If we created AT40's largest band ever...

[80sat40fan]

... and had parts for every instrument featured in a Top 40 song, that would make for one enormous band! It might be fun to create a list of instruments that have been featured in hits over the years. If you know of any not so common instruments featured in songs, or others which have frequently been heard, go ahead and list them here with a Top 40 song that featured the instrument.

Since lots of songs from the 70s and 80s featured saxophones...
* Soprano saxophone: "Songbird" by Kenny G
* Alto saxophone: "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
* Tenor saxophone: "Maneater" by Hall & Oates
* Baritone saxophone: the solo in "Modern Love" by David Bowie

A few songs with instruments not usually featured in Top 40 songs:
* Harpsichord: the solo in "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family
* Vibraphone: the solo in "Keep On Truckin'" by Eddie Kendricks
* Melodica: featured in the introduction to "And We Danced" by The Hooters and in the solo to "Dance With Me" by Orleans (I think Casey may have done a story about the melodica before featuring one of The Hooters' songs?)

A few other instruments which are more common include:
* Trombone: the introduction and solo in "Just You 'N' Me" by Chicago
* 12-string guitar: throughout "Hotel California" by The Eagles
* Hammond organ: throughout "Let It Be" by The Beatles

In listening to songs from the 70s and 80s versus today's hits... there were so many more instruments in songs from 30 - 50 years ago compared to now. I miss the richness and layers of music made by many of those instruments.

[vto66]

Flute: Solo in Carpenters' "It's Going to Take Some Time"
Oboe: Dream Academy's "Life In A Northern Town"
Police-whistle thingy: Donna Summer's "Bad Girls"

[mga707]

Marimba: "Moonlight Feels Right"--Starbuck

[laura]

Clarinet: "Take The Long Way Home" - Supertramp

[artsmusic]

Moog synthesizer: "Popcorn"- Hot Butter
Banjo: "Sweet City Woman" - Stampeders
Penny whistle (Solo!!) : "You Can Call Me Al"- Paul Simon
Cuica: "Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard"-Paul Simon
Glockenspiel, and of course, tubular bells
: "Tubular Bells"- Mike Oldfield

[slf]

Don't forget the harmonica!  I recall there were many pop hits in the '70's with sweet harmonica parts. (I prefer sweet, mellow harmonica playing versus the abrasive style often used in old blues songs.)  Of the ones that come to mind, my favorite is the harmonica in the Chi-Lites' "Oh, Girl".  So sweet, yet gut-wrenching!  Second place would be the harmonica in "Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Round The Old Oak Tree)".  An honorable mention would be a great song from the '90's in which the prevailing harmonica makes it sound like it's from the '70's:  "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer.

[slf]

Feb 25, 2021 13:17:35 GMT -5 vto66 said:

Flute: Solo in Carpenters' "It's Going to Take Some Time"
Oboe: Dream Academy's "Life In A Northern Town"
Police-whistle thingy: Donna Summer's "Bad Girls"

That's probably my favorite Carpenters song, and the flute solo is one of the reasons why.

[slf]

Feb 25, 2021 13:56:52 GMT -5 mga707 said:

Marimba: "Moonlight Feels Right"--Starbuck

I thought of another instrument from a particular song that I remember is a favorite of yours:  That French horn or whatever is heard in the intro and outro for Roger Whitaker's "The Last Farewell".

[at40nut]

There's the jaw harp or Jew's harp heard at the beginning of The Who's "Join Together"

[at40petebattistini]

Although more of an instrument modifier, the 'talk box' was used in at least one Top 40 hit, Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do" (Frampton Comes Alive).

[chrislc]

On Amanda by Boston is that a triangle?

[pb]

Steel drums: "Morning Dance" by Spyro Gyra

[mga707]

Feb 25, 2021 16:51:57 GMT -5 slf said:

Feb 25, 2021 13:56:52 GMT -5 mga707 said:

Marimba: "Moonlight Feels Right"--Starbuck

I thought of another instrument from a particular song that I remember is a favorite of yours:  That French horn or whatever is heard in the intro and outro for Roger Whitaker's "The Last Farewell".

That was one of my Mom's favorites. But I don't dislike it either. I like it's historical 'feel'.

[pb]

Electric sitar: "You Are Everything" by the Stylistics (and several other early 70's r&b songs)

[80sat40fan]

Here are a few more:

* Flugelhorn: "Feels So Right" by Chuck Mangione
* Trumpet: "Rise" by Herb Alpert
* Tuba: the intro and solo of "Theme From Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" by John Williams
* Xylophone: "Lost In Emotion" by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
* Bagpipes: "Amazing Grace" by The Pipes & Drums & The Military Band Of The Royal Scots

I'm surprised no one has gone for the low-hanging fruit like:
* Piano: "Piano Man" by Billy Joel