# Best Rock Flute? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654 "2019-09-22T17:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/1 "2019-09-22T17:17:21Z")
Plenty of examples from Jethro Tull and Freedom Rider by Traffic has a great flute part. What are the best ones? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/2 "2019-09-22T17:31:29Z")
Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/3 "2019-09-22T17:34:28Z")
Peter Gabriel was one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/4 "2019-09-22T17:34:34Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues comes to mind. Any songs in mind? Some other examples: “So Long Frank Lloyd Wright” by Simon and Garfunkel “Moondance” by Van Morrison “Thick As A Brick“ by Jethro Tull “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & the Papas So far these are all either Folk or Prog Rock. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/5 "2019-09-22T17:37:35Z")
Some early Marvin Gaye singles had flute solos: Hitch Hike, Stubborn Kind of Fellow. Wasn’t it Brian Jackson who played on Gil Scott herons records? The Bottle was great. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/6 "2019-09-22T17:51:55Z")
Andrew Latimer of **Camel**. “Supertwister” [Camel - Supertwister - YouTube](https://youtu.be/HpAUUeitABE) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/7 "2019-09-22T17:52:57Z")
These could be too soft to be “rock”, but **Lotta Love** by Nicolette Larson and **Lowdown** by Boz Scaggs. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/8 "2019-09-22T17:59:16Z")
Burton Cummings was a decent flute player, and a few Guess Who songs had flute in them. [The Guess Who - Undun](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H_gxQt-bhik) The Marshall Tucker Band used a flute extensively: [Can’t You See](https://youtu.be/-48Za7VZR_c) [Heard it in a Love Song](https://youtu.be/ZkOsccnyFWs) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/9 "2019-09-22T18:30:19Z")
Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” is pure rock, with a good flute solo. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/10 "2019-09-22T18:46:31Z")
There are plenty of examples of flute played in rock songs. Ian Anderson is the only one who plays Rock Flute. In the recording of Roger Waters The Wall: Live in Berlin there is some great flute work on Goodbye Blue Sky. Not surprising since it’s James Galway. Irrelevant fact: As one of the opening acts that day Galway played with The Chieftains. I was there. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/11 "2019-09-22T18:57:58Z")
Does disco count? _The Hustle_ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/12 "2019-09-22T19:04:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There are plenty of examples of flute played in rock songs. Ian Anderson is the only one who plays Rock Flute. > In the recording of Roger Waters The Wall: Live in Berlin there is some great flute work on Goodbye Blue Sky. Not surprising since it’s James Galway. Irrelevant fact: As one of the opening acts that day Galway played with The Chieftains. I was there. That is pretty cool. I’ve seen the Chieftains twice now, once right at the Art Center. I’ve been to several post Waters Pink Floyd concerts and the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour by Waters. what a great mix of performers. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Does disco count? _The Hustle_ No, it never counts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/13 "2019-09-22T19:12:07Z")
There is that flute part of _[California Dreaming](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3GbF9Bx6E&t=1m15s)_ [Flute Thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zZk4u6v93c) by the Blues Project ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/14 "2019-09-22T19:16:02Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > That is pretty cool. I’ve seen the Chieftains twice now, once right at the Art Center. I’ve been to several post Waters Pink Floyd concerts and the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour by Waters. what a great mix of performers. > > No, it never counts. > 🙂 Here’s the video of that performance. Joni Mitchell on vocals. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TTWlZ-8NaJ8/hqdefault.jpg "Roger Waters - Goodbye Blue Sky [Live in Berlin]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTWlZ-8NaJ8) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/15 "2019-09-22T19:25:28Z")
Jeremy Steig of [Jeremy and the Satyrs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idXaa031zZM) was a flautist. It’s hard to categorize his music, but Lillian Roxon listed him in **The Rock Encyclopedia.** Twice. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/16 "2019-09-22T20:40:09Z")
Burton Cummings learned to play the flute just for “Undun.” How about Chicago’s “Colour My World”? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/17 "2019-09-22T20:44:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Burton Cummings learned to play the flute just for “Undun.” > > How about Chicago’s “Colour My World”? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKvNoC0SRoY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKvNoC0SRoY) Flute starts at 1:52 point. Chicago had a lot of brass too. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/18 "2019-09-22T21:35:39Z")
Not rock, but jazz. I saw Maynard Ferguson many times and the flute player always amazed me. For a trumpet player watching a mainly brass band that says something. About 1:30 in this clip. He also "sang" when he played. It is subtle but around 3 minutes into this you can hear it. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FlPPaYPT33U/hqdefault.jpg "Maynard Ferguson, 'Scheherazade' (N. Rimsky-Korsakov)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlPPaYPT33U) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/19 "2019-09-22T22:16:02Z")
Jaya of The Hu plays flute on several of their songs, and they are most \*definitely \*rock. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654/20 "2019-09-22T22:19:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues comes to mind. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Any songs in mind? [_Legend of a Mind_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS-z3pqVEM) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-flute/840654.md?page=2)