It’s hard to write a hit song because you not only need a music hook, you got to have a great line or memorable lyrics. Or do you? Here are more of our favorite instrumentals…
“Vehicle” by the Ides of March became the fastest selling single of the Warner Brothers label at that time in 1970. This Chicago based group of musicians was led by Jim Peterik, who wrote the song as a joke. There is a serious side to the song though. The studio engineer accidentally erased 14 seconds of the master, and the band had to improvise to cover the error. Most of the musicians grin now that the song became a hit because there isn’t the 14 seconds of guitar in the song.
“Sleepwalk” by Santo and Johnny is one of Rock and Roll’s earliest instrumental hits from 1959. The song inspired both Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles, and had a memorable moment in the film ‘La Bamba’ funeral scene at the end of the movie.
“Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winters Group demonstrates the genius of the Edgar Winter in that he’s credited with perfecting the keyboard, wearing in on a shoulder strap in concert. The song was never intended to be on the ‘They Only Come Out at Night’ album, but the boys needed another song to fill out the track list. Edgar plays for instruments on the single.
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