# Best known jazz song of the past 50 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016 "2008-07-10T18:50:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/21 "2008-07-11T15:35:18Z")
Definitely _Take Five_. I know dick-all about jazz, but I know that song. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/22 "2008-07-11T16:12:17Z")
_The Pink Panther_ by Henry Mancini is the best known, and for some of the wrong reasons. It was the theme for the original movie, where the cartoon character was introduced in the credits. Three or four (?) sequels all had the same song. A brief Pink Panther animated kids’ show made it known to a generation of kids. The cartoon character and theme were used for many years to advertise fiberglass building insulation and shingles. Now, besides all that, it’s a very cool song, with flashy dynamic changes through the course of it. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/23 "2008-07-11T16:17:50Z")
Does someone have a definition we can go by? I think “jazz” is a lot like “rock” in people’s minds…it’s a catch-all term. Can jazz be more narrowly defined? Are there elements of jazz that don’t spill over into other genres? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/24 "2008-07-11T16:22:52Z")
“Take 5” was what I thought of before opening the OP, but to throw another one out there, Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” is probably readily recognizable, although more from US3’s “Cantaloop” than the original 1964 Blue Note recording. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/25 "2008-07-11T20:03:02Z")
[QUOTE=It’s Not Rocket Surgery!] 2. _Linus and Lucy_ by Vince Guaraldi - Obviously famous due to the popularity of Peanuts, but still a jazz tune that almost everyone knows. [/QUOTE] This one definitely gets my vote. It’s the one that I thought of when I saw the thread title, before opening the thread. Some of the others listed may be well-known among jazz fans, but among the general public, not so much. The jazz song that’s best known among non-jazz fans would almost have to be one that’s known from its use in a popular movie or TV show. Or maybe one that was a big crossover hit on the pop charts, but it’s been a while since we’ve even had such things. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/26 "2008-07-11T20:07:25Z")
Either \*Pink Panther \*or _Linus and Lucy (Charlie Brown / Peanuts Theme)_. You can’t beat the “1-2 punch” of radio/records AND television/movies when it comes to boosting a song’s popularity! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/27 "2008-07-11T20:17:44Z")
Might Herb Alpert’s “Rise” deserve an honorable mention? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/28 "2008-07-11T20:35:00Z")
I think it gets in just under the wire, but how about Henry Mancini’s _Theme from Peter Gunn_? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/29 "2008-07-11T20:38:17Z")
[QUOTE=Billdo] I think it gets in just under the wire, but how about Henry Mancini’s _Theme from Peter Gunn_? [/QUOTE] Good one. Both “Theme from Peter Gunn” and “Rise” are songs you heard a lot more 20-30 years ago than you do today. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/30 "2008-07-11T21:19:51Z")
I’ve heard at least one cover of the Mr. Roger’s song **It’s You I Like**. That’s got to be highly recognizable. I don’t know who sings it, or even if there have been multiple covers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/31 "2008-07-11T22:50:26Z")
Depends on how broadly you define jazz. Does [Chuck Mangione](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Mangione) count? If so, then [Feels So Good](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hi22Tp-uBg) probably makes the list of most recognizable jazz numbers. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/32 "2008-07-11T23:22:55Z")
I’ll throw in my vote for “Take Five” and “Girl from Ipanema.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/33 "2008-07-11T23:25:09Z")
I listen to classical music almost exclusively, and “Take 5” is the only jazz piece I know by name, solely for its meter and IIRC a local tv station used it between segments of late-night movies when I was much younger. I don’t know any of the others mentioned except the Guaraldi and Mancini stuff, but are they now considered actual jazz or more in the direction of easy listening? Not that it makes a difference to me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/34 "2008-07-12T00:01:04Z")
A cheap chess game for my Commodore 64 used _Take Five_ for sound effects when a piece moved. I didn’t recognize it until I became interested in Jazz 20 years later and bought a Dave Brubeck CD. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/35 "2008-07-12T00:57:27Z")
Does the _Frasier_ theme count as a “jazz song”? other jazzy TV themes? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/36 "2008-07-12T02:20:48Z")
I think the Miles Davis classic album “Kind of Blue” is still the biggest selling jazz album of all time – but I’m betting most people couldn’t tell you what was on it, even if they have a copy. From non-musicians, hands down, _Take Five_ and _The Pink Panther_; I’ve had people tell me the Brubeck album with _Take Five_ is the only jazz album they own. (I dunno who’s buying all those copies of “Kind of Blue.” (Though it’s still pretty damn good nearly 50 years later.) I would also throw in some of the trad tunes, most notably _When the Saints Go Marching In._ EVERYBODY knows _Saints;_ it’s the _Happy Birthday_ of Dixieland. I can play it in every key . . . . by heart. You just know it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/37 "2008-07-12T02:36:39Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] From non-musicians… (I dunno who’s buying all those copies of “Kind of Blue.” (Though it’s still pretty damn good nearly 50 years later.) [/QUOTE] That would be me… 🙂 Fifty years? I had no idea. He is wearing a tie on the album covers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/38 "2008-07-12T03:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] I think the Miles Davis classic album “Kind of Blue” is still the biggest selling jazz album of all time – but I’m betting most people couldn’t tell you what was on it, even if they have a copy. [/QUOTE] So what? Sorry, couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016/39 "2008-07-12T12:05:19Z")
Another nomination for the Brubeck standard, since it satisfies a more stringent definition of “jazz” (does not include Kenny G.) and might be “best known” in a sampling older than the average Doper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-known-jazz-song-of-the-past-50-years/456016.md?page=1)