug 1960 |
| Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra |
| |
| This instrumental version of Look for A Star was a top 20 near miss here, but made #13 Cashbox and #19 Billboard both of which included sales data. The song was from the movie Circus Of Horrors. This song was written by Tony Hatch. |
| 10 | Walk--Don't Run | 2 | Sep 1960 |
| The Ventures |
| |
| Instrumental song Walk--Don't Run was released in 1959. It became popular the next year. This song was written by John Smith. |
| 11 | Theme From The Apartment | 9 | Sep 1960 |
| Ferrante & Teicher |
| |
| Theme From The Apartment was originally titled Jealous Lover. The name was changed when the instrumental song was used for the movie The Apartment. This song was written by Charles Williams. |
| 12 | Never On Sunday | 15 | Oct 1960 |
| Don Costa |
| |
| Never On Sunday was an instrumental from the movie Never On Sunday. It was a top 20 one hit wonder. A few weeks earlier, Don Costa had a top 20 near miss with another instrumental movie score, Theme From The Unforgiven (The Need For Love). |
| 13 | Don't Be Cruel | 11 | Nov 1960 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| Don't Be Cruel was an instrumental remake of the 1956 song by Elvis Presley. The song was written by Otis Blackwell. and from album Solid And Raunchy. |
| 14 | Last Date | 2 | Dec 1960 |
| Floyd Cramer |
| |
| This song was written by Floyd Cramer. |
| 15 | Blue Tango | 19 | Dec 1960 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| Blue Tango was a popular 1952 song by Leroy Anderson And His Orchestra. This song was written by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parrish. |
| 16 | Wonderland By Night | 1 | Dec 1960 |
| Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra |
| |
| 17 | Wonderland By Night (Wunderland Bei Nacht) | 18 | Jan 1961 |
| Louis Prima |
| |
| Louis Prima and Bert Kaempfert both had top 20 versions of Wonderland By Night in 1961. |
| 18 | Exodus | 2 | Jan 1961 |
| Ferrante & Teicher |
| |
| This song was from movie Exodus. It was written by Ernest Gold. |
| 19 | Calcutta | 1 | Jan 1961 |
| Lawrence Welk |
| |
| The full artist title for Calcutta was Lawrence Welk And His Orchestra Featuring Frank Scott On Harpsichord. It was performed on the popular TV program The Lawrence Welk Show. This song was written by: Hans Bradtke, Heino Gazel, Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance. |
| 20 | Pepe | 20 | Feb 1961 |
| Duane Eddy |
|
| This song was written by Daniel Langdon and Hans Wittstatt. |
| 21 | Wheels | 7 | Mar 1961 |
| The String-A-Longs |
| |
| Number 7 hit instrumental song Wheels was a top 20 one hit wonderfor The String-A-Longs. The group followed-up with other instrumentals that received moderate airplay. Wheels was written by Richard Stephens and Jimmy Torres. |
| 22 | Hearts Of Stone | 19 | Mar 1961 |
| Bill Black's Combo |
| |
| This song was written by Rudy Jackson and Eddy Ray. |
| 23 | Apache | 2 | Apr 1961 |
| Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar |
| |
| In 1960, The Shadows had a UK number one instrumental song with Apache. Jordan Ingmann brought the song to the US, and reached number 2. He became a top 20 one hit wonder, but followed up with many instrumentals that received airplay, including Anna. This song was written by Jerry Lorden. |
| 24 | On The Rebound | 11 | Apr 1961 |
| Floyd Cramer |
| |
| This song was written by Floyd Cramer. |
| 25 | Asia Minor | 10 | Apr 1961 |
| Kokomo |
| |
| Instrumental song Asia Minor was based on Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg. Kokomo was actually Jimmy Wisner, hiding his identity from other classically trained musicians. Kokomo was a top 20 one hit wonder, but Jimmy Wisner received some airplay with other songs as Jimmy Wisner Trio also. The 1970s group Kokomo was unrelated. |
| 26 | One Mint Julep | 6 | Apr 1961 |
| Ray Charles |
| |
| Ray Charles had an instrumental hit with this cover of the 1952 song by The Clovers. This song was written by Rudy Toombs. |
| 27 | Bonanza | 16 | May 1961 |
| Al Caiola |
| |
| This song was from TV show Bonanza. It was written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston. |
| 28 | You Can't Sit Down | 19 | Jul 1961 |
| Philip Upchurch Combo |
|
| You Can't Sit Down was an instrumental top 20 one hit wonder. The 45 RPM single had parts one and two on its sides. Part two was more famous. This was the most popular song by Philip Upchurch Combo, later known as Phil Upchurch. He received slight radio airplay with other songs, like Softly, and played guitar on many records for decades to come. |
| 29 | San Antonio Rose | 14 | Jul 1961 |
| Floyd Cramer |
| |
| This song was written by Bob Wills. |
| 30 | Yellow Bird | 10 | Jul 1961 |
| Arthur Lyman Group |
| |
| This song was written by: Alan Bergman, Marilyn Keith, Norman Luboff. |
| 31 | Last Night | 5 | Aug 1961 |
| The Mar-Keys |
| |
| The Mar-Keys were a Memphis instrumental band who had a top 20 one hit wonder with Last Night. A few other songs by the group received some airplay. |
| 32 | Mexico | 13 | Oct 1961 |
| Bob Moore And His Orchestra |
| |
| Although instrumental song Mexico was a top 20 one hit wonder for Bob Moore, he received some airplay in 1963 with another regional instrumental, Kentucky. This song was written by Boudleaux Bryant. |
| 33 | Take Five | 17 | Oct 1961 |
| Dave Brubeck Quartet |
| |
| This song was from album Time Out Featuring Take Five. It was written by Paul Desmond. |
| 34 | Tonight | 15 | Dec 1961 |
| Ferrante & Teicher |
| |
| The Ferrante & Teicher version of Tonight was mostly instrumental. This song was written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. |
| 35 | Let There Be Drums | 9 | Dec 1961 |
| Sandy Nelson |
| |
| This song was written by Sandy Nelson and Richard Podolor. |
| 36 | Moon River | 16 | Dec 1961 |
| Henry Mancini And His Orchestra |
| |
| This instrumental version of Moon River won the Grammy Award for Record Of The Year. The song was from the album Moon River & Other Great Movie Themes, and from the movie Breakfast At Tiffany's. This song was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. |
| 37 | Afrikaan Beat | 7 | Mar 1962 |
| Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra |
|
| This song was written by Bert Kaempfert. |
| 38 | Tuff | 20 | Mar 1962 |
| Ace Cannon |
| |
| Tuff was a top 20 one hit wonder instrumental for Ace Cannon. The follow-up, Blues (Stay Away From Me) was fairly popular too. Ace Cannon was a saxophone player for Bill Black's Combo, whose group played on solo records by Ace Cannon too. The song Tuff was from album Tuff-Sax. This song was written by Ace Cannon. |
| 39 | Midnight In Moscow | 2 | Mar 1962 |
| Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen |
| |
| Midnight In Moscow was an instrumental adaptation of a famous Russian traditional vocal tune. The song was from album Midnight In Moscow. |
| 40 | Percolator (Twist) | 11 | Mar 1962 |
| Billy Joe & The Checkmates |
| |
| Instrumental song Percolator (Twist) was a top 20 one hit wonder for Billy Joe And The Checkmates. He followed-up with Rocky's Theme, which received slight play. Billy Joe was actually Lew Bedell, a record producer, a New York radio and TV star, and comedian. The Checkmates here are not related to the Emile Ford Checkmates nor to The Checkmates, Ltd. This song was written by Lou Bideu and Ernie Freeman. |
| 41 | Soul Twist | 8 | May 1962 |
| King Curtis And The Noble Knights |
| |
| This song was written by Curtis Ousley. |
| 42 | Stranger On The Shore | 3 | May 1962 |
| Mr. Acker Bilk |
| |
| Stranger On The Shore was originally named Jenny after Acker Bilk's daughter. The song was written by Acker Bilk and Leon Young. and from album Stranger On The Shore. |
| 43 | The Stripper | 1 | Jun 1962 |
| David Rose And His Orchestra |
| |
| The Stripper lived for years in Noxema commercials. The song was written by David Rose. an |
No comments:
Post a Comment