JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Let's talk about instrumentals.

Hi Jean

Another good subject near & dear to my heart.

I take my versatility very seriously as it is probably my strongest asset.
I have an entire album/CD of instrumental music and yet I still submit lyrical pop/rock songs to the largest record label in the world.

1- I personally love instrumental music of all kinds. I especially love swing music and jazz rock fusion. Classical music of course. Theme music is absolutely wonderful. Much props to John Williams,Jerry Goldsmith,Danny Elfman and many others.

REAL music in my book is instrumental. And yet nobody loves Popular music with lyrics more than I do from the 40's - basically the 90's but mainly 40's - 70's

2- I ALWAYS talk about the loss of instrumental music in the masses and the business. I wrote a whole thread about it not too long ago.

I don't care what anyone try's to tell me. Record labels, Sponsors, and Radio ,TV determines what's is popular in this country.
No way no how is instrumental music anywhere near close to as popular as it used to be. There has always been instrumental music in films, and on commercials etc.. so what there's more channels. That means a million more non instrumentals as well.

Without researching anything I can tell you this. Frank Sinatra one of the biggest vocalist in HISTORY started behind the Tommy Dorsey Band.

Back in the day BIG BAND was POP music. It's what was on the radio and selling sheet music and records. I LOVE Big Band music. It is instrumentals that are VERY catchy. Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, The Dorseys.s They were the POP stars.
And they were all GREAT musicians. How would you like to have Lionel Hampton.Gene Krupa and Harry James in YOUR band? and the KIDS went wild for them!!!

Okay you get the picture... Then they started having singers come up and do a a song or two with the band. The singers were not top billing. This started to get catch on and the singers started becoming more & more popular. Eventually taking the spotlight. Rosemary Clooney used to do this, so did Sinatra but it was Bing Crosby who really started the ball rolling, he got BIG!
Aside from this the great Al Jolson was the man... but his real anchor was really on Broadway and in shows. But then the trail blazing Jolson did the first talking picture.
He was an incredible musical force!

Once Jazz started becoming popular it stayed popular all the way till the 80's actually it did very well in the 80's but slowly MTV contributed to bumping it off the map.

Surf Music in the 60's was VERY popular!!!!

In the 70's The Jazz Rock fusion scene was booming. AWESOME! I own all the Midnight Specials and right after Helen Ready sings "I Am Woman" Weather Report w/Jaco come on and perform. Right after Oliva Newton John sings" Edgar Winter performs "Frankenstein" Chuck Mangione, George Benson. Herb Albert they all performed on PRIME TIME TV.

TV when there was only SEVEN channels had TONS & TONS of more impact than having two thousand channels NOW! That is not an opinion.
Being on channel 1,744 on Sunday at 4:45 am means crap compared to being on the Ed Sullivan Show! Or Dick Clark. The whole country saw you they had NO choice!

Even though we hate to admit it people are basically brainwashed into what ever is sold to them. MACDONALD'S is the worse crap you can put in your mouth and more people eat it everyday than ANYTHING else on the planet.

Record labels and whoever backs them NOT the public are the reason for the NO instrumental in the mainstream. People will BUY whatever you advertise to them that is a freaking fact otherwise people wouldn't spend countless millions doing just that.

George on Seinfeld summed it up best. They asked when him and Jerry were pitching there show- "George how do you know people will watch and like the show"? George simply says " Cause it's on TV that's why"

Kids really don't know any better if you expose them to something enough they will take to it, and adults are pretty much the same way. It's a fact because instrumentals were accepted and loved as POP CHARTED songs for many years. Why? Duh! Cause they heard it on the radio everyday. It wouldn't have been if they didn't play it on the radio. Dance Halls were kinda over

So expose them to something GREAT!
But it's too late for that now cause we are so sunk in to the sad state of things everyones afraid to try. No need or care to even try. But one day they might swing it back some. Doubt it but I hope so

Versatility of ANY KIND is completely wiped out of the top Pop Charts today never mind instrumental music. You can keep the internet I'll take instrumentals being played on the radio every minute of the day like LAdy Ga Ga and "Boom Boom Pow" lol...

"Practice really hard and study an instrument your whole life and maybe you can be on You Tube one day" Thanks alot!