So I’ve been trying to put together a list of the greatest saxophone solos in popular music - rock and pop, not jazz, blues or soul. This far, I have:
Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen;
New York State of Mind, by Billy Joel;
and Brian Ferry’s cover of Jealous Guy (which , BTW, I think is better than Lennon’s original - but that’s for another thread).
I’m also embarrased to say that besides the E-Street Band, I have no idea who played these solos.
So, people, what have you? Finish my list.
Isn’t there a pretty good one in ‘Us and Them’ by Pink Floyd? I’m not going to go dig up the cd and listen, but I’m pretty sure that song has one.
I played the sax for 12 years, so you think I’d know!
Billy Joel’s sax player is Mark Rivera, and he has a lot of fantastic solos in Joel’s songs.
“Careless Whisper” by Wham
“You Belong To the City” by Glenn Frey
“Yakkity Sax” by Boots Randolph (better known as the Benny Hill theme)
“Avalon” by Roxy Music
I remember “Say Goodbye” by Dave Matthews Band as having a good sax solo by Leroi Moore (who is a regular band member).
The band Morphine had a fantastic sax player, Dana Colley, who could play two saxes simultaneously, and usually played the baritone sax. Amazing band, and required listening for anyone who likes the saxophone in a rock vein.
You might also want to check Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out Of Hell II albums. I don’t remember exact song titles, but I know there are a few good solos on them.
I’m a sax player myself, 13 years running.
I seem to remember X-Ray Specs’ “Identity” had a saxophone, I also seem to remember that Ian Dury and the Blockheads wre fond of the odd sax solos (“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Sticks” and “Sex ‘n’ Drugs ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll”)
Bobby Keys played some GREAT sax with the Rolling Stones.
“Brown Sugar”
“Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’”
plus many, many others
He still tours with them.
Also Sonny Rollins on the cuts that surfaced on Tattoo You, specifically “Slave” and “Waiting On A Friend.” No wonder they had to call in a heavy hitter like Joshua Redman to play “Waiting…” live on No Security.
Dick Parry plays the sax solos on Pink Floyd’s “Money” and “Us And Them,” plus wherever else there’s a sax on DSOTM.
I’ll take Pete Christlieb’s solo on Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues.” Not bad for a guy better known as a sax player for the Johnny Carson-era Tonight Show.
I really liked Johnny Reno and the Sax Maniacs when I was younger…I oughta go see if there’s still any of their stuff in print…
Oh, yeah, and who played the sax on David Sylvain’s “Silver Moon,” from Gone To Earth? That’s another good one.
And thou shall never forget Jr. Walker’s amazing saxin’ on Foreigner’s Urgent.
Amen.
The Memphis Horns on practically anything by Otis Redding or Sam and Dave. Great ensemble work, though solos as such are few and far between.
King Curtis on Aretha’s early Atlantic-era stuff. Mmm-hmm.
Whoever plays that whacked-out exit solo on the Philosopher King’s “I Am The Man.” Somebody’s been listening to skronk!
“Baker Street,” by Gerry Rafferty, has a terrific sax solo.
Oh, I came to this thread to mention X-Ray Spex! Actually, all of their songs have saxophone–played by original band member Lora Logic on “Oh Bondage! Up Yours” and by Rudi Thompson on the subsequent Germ Free Adolescents album (which includes “Identity”). Not quite as “classic” as the ones mentioned in the OP, but I’d say a lot more fun.
The solo in Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues” is amazing. I used to have a transcription of it, but Lord knows where it is now.
Funny that someone named Dinahmoe didn’t mention this, but Ian Underwood played any number of fine solos with Frank Zappa’s bands.
And I’d have to re-nominate Dick Parry for Pink Floyd’s Money. Damn good playing. 
Yeah, King Curtis… just great.
X-Ray Specs too
Also would recommend the sax in Thunderbird by the Raunch Hands
and a whole lot of the stuff by The Tornados
Although not popular, Amorphis had some pretty good sax work on Am Universum.
Check out the works of Madness. One of their early hits, “One Step Beyond,” is pretty much all sax solo.
I’ve played the sax for 19 years, so you’d think I could come up with a few too. I agree with “Us and Them” by Pink Floyd, here are a few “oldies” that I like with great sax solos:
“Come Go With Me” by the Dell-Vikings
“In the Still of the Night” by the Five Satins
“Shotgun” by Junior Walker & the All-Stars
“What Does It Take (to Win Your Love)” by Junior Walker & the All-Stars
“At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)” by The El Dorados
“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard
and some more recent rock hits:
“Money” by Pink Floyd
“Urgent” by Foreigner (solo by Junior Walker)
“Dancing in the Dark”/“Pink Cadillac” by Bruce Springsteen (solos by Clarence Clemons)
“The Heart of Rock N’ Roll” by Huey Lewis & the News (solo by Johnny Colla)
Am I the only one who read the thread title and immediately got the outro to David Bowie’s “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes” stuck in their head? I belive the saxophonist was… David Bowie!
Van Morrisson also does his own sax work on some albums, but Pee Wee Ellis did the incredibly catchy hook that kicks off “Jackie Wilson Said”.
Y’know: “Duh-duh-Duh-duh DUH Duh-duh-duh-Duh-duh…”
David Sanborn’s sax on David Bowie’s “Young Americans”
I saw Sanborn once on “Later with Bob Costas” and he said that he was essentially playing lead guitar on saxaphone.
“Who Can It Be Now?” - Men at Work