This describes much of the music from the jazz age.
Glad to know that I’m not the only one who’s never heard of the not-so-famous “Green Onions”!
Totally cool that you and Chronos haven’t heard of it or heard it, but use this as an opportunity to listen to it. It is deeply good stuff. Booker T’s organ is sublime, Duck Dunn’s bass is so cool, and Steve Cropper’s guitar work, including a stinging lead that guitar geeks regularly cite to this day - it’s worth giving a listen.
While you’re at it, take in some of the group’s other pieces. Hang 'Em High is also great, and Time Is Tight is their best.
Good for you, CelticKnot! Instantly recognizable, if not by the actual title.
My own favorite instrumental is definitely “The Cruel Sea” by the The Ventures. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s popular enough to be submitted for the OP’s purpose.
My favorite version of Sleepwalk is Brian Setzer’s solo version, using a bit of echo, and amazing whammy bar work to fill in a feeling of rich orchestration: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fDvfzxVDxl8
OK, I’d neither heard nor heard of “Sleepwalk” before, but how the heck does Setzer get both a bassline and melody out of a single guitar, there?
It’s just that he’s that good. He’s kinda muting the lower notes so that the echo effect fills in the sound, and he more sharply picks the higher notes so they stand out. Supreme control.
Leo Kottke’s version of Sleepwalk
If it’s from the album i think it is, there’s also an interesting version of the theme from The Night of the Hunter.
To me, the piece that illustrates the forties and The War is Moonlight Serenade, by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band.
I don’t understand this list. Any list of “100 Greatest Instrumentals” ought to be, you know, instrumentals – no sung/spoken lyrics. But just a cursory glance, and I saw several songs with well-known lyrics: “Born Free”, “Moon River”, “Don’t Be Cruel” “Fly Me to the Moon”? How do they count as instrumentals?
“Embryonic Journey” by Jefferson Airplane as it is always, always, ALWAYS used in every documentary about the 1960s, up to and including Ken Burns’ new Vietnam series).
Oddly, I don’t recognize that song at all.
According to the movie Sample This, “Apache” is the most recorded/sampled song in the world.
Usually this version:
(Sample This is a fascinating movie, btw, worth your time. Nice history lesson.)
Here's yet another version of Apache, this one by the sublime Frank Vignola and friends. And I think we all know the worst version in the world, which has become monumental in its own right:
Green Onions is one of the greatest Instro song(IMHO) that it should rate higher but my fav Instro band in the beginning was The Ventures. I started playing guitar because of them. I love playing it.
Now that we have Kraftwerk which is 4 guys with their synthesizers I am fascinated with their songs. They had become my fav Instro band. Some of their songs will have a little vocals but they are well done.
This is one of my fav song by them.
It should be ‘Villanova Junction’ by Jimi Hendrix.
It’s certainly this. I mean c’mon. Heck, hundreds of sans lyrics video game themes could crowd out 98% of what’s already been suggested.
…or are we all being snobs and not including them for some reason?
Hi WordGuy; I like Setzer enough to be annoyed when Rolling Stone left him off their list of Top 100 Guitarist, but… that version of Sleepwalk is a working definition of “change the beauty of the melody, until it sounds just like a symphony.” If there was ever a song that didn’t need 16th notes, it’s Sleepwalk. It destroys all the sleepwalkishness.
Mr Chronos, this is the original 1959 version.
Not to mention the 9th 11th and 15th chords. He seems to be trying to quote pet sounds in places, but he leaves the sting out of the song. It makes it a different song.
Is it prejudiced of me to think that this is OK on TNN but might not fly on a more citified network? It seems vegasy to me anyway.
'Tis true, I put it’s Setzer-ifficness before its sleepwalkishness 
No, we should not exclude them, they are good stuff. It had to be composed just like any other songs.
My Commodore 64 has a fantastic sound chip as well as graphic. I had a truckload of games I bought from a mail order software house. Most of them were cracked games.
