# What is the most famous instrumental song of the 20th century? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914 "2017-09-21T21:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/61 "2017-09-22T15:32:38Z")
Is Hocus Pocus instrumental? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/62 "2017-09-22T15:59:15Z")
Lots of contenders. A lot of them from the surf rock genre, such as [Walk, Don’t Run](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW21rcHiVU0) by the Ventures, [Pipeline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omG-hZfN6zk) by the Chantays, [Misirlou](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M) by Dick Dale and the Deltones and many, many more. And a big shout-out to Glen Campbell playing the [William Tell Overture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0) on a 12-string guitar. So much fun to watch, especially the last 30 seconds! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/63 "2017-09-22T16:28:31Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I would say … \ … “Hawaii Five-O” Some Australian teens thought it was the US National Anthem. 😃 (A reference to a scene from a favorite movie, _The Dish_: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zftKpiI6\_sI](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zftKpiI6_sI)) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/64 "2017-09-22T16:46:48Z")
This is a fun thread. Many good songs here. Classical Gas is a favorite, and several others that I didn’t know what their titles were (Green Onions, Walk - Don’t Run). Some fun ones not mentioned yet, and maybe they don’t quite rise to the very top, are some played by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. [Tijuana Taxi](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cK5pl6W2CFE) [Spanish Flea](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UcAzR2QyPCI) – made popular by TV’s “The Dating Game” [A Taste of Honey](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NC38-qqiVgg) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/65 "2017-09-22T19:38:24Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > [A Taste of Honey](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NC38-qqiVgg) The Beatles version with lyrics is way more famous than any instrumental. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/66 "2017-09-22T20:48:48Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The Beatles version with lyrics is way more famous than any instrumental. Maybe I’ve listened to more Herb Alpert than the average person, but I definitely recognize the Alpert song more than the Beatles song. I didn’t even realize those were the same songs until just now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/67 "2017-09-22T21:05:13Z")
OK, I’ve finally gotten around to looking it up. Yeah, I’ve heard “Green Onions”, though I never knew that was its title. But even after having heard it, there are still plenty of other instrumental songs I’ve heard way more often than it. I can’t even tell you what context I would have heard it in. ---
**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, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/68 "2017-09-22T21:22:06Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Because the Champs speak the word “Tequila” in that song, does that disqualify it from the running? There’s a long tradition of instros having the name spoken in some way, usually at the end. I say it’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/69 "2017-09-22T22:08:10Z")
I don’t want to live in a world where “Yakkity Sax” is only #98. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/70 "2017-09-22T22:31:48Z")
“Telstar” is nowhere on that list? That was the first one that came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/71 "2017-09-22T22:40:02Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > “Feels So Good” (Chuck Mangione) hasn’t been mentioned and doesn’t appear in the OP’s link. That’s definitely the most popular instrumental song in Arlen, Texas. ---
**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 23, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/72 "2017-09-23T01:09:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > No, I saw it. I just don’t think the distinction between “pure” instrumentals and instrumental versions of songs that have lyrics somewhere is particularly relevant to a pop music discussion. If an instrumental version of a song is a hit, then I’d consider that a “famous instrumental” for the purposes of this thread (or, really, just in general.) > > I had thought in your initial post you were complaining that a lot of the songs mentioned in the thread were not instrumentals when you said “I understood “instrumentals” to mean tunes that never had lyrics. A lot of the ones mentioned do, whether they are well known or not.” Perhaps I misunderstood. Maybe you were just talking about the list that was linked to. NM ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/73 "2017-09-23T03:23:31Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > “Feels So Good” (Chuck Mangione) hasn’t been mentioned and doesn’t appear in the OP’s link. Chuck Mangione. Wow as a teenager of the 1970s his “Geels So Good” was so popular back then – 1978, he and his flugelhorn reached #4 in June with that single. I looked that up. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/74 "2017-09-23T03:30:05Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The Beatles version with lyrics is way more famous than any instrumental. The Beatles did “A Taste of Honey”? [OK, gee, I guess they did – news to me](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rHxeKnEl8zY). > [@pulykamell](#): > > Maybe I’ve listened to more Herb Alpert than the average person, but I definitely recognize the Alpert song more than the Beatles song. I didn’t even realize those were the same songs until just now. 🙂 Same here, [Herb Alpert’s version of A Taste of Honey](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NC38-qqiVgg) is very recognizable. The Beatles’, not at all. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/75 "2017-09-23T04:52:18Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > The Beatles did “A Taste of Honey”? [OK, gee, I guess they did – news to me](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rHxeKnEl8zY). Just so you know, that’s not the actual Beatles singing it. The arrangement is relatively close to what’s on “Please Please Me.” It’s really difficult finding original Beatles songs on Youtube these days. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2017, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/76 "2017-09-23T04:57:39Z")
ETA: Actually, reading through the comments, it sounds like this may be the B-side to an early record, but not the album take of the song. But I can’t tell for certain. It doesn’t sound quite like the Beatles to me, but who knows. I expect **drag dog** could give a relatively definitive answer here. ETA2: No, my initial instinct was correct. [Here is the same version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIFB4EyAHjY) by what apparently is a tribute band called “Zoom Beatles.” I thought for a second I was going crazy when people in the comments were saying that was a Paul McCartney vocal, and I was thinking that it didn’t sound like him at all. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/77 "2017-09-23T05:16:00Z")
OK thanks. I found [a version of “A Taste of Honey” done by The Hollies](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iuxRCE8D74Q). It’s weird hearing a version with lyrics. And I much prefer the Herb Alpert version. Still, **Eyebrows** ’s point is made, this isn’t a purely instrumental song. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/78 "2017-09-23T05:26:57Z")
Percy Faith’s “Holiday for Strings” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2u0BvyDxdM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2u0BvyDxdM) “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson is still played a lot at Christmas. It was originally an instrumental, but later lyrics were added. Other compositions of his were well known. “Blue Tango” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnHLKM8hQR8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnHLKM8hQR8) It was the #1 single on Billboard magazine’s Top Hot 100 songs of 1952, America’s number one hit record for five weeks in the spring of 1952, on Billboard’s national singles charts for 38 weeks and in the top 10 for six months. “The Syncopated Clock” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6vvkXd9GRw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6vvkXd9GRw) > **[Syncopated Clock, Indeed - The American Scholar](https://theamericanscholar.org/syncopated-clock-indeed/)** > > On Leroy Anderson’s centennial, a defense of the popular composer from an orchestra’s stage > [@](#): > > …beginning in the 1950s, a Percy Faith recording of “The Syncopated Clock” introduced movies on the long-running Late Show that aired on some CBS stations. When neighbors in Woodbury heard that he was a composer and asked what music he’d written, Anderson, the ever-reticent Swede, would reply, “I wrote the theme of The Late Show.” “Plink, Plank, Plunk” was used as the opening and closing theme of “I’ve Got a Secret” from 1952 to 1961. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGbUT4bgYuw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGbUT4bgYuw) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/79 "2017-09-23T06:49:23Z")
Apache by the Shadows. The Vision On [Gallery Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcCHRW8G9yY). Oxygene by Jean-Michel Jarre. No? Okay then. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914/80 "2017-09-23T07:52:48Z")
I came to sat [“Yakkity Sax.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcq_xLi2NGo) But then I remembered [Baby Elephant Walk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf8BT3wbZSo) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-famous-instrumental-song-of-the-20th-century/796914.md?page=5)