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] |
See also: Tin Machine |
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.)
See also: Racer X |
See also: The Shadows |
See also: The Shadows |
See also: The Amboy Dukes |
Most of if not all of their albums consist of instrumentals.
Main article: List of Rush instrumentals |
Albums:
See also: Jet Harris and Tony Meehan and Hank Marvin |