This month, Ron Witucki, John Len, and yours truly, Dr. J, met with the intention of picking 25 great instrumental records. We used our tried and true approach of secretly selecting our Top 50 choices beforehand, and then bringing our lists to the meeting. There, we assigned a point value to each of our selections (50 pts. for # 1, 49 pts. for # 2 and so on.) The songs that garnered the highest point totals make up the following list. All of our final 25 are from the years 1956 through 1963 - the golden age of Rock and Roll instrumental hits.
01. "Walk Don't Run" - The Ventures. The all time greatest Ventures' record was my introduction to the sound of surf rock.
02. "Sleep Walk" - Santo & Johnny. The very best instrumental for slow dancing. Nothing else comes close.
03. "Green Onions" - Booker T. & The MG's. This classic was my very first Stax 45, and it still sounds great!
04. "Rebel Rouser" - Duane Eddy And The Rebels. This was my introduction to Duane Eddy's twangy guitar.
05. "Harlem Nocturne" - The Viscounts. The first time I saw a strip show in Detroit, several of the dancers disrobed to this great instrumental.
06. "Honky Tonk" - Bill Doggett. I had just turned ten when it became a hit. I had no idea what a hony tonk was.
07. "Raunchy" - Bill Justis. I bought a 78 rpm copy of this song at Lucky's Record Shop in Bay City. I didn't get a 45 player until 1958.
08. "Last Night" - The Mar-Keys. This great instrumental was done by Stax/Volt studio musicians. Steve Cropper and "Duck" Dunn played on it before they joined Booker T. & The MG's.
09. "Rumble" - Link Wray & His Ray Men. This lowdown rocker inspired a group of friends and I to fake group fights (rumbles) in front of Woodside School to try to attract the attention of drivers passing by. File under things kids used to do in my neighborhood when we were ten.
10. "Teen Beat" - Sandy Nelson. In my humble opinion, it was the greatest drum instrumental of all time.
11. "Bongo Rock" - Preston Epps. It inspired me to ask for a set of bongo drums for my 13th birthday. Sadly, I soon discovered I was no match for Preston Epps.
12. "Tequila" - The Champs. Incredibly catchy, and who doesn't love to sing out "Tequila" whenever it plays?
13. "Red River Rock" - Johnny & The Hurricanes. Their upbeat version of "Red River Valley" was their best rock and roll adaptation of a popular traditional melody.
14. "Peter Gunn" - Duane Eddy And The Rebels. Peter Gunn was one of my favorite TV shows, and Duane Eddy's version of its theme song took it to another dimension..
15. "Wild Weekend" - The Rockin' Rebels. For some reason this cool instrumental reminds me of playing basketball during my sophmore year at St. Joseph High School.
16. "Bumble Boogie" - B. Bumble & The Stingers. I had no idea that this rocking instrumental was adapted from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" when I purchased it.
17. "The Happy Organ" - Dave 'Baby' Cortez. In 1959, it became the first instrumental by a Detroit-born artist to reach # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
18. "Woo-Hoo" - The Rock-A-Teens. It was the band's only charting hit, peaking at # 16 in 1959 on Roulette Records. I wonder if they were paid any royalties by gangster Morris Levy? Probably not. He was notorious for screwing over his artists.
19. "Wipe Out" - The Surfaris. This instrumental pretty much defined the summer of 1963. Being able to play the song's solo was essential for teen drummers during the '60s.
20. "Raw-Hide" - Link Wray & His Ray Men. I saw Link Wray and his band perform this on American Bandstand in early 1959 and immediately bought a copy of the 45 at Lucky's Record Shop.
21. "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" - The Virtues. It reached # 5 of the Hot 100 in 1959. It was the only charting record by the Philadelphia band.
22. "Miserlou" - Dick Dale and The Del-Tones. Dick Dale was the master of the surf guitar, and this instrumental gave the listener the feeling of being on a surfboard and catching a wave.
23. "Tall Cool One" - The Wailers. I bought this record after seeing The Wailers on American Bandstand. The 45 on Golden Crest Records was unusual in that it had a photo of the band on the label.
24. "Nut Rocker" - B. Bumble & The Stingers. Again, with my limited knowledge of classical music, I did not know that my second B. Bumble & The Stingers' 45 from 1962 was adapted fromTchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite."
25. "Ghost Riders In The Sky" - The Ramrods. Another one hit wonder, this Connecticut band reached # 30 in 1961 with their instrumental version of Vaughn Monroe's 1949 hit.
Bonus Picks:
26. "Poor Boy" - The Royaltones. My first Royaltones' 45. They would later back Del Shannon on some of his '60s hits. Later members included future Funk Brothers Dennis Coffey and Bob Babbitt.
27. "Rinky Dink" - Dave 'Baby' Cortez. His second hit instrumental reached # 10 in 1962. I liked this record more than "The Happy Organ." It was the last Dave "Baby" Cortez instrumental to reach the Top 40.
28. "Flamingo Expess" - The Royaltones. My favorite Royaltones' 45 was their final charting hit. It later became the first instrumental recording by a Michigan artist to be inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
29. "The Lonely One" - Duane Eddy And The Rebels. This recorrd brings back fond memories of my best friend Tim LeVasseur. It was our favorite Duane Eddy instrumental back when we growing up one house apart on Rose Street in Bay City.
30. "Let There Be Drums" - Sandy Nelson. His first big hit after he signed with Imperial Records in 1961. Although not quite as great as "Teen Beat," it was a close seecond.
The only Michigander on our original Top 25 list was Dave 'Baby' Cortez. Although they were formed in Toledo, Ohio, Johnny & The Hurricanes had their management based in Detroit and as a result played often in Michigan in the 50's and 60's. Another of Michigan's successful instumental combos was The Royaltones. Their biggest hit from 1958, "Poor Boy", finished just out of the original list at # 26.
