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Instrumental Top 20 Songs and Samples
EVERY
Instrumental Top 20 Song since 1960 with music samples
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| Every instrumental
hit with samples, instrumental song links, brief information, instrumental
artist song discographies, etc., here, at the online music encyclopedia.
Choose an instrumental hits date range above. Find instrumental
songs! |
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The video featured
here is a live performance. Green Onions was written by: Steve
Cropper, Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, Lewis Steinberg.
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Sep
1962
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13
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17
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44
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A Swingin'
Safari
Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra
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Bert Kaempfert
wrote A Swingin' Safari. |
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Baby Cortez
was later known as Dave Baby Cortez. The writers of this song
were David Clowney and Paul Winley. |
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Sep
1962
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7
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15
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46
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Alley Cat
Bent Fabric And His Piano
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Nov
1962
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15
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6
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47
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Desafinado
Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd
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The video featured
here is a live performance. |
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Nov
1962
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20
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48
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I've Got A
Woman Part I
Jimmy McGriff
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Jimmy McGriff
wrote I've Got A Woman Part I. |
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The Lonely Bull
featured audio from an actual Mexican bullfight. Sol Lachoff
wrote the song. |
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Telstar was
inspired by the United States launch of the first communications
satellite, which provided the first TV broadcasts across the
continents. The Tornadoes followed-up Telstar with other instrumental songs that received some radio airplay
like Ridin' The Wind and Robot. Telstar was written by Joe Meek.
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Dec
1962
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19
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51
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Let's Go (pony)
The Routers
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The writers
of Let's Go (pony) were Larry Duncan and Robert Duncan.
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Jan
1963
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22
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14
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52
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Wiggle Wobble
Les Cooper And The Soul Rockers
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Although Wiggle
Wobble was the only top 20 hit for Les Cooper And The Soul Rockers,
the group received slight radio airplay with other songs like
Twistin' (One More Time).
In the 1950s, Les Cooper was a singer with The Empires. Wiggle
Wobble was written by Les Cooper. |
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Cast Your Fate
To The Wind was a top 20 one
hit wonder for Vince Guaraldi, a jazz writer and
piano player. The follow-up, Mr. Lucky, received slight airplay.
Vince Guaraldi was best known for performing Peanuts
themes for movies and TV specials. Cast Your Fate To The Wind
was written by Vince Guaraldi. |
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Feb
1963
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14
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6
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54
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Fly Me To The
Moon-Bossa Nova
Joe Harnell And His Orchestra
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Bart Howard
wrote Fly Me To The Moon-Bossa Nova. |
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The instrumental song Wild Weekend was the only top 20
hit for The Rebels. The group received some airplay as The Hot-Toddys
and as The Rockin' Rebels with songs like Rockin' Crickets and
Buffalo Blues. Wild Weekend was written by Tom Shannon and Phil
Todaro. |
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Mar
1963
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9
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9
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56
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Our Winter
Love
Bill Pursell
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The instrumental song Our Winter Love was the only top
20 hit for piano player Bill Pursell. He followed-up with Loved,
which received slight radio airplay. Our Winter Love was written
by John Cowell and Bob Tubert. |
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Apr
1963
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10
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6
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57
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Watermelon
Man
Mongo Santamaria Band
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Herbie Hancock
wrote Watermelon Man. |
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The instrumental song Pipeline was the only top 20 hit
for Chantay's. The group followed-up with other songs that received
slight radio airplay, like Monsoon.
The video featured here is a live performance. The writers of
this song were Brian Carman and Bob Spickard. |
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Chuck Berry
wrote Memphis. |
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Although instrumental song Wipe Out was the only top 20 hit
for The Surfaris, the group received some radio airplay with
other songs like Surfer Joe. The video featured here is a live
performance.
In 1987, Fat
Boys And The
Beach Boys remade Wipe Out and it hit number
12. |
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Aug
1963
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8
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10
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61
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More
Kai Winding & Orchestra
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Kai Winding
was a pre-rock era trombone player who was featured in many
recordings. As a solo artist, he recorded under varied names
like, in 1946, Kai's Krazy Kats with the song Loaded. More was
written by Nino Oliviero and Riz Ortolani. The song was from
the movie Mondo Cane. |
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Nov
1963
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6
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10
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62
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Maria Elena
Los Indios Tabajaras
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instrumental
song Maria Elena was a Mexican song first made popular in 1941
by Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra, and a top 20 one
hit wonder for Los Indios Tabajaras, who were members
of the Brazilian Tabajara tribe. Ernesto Lecuona wrote the song.
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Nov
1963
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2
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3
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63
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Washington
Square
The Village Stompers
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Washington Square
was a park in Greenwich Village, New York City. The writers
of this song were Bob Goldstein and David Shire. |
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Out Of Limits
was originally titled Outer Limits, based on the TV show. The
name was changed when the band was sued. Aside from the title,
the song itself was influenced by TV show Twilight Zone.
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The song Java
was used as theme music for UK TV show The Benny Hill Show.
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The instrumental song Penetration was the only top 20 hit
for The Pyramids.The group received slight airplay with other
songs like Midnight Run. Steve Leonard wrote the song.
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May
1964
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15
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19
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67
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Shangri-La
Robert Maxwell
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The writers
of Shangri-La were: Matt Halneck, Robert Maxwell, Carl Sigman.
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Russ Damon wrote
Cotton Candy. |
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Aug
1964
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8
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9
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69
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Walk-Don't
Run '64
The Ventures
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The video featured
here is a live performance. Walk-Don't Run '64 was written by
John Smith. |
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Jan
1965
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11
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70
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Hawaii Tattoo
The Waikikis
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Michael Thomas
wrote Hawaii Tattoo. |
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Feb
1965
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14
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12
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71
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Twine Time
Alvin Cash & The Crawlers
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In 1949, Red
Roses For A Blue Lady was a popular song for Vaughn Monroe With
The Moon Maids, and for others like Guy Lombardo. The 1965 Vic
Dana version with vocals, coming out just a few weeks before
the Bert Kaempfert instrumental version, was a number 12 hit
song. The writers of this song were Roy Brodsky and Sid Tepper.
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Vincent Guaraldi
wrote Cast Your Fate To The Wind. |
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Jul
1965
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16
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74
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Soul Sauce
(Guacha Guaro)
Cal Tjader
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Mostly instrumental
song Soul Sauce was a rework of Dizzy Gillespie song Guacha
Guaro. Drummer Cal Tjader was a fixture of the San Francisco
Latin music scene, working with many famous artists. Soul Sauce,
however, was a top 20 one
hit wonder.
The extra featured here is a live video performance. The writers
of this song were Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie. |
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Jul
1965
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12
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15
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75
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A Walk In The
Black Forest
Horst Jankowski
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Although the
instrumental song A Walk In The Black Forest was the
only top 20 hit for Horst Jankowski, he was a popular jazz and
swing piano player. He received some radio airplay with other
songs like his remake of the 1950 Bing Crosby song Play
A Simple Melody. A Walk In The Black Forest was written
by Horst Jankowski. |
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Dobie Gray reached
number 8 with The In Crowd a few months before Ramsey Lewis
Trio made this instrumental
version. Billy Page wrote the song. |
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A Taste Of Honey
won the Grammy Award for Record Of The Year. The writers of
this song were Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott. |
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Dec
1965
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11
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16
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78
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Hang On Sloopy
Ramsey Lewis Trio
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Ramsey Lewis
Trio remade the number one song Hang On Sloopy by The McCoys
as an instrumental,
and reached the top 20 just a few weeks later. |
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Dec
1965
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20
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79
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Harlem Nocturne
The Viscounts
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The instrumental song Harlem Nocturne was the only top
20 hit by The Viscounts. The group received some airplay with
other songs too, like the popular 1921 Isham Jones And His Orchestra
song Wabash Blues. |
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Feb
1966
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15
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80
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No Matter What
Shape (Your Stomach's In)
The T-Bones
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No Matter What
Shape was written from an Alka-Seltzer commercial. The writers
of this song were Granville Burland and Sascha Burland.
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Neil Hefti wrote
Batman Theme. The song was from the TV show Batman.
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The writers
of The Work Song were: Nat Adderly, Oscar Brown, Jr..
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Sep
1966
|
19
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12
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83
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Wade In The
Water
Ramsey Lewis
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Ramsey Lewis
wrote Wade In The Water. |
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Born Free was
from the movie Born Free. |
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