Instrumental singles that charted in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1979-present

voted "rise" without thinking about it

There were many many more prior to 1979. Too many to poll.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/instrumentals-that-cracked-the-billboard-top-20.237572/#post-6106970

Should Swing the Mood even count?

"Lily Was Here" is so vile.

Probably shouldn't. xp

at least two of these songs have videos where the composers enjoy a lovely day with their ladyfriend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ennMD1fPtXA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blnXuYiY8Y0

but only one has jan hammer rocking a keytar when not being chased by sonny crockett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQDU-2qMre0

Looks like Robert Miles' Children could have almost made the cut at #21.

wait a sec, swing the mood isn't an instrumental

one could also debate kenny g's auld lang syne which is chock full of notable quotes

I'd have crossed out Swing the Mood if I'd realized it was in the list. I've never heard the Auld Lang Syne Millennium Mix.

it's just kenny playing the song under a bunch of "FREE AT LAST" "ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN" "YOU'RE NO JACK KENNEDY" shit for 7 minutes

ha! There's not even any art to this. It's just a bunch of soundbytes run together.

voted "rise" without thinking about it

same

had a fun time recently playing "rise" for some people who thought it sounded vaguely familiar and then the break came in and it was "OH SHIT HYPNOTIZE"

original context of the song is hella creepy though

"Rise" was originally recorded as an uptempo dance song, however, while recording the master at A&M studios, the drummer on the session, Steve Schaefer, strongly suggested that Herb and Randy try slowing the tempo down to 100bpm. Upon release, the song received an unexpected burst of promotion: Jill Farren Phelps, musical director of the ABC soap opera General Hospital, decided to use "Rise" as the musical backdrop for the rape of Laura Webber by Luke Spencer. For several weeks afterward, the recording was played on the show to evoke the memory of Luke's act. The added exposure in an extremely popular program boosted sales to the point of selling more than one million copies.

was Luke the one w/the perm

Surprised the Miami Vice theme was a big hit but Crockett's Theme doesn't seem to have done anything, despite being massive in Europe.

Whoa, what? That's the most horrible reason for an uptick in sales I've ever heard of.

an uptick to match the updick

Yes, Luke with the perm. I watched a lot of GH, don't remember "Rise" figuring into it at all.

Man, there's a lot of junk on this list. I've never heard "Lily Was Here" but it can't be worse than "Music Box Dancer." These instros are a far cry from the days of The Ventures and Booker T.

if you WANT to see luke and laura "rise" content its on youtube

personally i'll stick to the video of herb leading a parade on the beach

May poll earlier blocks of time later on. Things really slowed down int he last 35 years, though, so it seemed like an easy poll.

*hearing "Music Box Dancer" this afternoon is what made me wonder whatever happened to the pop single instrumental, though.

Looks like Robert Miles' Children could have almost made the cut at #21.

lol probably woulda voted this

no "Sandstorm", no credibility

Meco getting slept on here, give it a listen again.

Phew. A happy ending!

Despite having been raped by a drunken Luke, Laura later falls in love with him. Originally, critics of the soap opera genre panned the choice of having a rape victim fall in love with her rapist.[4] The unlikely pairing became popular in spite of Luke's past misdeed when the story shifted to focus on love and redemption.

The couple wed at the end of the hour-long show on November 17, 1981; the event was watched by 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.

Christopher Cross was so relieved.

Voted "Music Box Dancer" without thinking about it. Maybe I should have thought about it.

Voted "Afternoon of the Rhino" without thinking about it.

"Harlem Shake" doesn't count as an instrumental?

Anyway, voting for "Axel F"

how does this list compare to the UK? We had 'Swamp Thing' by the Grid - probably a fair few others.

Doesn't "Pump Up the Volume" (which made it to #13) count as an instrumental track? Do any vocal samples whatsoever disqualify a tune, even if there's no singing or rapping and the tune is mostly vocal-free?

UK equivalent but only from 1988-2008 (have there been any since?)

Instrumental Top 20 Hits, 1988 - 2008

Had no idea "Flat Beat" wasn't a hit (wasn't even a single?) in the US. Without that, and with no "Pump Up The Volume" and the poll starting too late for "A Fifth of Beethoven", I guess it's Meco or "Axel F".

I'm just a little surpised that as much of deal was made out of him, Skrillex never had a high charting single.

i think he just missed the wave

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX To Kenny G: Drop Dead