Instrumentals that have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 include
- "Theme from A Summer Place" - Percy Faith (1960)
- "Telstar" - Tornados (1962)
- "L'Amour Est Bleu (Love Is Blue)" - Paul Mauriat (1968)
- "Grazing in the Grass" - Hugh Masekela (1968)
- "Frankenstein" - Edgar Winter Group (1973)
- "Love's Theme" - Love Unlimited Orchestra (1974)
- "The Hustle" - Van McCoy (1975)
- "Theme from 'S.W.A.T.'" - Rhythm Heritage (1976)
- "A Fifth of Beethoven"- Walter Murphy" (1976)
- "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band"- Meco" (1977)
- "Rise" - Herb Alpert (1979)
- "Chariots of Fire" - Vangelis (1981)
- "Miami Vice Theme" - Jan Hammer (1985)
Since the release of the theme to "Miami Vice", no instrumental has reached the top of the Billboard chart.
Sources www.wikipedia.org
According to this infograph you are missing Sleepwalk by Santo & Johnny in 1958 http://polygraph.cool/history/
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Shake reached #1 in 2013. One of my favorite songs ever, Juke by Little Walter, went #1 in 1952.
ReplyDeleteJuke was #1 on the R & B chart, but not on the Billboard 100 chart
DeleteThe Harlem Shake reached #1 in 2013. One of my favorite songs ever, Juke by Little Walter, went #1 in 1952.
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Shake has sampled vocals in it. It is NOT an "instrumental". It is MOSTLY instrumental. Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice" is still the last one to hit #1.
DeleteBy that criteria, The Hustle shouldn't be on there.
ReplyDeleteBert Kaempfert - Wonderland by Night Number 1 in 1961.
ReplyDeleteThere are other instrumental recordings that reached #1 on Billboard's popular music charts. Details of each is in Scott Paulson's researched book of music facts and trivia, "Instrumentals: The Number One Instrumental Recordings from 1950 - Present." >>> https://www.amazon.com/Instrumentals-Number-Instrumental-Recordings-1950-Present/dp/1696308607/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
ReplyDeleteOne that is missing from the list is "TSOP" by MFSB, in April, 1974
ReplyDeleteTSOP of course has the same prob as Hustle and others...
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