# Trumpets in rock **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681 "2015-10-25T01:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/1 "2015-10-25T01:54:28Z")
I was listening to some songs by Cake today when I realized they’re the only band I know of that has a solo trumpeter. (I’m excluding bands like Chicago that have trumpeters as part of a horn section.) Do you know of any other bands that have a trumpeter as their only horn player? And why is solo trumpet so much rarer in rock than a sax player? ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/2 "2015-10-25T02:05:32Z")
Sly and the Family Stone – Cynthia Robinson would play trumpet. They also had a saxophone, but that’s not a horn. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/3 "2015-10-25T02:51:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > They also had a saxophone, but that’s not a horn. Eh. In rock, anything you blow can be a horn, even a flute. At Yale in the early '80s there was a very nice campus band called **Guff** …as in “don’t take any.” Guitar, bass, drums, and vocalist/trumpeter. Best song was “Vegetable Freedom.” “Vegetable freedom… I don’t EAT 'em… Get down in the streets And MEET 'em…” ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/4 "2015-10-25T04:08:18Z")
Zappa usually had one or two horn players in his touring band. Spring/Summer 1973, and the early Mothers tours come to mind. (I’m not counting the trumpet in 1988, since it was part of an entire horn section) ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/5 "2015-10-25T04:35:23Z")
Dunno about trumpets, but I love me a horn section in my rock music. See: Oingo Boingo, Black 47, and a bunch more I can’t recall. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/6 "2015-10-25T04:37:15Z")
Do you remember starting a [very similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=717476) about a year and a half ago? I have a CD by a short-lived band called Loudflower that featured trumpet. [sample song here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcSzUTUPSR4) ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/7 "2015-10-25T05:26:37Z")
I think that Roger Miller of Mission of Burma had a teenage band that recorded avant garde rock music. The were called Sproton Layer. They had Roger on Trumpet. It’s the only example I can think of. You should check it out. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/8 "2015-10-25T06:11:37Z")
Spoilered for NSFW album cover and lyrics: [Idiots Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrUUd-30Bzw) from Jane’s Addiction has trumpets courtesy of Flea. And also, the living god: [Dick Dale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M). Why are trumpets rare in rock? I have no good answers, other than they’re really best as a solo instrument, and the guitarist wants to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/9 "2015-10-25T07:29:10Z")
Because any rock band with a regular trumpet is dangerously on the precipice of becoming a ska-punk band. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/10 "2015-10-25T12:19:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Do you remember starting a [very similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=717476) about a year and a half ago? > > I have a CD by a short-lived band called Loudflower that featured trumpet. [sample song here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcSzUTUPSR4) I _thought_ I had posted about this recently; thanks. And I stand by what I said there: [QUOTE=Me] Horns occupy the same sonic space as lead guitar. Sax was featured in early rock n’ roll, but as amps got loud and distortion/other effects enables lead guitar to really step out front, horns were relegated to backing bits. Add to that the fact that horns are harder to learn and a few teenage kids could grab guitars, bass and drums and make reasonable-sound rock and you’re done… [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/11 "2015-10-25T14:01:50Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Because any rock band with a regular trumpet is dangerously on the precipice of becoming a ska-punk band. Tell that to Calexico or the Stones…not that I have anything against ska-punk. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/12 "2015-10-25T14:11:07Z")
“They don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band. It ain’t what they call rock and roll” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/13 "2015-10-25T14:17:37Z")
There’s Rashawn Ross in the Dave Matthews Band. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/14 "2015-10-25T14:41:27Z")
The Who as The Detours circa 1962-3 played some jazz tunes with John Entwistle on trumpet and Roger Daltrey on trombone. Quite a few Who songs, mainly those written by Entwistle, had flugelhorn. > **[The Who 1962–63 performances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Who_1962%E2%80%9363_performances)** > > The Who, then known as The Detours, began performing in mid-1962 in a variety of line-ups before the band members became more settled, along with their roles within the group. > In the group's earliest days, singer Colin Dawson handled lead vocals while Roger Daltrey played lead guitar and Pete Townshend played rhythm guitar. With Dawson leaving the group in early 1963, Daltrey and singer/bassist Gabby Connolly took over lead vocals, although Connolly would only remain with the group until May ... ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/15 "2015-10-25T14:45:15Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > why is solo trumpet so much rarer in rock than a sax player? Sax is more closely associated with a bluesy sound that rock music often seeks to incorporate. Think of Lisa Simpson wailing away on Baker Street. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/16 "2015-10-25T15:32:15Z")
Listen, if done correctly, rock has few rules and is a great stew of instruments with a driving beat and a bit of danger. Plenty of examples of trumpets being part of that. To me, when **Bobby Keys and Jim Price** come in on sax and trumpet on Rocks Off (Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St, opening track), there are few things I like to hear more. But, from a more dogma-idiot Rockist standpoint, let’s be clear about this: the sax is the guitar of woodwinds, so is acceptably featured in many rock genres. The trumpet is the violin of woodwinds (what? you don’t know this?!), and so featuring a trumpet player might get your rock card revoked. It just makes sense. Now, a _horn section_ is not a trumpet, and when wielded effectively is smiled upon by the gods of rock. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/17 "2015-10-25T16:08:22Z")
Tom Waits has dark, moody trumpet in some of his songs. He plays trumpet himself but I believe he outsourced for his recordings. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/18 "2015-10-25T16:41:32Z")
The 70s band Chase featured four trumpet players and rocked pretty hard: [Get It On.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVt_M1bY_Sw) ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/19 "2015-10-25T16:45:22Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > Tom Waits has dark, moody trumpet in some of his songs. He plays trumpet himself but I believe he outsourced for his recordings. Burma Shave and Cinny’s Waltz both have Jack Sheldon (From the Merv Griffin Band!) and they are great. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681/20 "2015-10-25T16:48:14Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Listen, if done correctly, rock has few rules and is a great stew of instruments with a driving beat and a bit of danger. Plenty of examples of trumpets being part of that. To me, when **Bobby Keys and Jim Price** come in on sax and trumpet on Rocks Off (Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St, opening track), there are few things I like to hear more. > > But, from a more dogma-idiot Rockist standpoint, let’s be clear about this: the sax is the guitar of woodwinds, so is acceptably featured in many rock genres. The trumpet is the violin of woodwinds (what? you don’t know this?!), and so featuring a trumpet player might get your rock card revoked. It just makes sense. > > Now, a _horn section_ is not a trumpet, and when wielded effectively is smiled upon by the gods of rock. Isn’t a trumpet brass and not woodwind? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumpets-in-rock/735681.md?page=2)