# \*Can't Believe\* I just found this out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464 "2017-03-18T03:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/21 "2017-03-18T16:40:24Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Sure you’re not thinking of that amazing pick-up halfway through “Night Moves”? I always pause and hold my breath waiting for that masterfully-timed moment. No; the high lead guitar hook on Main Street that almost sounds like an oboe. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/22 "2017-03-18T17:27:47Z")
No discussion of sax hooks is complete without Glenn Frey’s _You Belong to the City._ Also, David Sanborn’s solo the 32nd of _The Sad Cafe_ by the Eagles. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/23 "2017-03-18T18:07:24Z")
What about [“The One Thing” by INXS?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJyKTNdPL5s) (@1:32) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/24 "2017-03-18T18:13:34Z")
Hell, what about **King Curtis** on all those old Coasters records? Back in the day when the saxophone and the piano were as important as the electric guitar in rock n’ roll? Tenor players used to _walk the bar_, by cracky! {waves cane in the air} > **[Urban Dictionary: walking the bar](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=walking%20the%20bar)** > > The practice of rhythm and blues horn players (quintessentially tenor sax players) to literally get up on the bar during a tune and walk it from one end to to the other, riffing and honking. Typical in the 1940's and 50's, it was deemed a display of... ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/25 "2017-03-18T19:57:42Z")
I don’t think you could substitute any instrument for the sax on this piece, and I don’t think any other instruments are necessary. Sure, it’s sometimes done with the addition of a stand-up bass, but the sax is all you really need. Tom Waits Small Change ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/26 "2017-03-18T20:01:27Z")
Wait. What’s the lesson here? If you don’t like Sax you won’t like Baker Street. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/27 "2017-03-18T20:13:04Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No discussion of sax hooks is complete without Glenn Frey’s _You Belong to the City._ Also, David Sanborn’s solo the 32nd of _The Sad Cafe_ by the Eagles. Damn phone. It’s David Sanborn’s solo at the end of _The Sad Cafe_ by the Eagles. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/28 "2017-03-18T22:27:21Z")
I was playing the sax in school when Baker Street came out, and I learned that sax riff and played it so much it made everyone sick of it. I loved that song. That said, I think Gerry Rafferty’s best song is ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, when he was in Stealer’s Wheel. I think it’s a damned shame that modern music has largely abandoned the variety of instrumentation we used to get in classic rock / prog rock. Back in the 70’s you constantly heard big hits from bands with horn sections, violins, you name it. Even stadium rock hits like Foreigner’s ‘Urgent’ had big sax parts in them, in this case played by the great Junior Walker. Today, with some exceptions not so much. I wonder if the decline of horns and string and such in pop music has something to do with the decline of band programs in school. When I was a kid, every school had large band programs. Classical band, jazz band, marching band… A lot of kids came out of school with band instrument skills and an appreciation for band instruments. Anyway, If you want to hear some great sax playing, pick up any Supertramp album. John Anthony Halliwell is a great sax player, and their music featured him on almost every track. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/29 "2017-03-18T22:31:25Z")
You can make just about anything better by adding a little Dave Grohl to it. Except food and drink. Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/30 "2017-03-18T23:14:23Z")
Another band with an unexpectedly great sax player is Roxy Music. Andy Mackay contributed terrific work, both live and on albums. He’s normally not the first, or second, name you think of with regards to the band but he’s a big part of their sound. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/31 "2017-03-19T02:03:22Z")
My favorite bit of Gerry Rafferty information is that he was in a folk band with Billy Connelly. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/32 "2017-03-19T02:44:51Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Anyway, I listened to the Foo’s version. Speaking as a guitarist, that part should be played by sax. Have you ever heard [Raffery’s wah-drenched demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bcXRkMs0fs) for “Baker Street”? Thought you might find it interesting. Interesting or not, the sax does make the song. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/33 "2017-03-19T04:34:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Anyway, If you want to hear some great sax playing, pick up any Supertramp album. John Anthony Halliwell is a great sax player, and their music featured him on almost every track. Definitely. _The Logical Song_ is a great example of Halliwall’s playing. The late Greg Ham of Men at Work was also a standout saxophone player as well as a flutist. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/34 "2017-03-19T10:34:38Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Have you ever heard [Raffery’s wah-drenched demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bcXRkMs0fs) for “Baker Street”? Thought you might find it interesting. Interesting or not, the sax does make the song. Hunh. Thanks, no I hadn’t heard it. Interesting. The wah gives that version more of a vocal tone vs the Foos version, but at this point the sax still seems essential to the classic version. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/35 "2017-03-19T14:35:25Z")
No discussion of sax in rock and roll is complete without mention of Bobby Keys. “Brown Sugar,” “Sweet Virginia,” and especially “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” just wouldn’t be the same without Keys amazing sax! ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/36 "2017-03-19T15:55:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > How do you feel about violins? 😃 Violins, violins, it’s the only thing that will make you see sense! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464/37 "2017-03-19T19:05:44Z")
A few songs which may turn some people off from the sax, but they are classics: _The Streetbeater_ by Quincy Jones, more popularly known as the _Sanford and Son_ theme. _Yakety Sax_ by Boots Randolph, commonly heard as the chase music on the _Benny Hill Show_. _Pick Up the Pieces_ by the Average White Band, with sax by founding member Roger Ball. Incidentally, few people realize that Edgar Winter, of _Frankenstein_ fame, is an excellent sax player. I have a recording of Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band that has Winter playing _Pick Up the Pieces_ along with Hamish Stuart, bass player for the AWB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-believe-i-just-found-this-out/782464.md?page=1)