Other instruments in Rock n Roll

Rock and Roll is simple..

You have the lead guitar, drums and a wailing vocalist in a whirlwind of sonic storm while the bassist keeps the rhythmic pulse and harmonies consistent.

This thread however, is to highlight some songs/music where the incorporation of another instrument's sounds took the rock to another level.

No... there will be no computer synth pop..

Yes.. there will be more cowbell..

Shall we?


Best Harmonica in a Rock song


Ever since Little Walter got tired of his harmonica sound being drowned out by the electric guitars and one day, decided to cup a mic to the harmonica and plugged it straight into the very amplifiers that the guitars went into, harmonica has been adding a mournful soul to the Rock songs.

The pantheon of harmonica songs range from Neil Young's Heart of Gold to a whole bunch of Bob Dylan's songs as well as Billy Joel's Piano Man to Sugar Blue's piercing harmonica in the Rolling Stones Miss You.

But the granddaddy of all, in my humble opinion, came when some guys decided to record their song inside the stone walls at some 18th century run down poorhouse.



When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin

You see.. Headley Grange contributed to Rock n Roll in a massive way.. It was where Stairway to Heaven was written.. it's walls heard the first assembly of Page's guitar solo on that monster song..

But when Jimmy (as a producer) decided to let John Bonham go nuts on the drums in a stairwell and put the microphones three stories up, they bottled a beast that reverberated up the ancient stone walls.

Not to be outdone, Robert Plant broke out his harmonica and used every sonic trick from backward echo (where you hear the echo before the original sound) to flanging (where a delayed replica gets looped right back in) and voila!.. a sonic wall of harmonica that comes to break the levees of rock n roll.




Best Saxophone  in a Rock song

What we need.. is more sax in rock n Roll. The seventies and the eighties saw the hight of saxophones being incorporated into Rock with great success. (Since this is a Rock thread, I will not be bringing up the awesome Saxophone in Disco or RnB music)

Clarance Clemons takes the cake in Saxophone players rocking a Rock n Roll band when he joined the Boss with the E Street Band.. from Jungleland to Born to Run, his saxophone was the heart of the music.

Whether you are looking for somber baritone saxophone  in Lou Reed's Walk on the wild side to enigmatic sounds infused in Pink Floyd's psychedelia;

to upbeat "Let's go out and get laid!" tunes in Glenn Frey's You belong to the city or Icehouse's Electric Blue...

or "Hey why am I so pumped up at the end of a song?" tailing solos on Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone, soaring Saxophone riffs definitely lent a unique soul to the Rock songs..

Though short in nature, in my humble opinion, the best incorporation of a sax solo in a Rock song came when a rock band learned that a Motown Saxophone legend was in town where they were recording and invited for a solo.


Urgent - Foreigner

Junior Walker was a great Motown saxophonist. When asked by Foreigner - a British rock band, while by coincidence, Walker was performing in New York where the band was recording, Junior crammed in a one minute, a Saxophone solo that has searing sharp notes, soaring rhythms and the angst of an ambulance driver weaving through the traffic (imho.. hehe)


Speaking for what we need more..



Best Cowbell in a Rock song


Ok ok.. Lets run through some fine examples where this bucolic little instrument took the epic Rock songs to the new level before we get to the grandddy of them all..

A shout out to my buddy Chongo at Monster Garage for War's Low Rider.. He would so approve of this song making the list..

My other favs are the Stones' Honky Tonk Women (The other song where the producer, not Charlie Watts, wanted moar cowbell and actually banged it in the studios).. To Led Zeppelin's famous studio song/instrumental about some white whale where they let John Bonham spank drums with his bare hands.. and spank the cowbell hard too..

But.. The biggest.. baddest.. moment when Rock n Roll music and Cowbell collided, came when Christopher Walken walked in on Will Ferrell demanding... moar Cowbell..

(Don't fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult, Saturday Night Live cast, Christopher Walken

We will just let the SNL Cowbell Sketch speak for itself.



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Ok that's enough for the day.. stay tuned for more parts.. feel free to suggest other songs or instruments as well.. ️️

 

I mentioned Billy Joel.. I just couldn't vote Piano Man as tops simple because the song has "Piano" in it.. if it was "Harmonica Man", may be

Oh yea Baker Street! That kicked ass.. great choice..

 

Yea.. Gerry kicked ass.. on a side note, there may have been cowbell on Stuck in the middle with you... another Gerry hit

 

Best non-word vocals in a Rock song

This category is for all the non-word vocal sounds that spice up the Rock songs..

First off.. we will have a separate category for best screams in Rock songs.. so no yelling in this category..

And No.. Ricola yodel is not a rock song.. but the yodelling towards the end of Hocus Pocus by Focus is a legit Rock entry..

Oh.. and I will include this most awesome Oktoberfest beer song as an honorary rock song with the best yodel..

My favs in this category include Freddy Mercury's doo-woop sounds in Under Pressure, Robert Plant and David Lee Roth's "sounds" in a bunch of their songs.. to Steven Tyler's A Capella in Rag Doll..

Then we get a tie in the second place for two of the most powerful rock songs..

The Do-DooDoo-Do-DooDo humming vocals in Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side

And Clare Torry's absolutely massive operatic wailing in Pink Floyd's The great gig in the sky from their iconic The Dark Side of the Moon album.

But the king of them all... As attested by countless folks who attempt it after one beer too many is..

Louie Louie by the Kingsmen

How many rock and roll songs can you name that the FBI actually launched an investigation into?..

That's exactly what the FBI did in 1964 after numerous complaints that their version contained obscene lyrics.. the finding was inconclusive of course cos mainly the Kingsmen were just mumbling unintelligible sounds throughout their song.

I (Ashes) also have a particular preference to this song cos like the Kingsmen, many people have complained to the KaW authoritehs about my forum threads alleging of obscene references

 

Best sound of someone hitting puberty in the middle of a song - Baby, Baby by Justin Bieber