The following is a list of rock instrumentals. Only instrumentals that are notable are included.
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics, or singing, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. [1] [2] [3]
Artist | Song title | Date | Highest position on US charts |
Highest position on UK charts |
Highest position on R&B charts |
Miscellaneous |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Justis | " Raunchy" | 1957 | #3 [4] | #24 [5] | #1 [6] | |
Ernie Freeman | "Raunchy" | 1957 | #4 [7] | #1 [8] | ||
The Champs | " Tequila" | 1958 | #1 [9] | #5 [10] | #1 [11] | |
Duane Eddy | "Moovin' N' Groovin'" | 1958 | #72 | |||
The Champs | "El Rancho Rock" | 1958 | #30 | |||
Link Wray & His Ray Men | " Rumble" | 1958 | #16 [12] | #11 [13] | ||
Duane Eddy | " Rebel Rouser" | 1958 | #6 [14] | #8 [15] | #19 [16] | |
Duane Eddy | " Ramrod" | 1958 | #28 | |||
The Champs | "Chariot Rock" | 1958 | #59 | |||
Duane Eddy | " Cannonball" | 1958 | #15 | #2 | #22 | |
Link Wray & His Ray Men | "Raw-Hide" | 1959 | #23 | |||
The Rockin' R's | "The Beat" | 1959 | #57 | |||
Duane Eddy | " Yep!" | 1959 | #30 | #17 | ||
The Virtues | " Guitar Boogie Shuffle" | 1959 | #5 [17] | #27 [18] | ||
Dave "Baby" Cortez | " The Happy Organ" | 1959 | #1 [19] | #5 [20] | ||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | "Crossfire" | 1959 | #23 | |||
The Wailers | "Tall Cool One" | 1959 | #36 [21] | #24 [22] | ||
Preston Epps | " Bongo Rock" | 1959 | #14 [23] | |||
Duane Eddy | " Forty Miles of Bad Road" | 1959 | #9 | #17 | ||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | " Red River Rock" | 1959 | #5 [24] | #3 [25] | #5 [26] | |
The Wailers | "Mau-Mau" | 1959 | #68 | |||
Sandy Nelson | " Teen Beat" | 1959 | #4 [27] | #9 [28] | #17 [29] | The piano on the recording is by Bruce Johnston. [28] |
Santo & Johnny | " Sleep Walk" | 1959 | #1 [30] | #22 [31] | #4 [32] | |
Santo & Johnny | "Tear Drop" | 1959 | #23 [30] | #50 [31] | #17 [32] | |
Duane Eddy | " Some Kind-A Earthquake" | 1959 | #37 | #12 | ||
Johnny And The Hurricanes | "Reveille Rock" | 1959 | #25 | #17 | ||
The Fireballs | "Bulldog" | 1960 | #24 | |||
The Champs | "Too Much Tequila" | 1960 | #30 | |||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | " Beatnik Fly" | 1960 | #15 | #8 | ||
Bill Black's Combo | " White Silver Sands" | 1960 | #9 [33] | #33 [34] | #1 [35] | |
Bill Black's Combo | " Don't Be Cruel" | 1960 | #11 [33] | #32 [34] | #1 [35] | |
Duane Eddy | " Shazam" | 1960 | #45 | #4 | ||
Duane Eddy | " Because They're Young" | 1960 | #4 | #2 | #17 | |
Johnny and the Hurricanes | "Rocking Goose" | 1960 | #60 | #3 | ||
Duane Eddy | " Peter Gunn" | 1960 | #8 [36] | #6 [15] | This was the second charting of the song in 1959. | |
Floyd Cramer | " Last Date" | 1960 | #2 [37] | #32 [34] | ||
The Shadows | " Apache" | 1960 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Man of Mystery" | 1960 | #5 [38] | |||
The Ventures | " Walk, Don't Run" | 1960 | #1 [39] | #8 [40] | #13 [41] | |
Duane Eddy | " Pepe" | 1961 | #18 | #2 | ||
B. Bumble and the Stingers | " Bumble Boogie" | 1961 | #21 [42] | |||
The Fireballs | "Quite a Party" | 1961 | #27 [43] | #29 [44] | ||
Kokomo | " Asia Minor" | 1961 | #8 [45] | #35 [40] | Adopted from the Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor [45] and subsequently banned by the BBC. [46] | |
The Mar-Keys | " Last Night" | 1961 | #3 [47] | #2 [48] | ||
Sandy Nelson | " Let There Be Drums" | 1961 | #7 [27] | #3 [28] | ||
The Shadows | " F.B.I." | 1961 | #6 [5] | |||
The Shadows | " The Frightened City" | 1961 | #3 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Kon-Tiki" | 1961 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " The Savage" | 1961 | #10 [38] | |||
The String-A-Longs | " Wheels" | 1961 | #3 [49] | #8 [31] | #19 [50] | |
Billy Joe and the Checkmates | "Percolator (Twist)" | 1962 | #10 [51] | |||
The Champs | " Limbo Rock" | 1962 | #40 [9] | |||
Jet Harris | " Besame Mucho" | 1962 | #22 [52] | |||
King Curtis | " Soul Twist" | 1962 | #17 [53] | #1 [54] | ||
Sandy Nelson | "Drums Are My Beat" | 1962 | #29 [27] | #30 [28] | ||
The Shadows | " Wonderful Land" | 1962 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Guitar Tango" | 1962 | #4 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Dance On!" | 1962 | #1 [38] | |||
The Tornados | " Telstar" | 1962 | #1 [55] | #1 [56] | #5 [57] | |
Booker T. & the M.G.'s | " Green Onions" | 1962 | #3 | #1 | ||
The Busters | "Bust Out" | 1963 | #25 [58] | |||
The Dakotas | " The Cruel Sea" | 1963 | #18 [59] | |||
Jet Harris and Tony Meehan | " Scarlett O'Hara" | 1963 | #2 [52] | |||
Lonnie Mack | " Memphis" | 1963 | #5 [60] | #4 [61] | ||
Lonnie Mack | Wham! | 1963 | #24 [60] | From the album The Wham of that Memphis Man | ||
The Marketts | " Out of Limits" | 1963 | #3 [47] | |||
Link Wray & His Ray Men | "Jack The Ripper" | 1963 | #64 | Released in 1961, but didn't chart until 1963. | ||
Jack Nitzsche | " The Lonely Surfer" | 1963 | #39 [62] | |||
The Rockin’ Rebels aka The Rebels |
" Wild Weekend" | 1963 | #8 [63] | #3 [25] | #28 [64] | |
The Shadows | " Foot Tapper" | 1963 | #1 [38] | |||
The Surfaris | " Wipe Out" | 1963 | #2 [65] | #5 [66] | #10 [67] | |
The Pyramids | " Penetration" | 1964 | #18 [68] | Adapted from Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor. [45] | ||
The T-Bones | " No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" | 1965 | #3 [69] | |||
The Viscounts | " Harlem Nocturne" | 1966 | #39 | #17 | Originally released in 1960, peaking at #52 on Billboard and #28 on CashBox. A 1965 re-release resulted in the record topping its previous peak, reaching #39. | |
The Bar-Kays | " Soul Finger" | 1967 | #17 [70] | #33 [71] | #3 [72] | |
Cliff Nobles & Co. | " The Horse" | 1968 | #2 [73] | #2 [74] | ||
Fleetwood Mac | " Albatross" | 1968 | #1 [75] | Charted again (#2) in Britain in 1972. | ||
Hugh Masekela | " Grazing in the Grass" | 1968 | #1 [76] | #1 [77] | ||
Mason Williams | " Classical Gas" | 1968 | #2 [78] | #9 [79] | "orchestrated rock and roll" backed by the Wrecking Crew [80] | |
Booker T. & the M.G.'s | " Time Is Tight" | 1969 | #6 [45] | #7 [81] | from the film Uptight [45] | |
The Ventures | " Hawaii Five-O" | 1969 | #4 [82] |
Most, if not all, of B. Bumble and the Stingers' recordings are instrumentals.
(Note: Bandstand, from 1972, is the only Family album that does not feature an instrumental track.)
Most of if not all of their albums consist of instrumentals.
Albums:
The following is a list of rock instrumentals. Only instrumentals that are notable are included.
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics, or singing, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. [1] [2] [3]
Artist | Song title | Date | Highest position on US charts |
Highest position on UK charts |
Highest position on R&B charts |
Miscellaneous |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Justis | " Raunchy" | 1957 | #3 [4] | #24 [5] | #1 [6] | |
Ernie Freeman | "Raunchy" | 1957 | #4 [7] | #1 [8] | ||
The Champs | " Tequila" | 1958 | #1 [9] | #5 [10] | #1 [11] | |
Duane Eddy | "Moovin' N' Groovin'" | 1958 | #72 | |||
The Champs | "El Rancho Rock" | 1958 | #30 | |||
Link Wray & His Ray Men | " Rumble" | 1958 | #16 [12] | #11 [13] | ||
Duane Eddy | " Rebel Rouser" | 1958 | #6 [14] | #8 [15] | #19 [16] | |
Duane Eddy | " Ramrod" | 1958 | #28 | |||
The Champs | "Chariot Rock" | 1958 | #59 | |||
Duane Eddy | " Cannonball" | 1958 | #15 | #2 | #22 | |
Link Wray & His Ray Men | "Raw-Hide" | 1959 | #23 | |||
The Rockin' R's | "The Beat" | 1959 | #57 | |||
Duane Eddy | " Yep!" | 1959 | #30 | #17 | ||
The Virtues | " Guitar Boogie Shuffle" | 1959 | #5 [17] | #27 [18] | ||
Dave "Baby" Cortez | " The Happy Organ" | 1959 | #1 [19] | #5 [20] | ||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | "Crossfire" | 1959 | #23 | |||
The Wailers | "Tall Cool One" | 1959 | #36 [21] | #24 [22] | ||
Preston Epps | " Bongo Rock" | 1959 | #14 [23] | |||
Duane Eddy | " Forty Miles of Bad Road" | 1959 | #9 | #17 | ||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | " Red River Rock" | 1959 | #5 [24] | #3 [25] | #5 [26] | |
The Wailers | "Mau-Mau" | 1959 | #68 | |||
Sandy Nelson | " Teen Beat" | 1959 | #4 [27] | #9 [28] | #17 [29] | The piano on the recording is by Bruce Johnston. [28] |
Santo & Johnny | " Sleep Walk" | 1959 | #1 [30] | #22 [31] | #4 [32] | |
Santo & Johnny | "Tear Drop" | 1959 | #23 [30] | #50 [31] | #17 [32] | |
Duane Eddy | " Some Kind-A Earthquake" | 1959 | #37 | #12 | ||
Johnny And The Hurricanes | "Reveille Rock" | 1959 | #25 | #17 | ||
The Fireballs | "Bulldog" | 1960 | #24 | |||
The Champs | "Too Much Tequila" | 1960 | #30 | |||
Johnny and the Hurricanes | " Beatnik Fly" | 1960 | #15 | #8 | ||
Bill Black's Combo | " White Silver Sands" | 1960 | #9 [33] | #33 [34] | #1 [35] | |
Bill Black's Combo | " Don't Be Cruel" | 1960 | #11 [33] | #32 [34] | #1 [35] | |
Duane Eddy | " Shazam" | 1960 | #45 | #4 | ||
Duane Eddy | " Because They're Young" | 1960 | #4 | #2 | #17 | |
Johnny and the Hurricanes | "Rocking Goose" | 1960 | #60 | #3 | ||
Duane Eddy | " Peter Gunn" | 1960 | #8 [36] | #6 [15] | This was the second charting of the song in 1959. | |
Floyd Cramer | " Last Date" | 1960 | #2 [37] | #32 [34] | ||
The Shadows | " Apache" | 1960 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Man of Mystery" | 1960 | #5 [38] | |||
The Ventures | " Walk, Don't Run" | 1960 | #1 [39] | #8 [40] | #13 [41] | |
Duane Eddy | " Pepe" | 1961 | #18 | #2 | ||
B. Bumble and the Stingers | " Bumble Boogie" | 1961 | #21 [42] | |||
The Fireballs | "Quite a Party" | 1961 | #27 [43] | #29 [44] | ||
Kokomo | " Asia Minor" | 1961 | #8 [45] | #35 [40] | Adopted from the Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor [45] and subsequently banned by the BBC. [46] | |
The Mar-Keys | " Last Night" | 1961 | #3 [47] | #2 [48] | ||
Sandy Nelson | " Let There Be Drums" | 1961 | #7 [27] | #3 [28] | ||
The Shadows | " F.B.I." | 1961 | #6 [5] | |||
The Shadows | " The Frightened City" | 1961 | #3 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Kon-Tiki" | 1961 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " The Savage" | 1961 | #10 [38] | |||
The String-A-Longs | " Wheels" | 1961 | #3 [49] | #8 [31] | #19 [50] | |
Billy Joe and the Checkmates | "Percolator (Twist)" | 1962 | #10 [51] | |||
The Champs | " Limbo Rock" | 1962 | #40 [9] | |||
Jet Harris | " Besame Mucho" | 1962 | #22 [52] | |||
King Curtis | " Soul Twist" | 1962 | #17 [53] | #1 [54] | ||
Sandy Nelson | "Drums Are My Beat" | 1962 | #29 [27] | #30 [28] | ||
The Shadows | " Wonderful Land" | 1962 | #1 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Guitar Tango" | 1962 | #4 [38] | |||
The Shadows | " Dance On!" | 1962 | #1 [38] | |||
The Tornados | " Telstar" | 1962 | #1 [55] | #1 [56] | #5 [57] | |
Booker T. & the M.G.'s | " Green Onions" | 1962 | #3 | #1 | ||
The Busters | "Bust Out" | 1963 | #25 [58] | |||
The Dakotas | " The Cruel Sea" | 1963 | #18 [59] | |||
Jet Harris and Tony Meehan | " Scarlett O'Hara" | 1963 | #2 [52] | |||
Lonnie Mack | " Memphis" | 1963 | #5 [60] | #4 [61] | ||
Lonnie Mack | Wham! | 1963 | #24 [60] | From the album The Wham of that Memphis Man | ||
The Marketts | " Out of Limits" | 1963 | #3 [47] | |||
Link Wray & His Ray Men | "Jack The Ripper" | 1963 | #64 | Released in 1961, but didn't chart until 1963. | ||
Jack Nitzsche | " The Lonely Surfer" | 1963 | #39 [62] | |||
The Rockin’ Rebels aka The Rebels |
" Wild Weekend" | 1963 | #8 [63] | #3 [25] | #28 [64] | |
The Shadows | " Foot Tapper" | 1963 | #1 [38] | |||
The Surfaris | " Wipe Out" | 1963 | #2 [65] | #5 [66] | #10 [67] | |
The Pyramids | " Penetration" | 1964 | #18 [68] | Adapted from Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor. [45] | ||
The T-Bones | " No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" | 1965 | #3 [69] | |||
The Viscounts | " Harlem Nocturne" | 1966 | #39 | #17 | Originally released in 1960, peaking at #52 on Billboard and #28 on CashBox. A 1965 re-release resulted in the record topping its previous peak, reaching #39. | |
The Bar-Kays | " Soul Finger" | 1967 | #17 [70] | #33 [71] | #3 [72] | |
Cliff Nobles & Co. | " The Horse" | 1968 | #2 [73] | #2 [74] | ||
Fleetwood Mac | " Albatross" | 1968 | #1 [75] | Charted again (#2) in Britain in 1972. | ||
Hugh Masekela | " Grazing in the Grass" | 1968 | #1 [76] | #1 [77] | ||
Mason Williams | " Classical Gas" | 1968 | #2 [78] | #9 [79] | "orchestrated rock and roll" backed by the Wrecking Crew [80] | |
Booker T. & the M.G.'s | " Time Is Tight" | 1969 | #6 [45] | #7 [81] | from the film Uptight [45] | |
The Ventures | " Hawaii Five-O" | 1969 | #4 [82] |
Most, if not all, of B. Bumble and the Stingers' recordings are instrumentals.
(Note: Bandstand, from 1972, is the only Family album that does not feature an instrumental track.)
Most of if not all of their albums consist of instrumentals.
Albums: