INSTRUMENTALS
This section chronicles instrumental oldies. Artists are listed alphabetically.
SIL AUSTIN
Slow Walk (2:39) - As the title would imply, this piece has a moderately slow tempo. In each measure, hands clap on both eighth beats of the second quarter beat, and on the fourth beat. A saxophone plays lead in some parts; in other parts a piano is the most audible instrument.
THE BLAZERS
Bangalore (2:06) - The tempo is very fast. Cymbals are used heavily except during the drum solo that lasts from 0:32 to 0:39. Other instruments include electric guitars and a sax.
Green Onions (2:53) - The tempo is moderately fast. The foreground instrument is an organ, played by Booker T. Jones. Other times I hear a guitar, played by Steve Cropper. Donald "Duck" Dunne played bass.
THE CHAMPS
Tequila (2:12) - This fast composition opens with a few bars of guitar, but the featured instrument is a saxophone. Every now and then, the instruments will pause and one of the guys will say the title. Finally, after some measures of guitar and handclaps, all the guys shout, "Tequila!" Sources vary as to who was in this group. One says that two of the guys in this group were later to become the duo Seals and Crofts. Another says that Bill Medley (later of the Righteous Brothers) and Glen Campbell were among the original Champs.
THE CHANTAYS
Pipeline (2:19) - This fast piece features a guitar in the left speaker, drums in the right, and a piano in both. During the first second I hear a sound effect representing the starting of a car engine; during the last 2 seconds I hear the engine stopping. The car must be speeding along a highway like water through a pipeline, hence the title.
THE CHEVELLS
Riptide (2:36) - This piece has a fast tempo with faster guitar licks--some high, some low. Cymbals and a sax are also included.
Let's Go Trippin' (2:08) - This moderately fast piece starts with the guys shouting the title, followed by a short guitar solo which gives the drummer his cue. The loud, high-pitched guitar licks, and later a sax, show how excited the guys are to be on their way to a surfing trip.
Miserlou (2:13) - This fast tune features very fast guitar licks and piano rolls, pluas horns and some "Hup! Hup!" shouts. Now, was this song named after some California coastal city or beach resort?
Rebel Rouser (2:21) - This fast piece opens with a solo by the low, twangy guitar for which Duane is famous. The other instruments are drums and a saxophone. The key starts at E and rises a half-step at a time, ending in G.
THE FROGMEN
Beware Below (2:25) - This moderately fast tune starts with a 4-second drum solo, including the big bass drum. The bass drum, along with guitars and a sax, warn beachcombers that surfers are about to land on the beach fast from the waves above.
THE HUSTLERS
Inertia (2:45) - This fast piece opens and closes with a drum roll and a muted guitar lick, as if to depict a sudden acceleration from 0 to 100 mph (start) and a sudden stop from 100 mph (end). The drums play only in the right speaker. In the left speaker I hear a guitar, a piano, and the faint shakes of a tambourine.
BILL JUSTIS
Raunchy (2:25) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. A saxophone plays lead in some parts; the guitar that plays lead in other parts resembles a Duane Eddy riff. Horns and a piano are also featured. Despite its title, I don't see anything raunchy about this piece, especially since it's an instrumental.
THE MARKETTS
Balboa Blue (2:36) - The tempo is moderately fast. First comes a 7-second drum solo, including hand claps. One by one, other instruments enter--bass, piano, and sax. This sounds a bit like 1920s jazz.
Out Of Limits (2:07) - The tempo is moderate. In most parts, chimes play in eighth beats while a lead guitar plays in a high tone. Other parts feature castanets and an organ. Horror movie star Elvira included this piece in her Haunted Hits anthology, probably because the castanets sound similar to spiders crawling around.
THE MAR-KEYS
Last Night (original version 2:38; 1990s stereo version 2:34) - This moderate-tempoed piece, featuring a piano, horns, a sax and an organ, could pass for an instrumental version of Little Richard's "Lucille" minus the bridge. At 1:09 one of the guys whispers in exhilaration, "Ah, last night!" Then at 1:32 he whispers, "Oh yeah!" Apparently someone is waking up one morning, having had fun dancing the previous night.
CLIFF NOBLES AND CO.
The Horse (2:39) - This piece is fast--just the speed at which a horse would gallop. I notice galloping sometimes in the horns, other times in the drums.
THE PYRAMIDS
Penetration (2:00) - The tempo is very fast. Instruments include a tambourine and a guitar.
DAVID ROSE
The Stripper (1:55) - Horns are the main instruments in this moderately slow jam. Although it was recorded in the 60s, it sounds like 20s jazz. This is not something I'd listen to every day, but it's precisely the kind of music to which a strip dancer would dance.
THE RUMBLERS
Surf Rat (1:53) - This tune was recorded in 1962 but wasn't released until 1987, on the disc Beach Classics. The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. Instruments and sound effects include a guitar, a sax, and a percussion sound that sounds like pan-clanging to me.
SOUNDS ORCHESTRAL
Cast Your Fate To The Wind (3:12) - This instrumental is a hybrid between rock and classical music, especially considering the group's name. The tempo is moderate, but it's hard to follow in the parts where the drums don't play. Various orchestral instruments play, but the one I hear most often is a piano. The instruments play in a way that depicts a happy, carpe-diem mood.
THE SURFARIS
Wipe Out (2:37) - This is my favorite instrumental oldie; it sure wipes me out! At the beginning, one of the guys shouts, "Woo hoo hoo hoo, wipeout!" Guitars play the melody; cymbals play in the background most of the time. I like the parts that are drums solos except for a guitar strum during the first beat of every other measure.
THE VENTURAS
High Noon Rumble (2:32) - The tempo is fast. Castanets and rapid, low-pitched guitar licks represent the rumbling of the engine of a fast-moving car, while orchestral strings illustrate the thrill its driver derives from a midday cruise.
THE VENTURES
Walk Don't Run (2:05) - This group is not to be confused with the one mentioned above. Anyway, this piece has a fast tempo and starts with a few measures of drum solo. The other instruments, including a lead guitar, are somewhat low-pitched. The version I have (and most often hear on the radio) was recorded in 1960; the group recorded this piece again in 1964.
KAI WINDING
More (2:01) - This piece, slightly faster than moderate, features guitars and various orchestral instruments. This version is an instrumental, but I have been told that this is the music to the "Theme from Mondo Cane" (an Italian play); vocal versions contain lyrics such as "More than the greatest love the world has known / This is the love I give to you alone."
YOUNG-HOLT UNLIMITED
Soulful Strut (original version 3:03; 1990s stereo version 3:13) - As the title implies, the tempo is somewhat slow, the speed at which a person living for today would walk. I hear horns, drums, and a piano; the piano plays the melody. I read a story once that Barbara Acklin originally recorded a vocal version and was unhappy when this version, instead of hers, became a hit. But I have heard vocal versions by Dusty Springfield and Melissa Etheridge, with lyrics including "Why don't you stop and look me over? Am I the same girl? Yes I am."
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