No words needed rock #instrumentals from the 70s #RMF

This is the second annual Roctober Mewsic Festival hosted by Mary from Jingle Jangle Jungle and I’m happy to join along with her in the fun. 

I always considered myself a soft rock to middle of the road rock gal but in the last 10 years, I realized that my rock n’ roll roots lean a little heavier and harder than I first thought.  This month, I’m revisiting some of the classic 70s bands that I loved as a preteen/teenager and you’re welcome to come along for the ride.

The decade before, during, and after the 70s it wasn’t uncommon to turn on the radio to hear some groovy horns or guitars or full orchestra backed songs. No words needed.  The inventiveness of past mewsicians is mind-blowing.

For today’s mewsic I borrowed inspiration from 100 Greatest Rock Instrumentals and a few other online resources to create this 10-song playlist for your enjoyment.

 

 

Instrumentals from the 70s playlist song tracks…

  • The Sound of Philadelphia (T.S.O.P.) – MFSB &  The Three Degrees (1973)
  • Pick Up The Pieces – Average White Band
  • Feels So Good – Chuck Mangione
  • Theme from S.W.A.T. – Rhythm Heritage
  • Samba Pa Ti – Carlos Santana
  • Frankenstein – The Edgar Winter Group
  • Express – BT Express
  • Europa – Santana
  • Love’s Theme – Love Unlimited Orchestra  (1973)
  • Tubular Bells Pt. 1 – Mike Oldfield This song is very long, so feel free to listen to as little or much that you want.

What are some of your favorite instrumental arrangements?  

Normally, in this time slot, I host Wild Wednesdays but due to being slightly under the weather I am skipping it this week.  I apologize to any looking forward to linking up.  I hope you’ll travel with me back in time tomorrow with another edition of Rocktober Mewsic Festival!

X💋X 💋, Cathy

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27 comments

  2. You know, I enjoy instrumentals but they don’t stick with me like mewsic with lyrics. Santana, one of my favs. Feel better soon, Cathy and rock on!

  5. Those were good. Some of the Dad’s favs were A Fifth Of Beethoven by Walter Murphy, The Entertainer by Marvin Hamlisch from The Sting and Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills. I shure hope you feel better soon.

    1. Brian,

      The old instrumentals really rocked. Your dad’s favorites are some great arrangements for sure. I wished I had included ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ since it released in the 70s. I’m not sure why I didn’t do that now. Hmmm…oh well, that’s going to puzzle me all day. I added the link for anyone wanting to sample the song. Thanks for the reminder. BTW, I am feeling better, not 100%, but I’m getting there. Thanks!

    1. Mike,

      Oldfield ‘Tubular Bells’ is a very popular, creepy song and honestly, I couldn’t have told who wrote it until I pulled this post together. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll forget because artists seem to slip my brain unless I have a connection somehow to their mewsic. You intrigued me to look him up on Google. I visited Mike Oldfield’s website and sampled some of his albums. I was expecting to find more scary mewsic but found some lovely melodies, too. Have you been to his site? If not, I added a link for anyone to click on who’s interested. Thanks for stirring my curiosity and for the visit, my friend!

  7. Great post, Cathy!

    I typically like vocals with my music, but there are times when I just want the instrumentals so I can concentrate on other things and still have the music in the background. This also makes for a great Wordless Wednesday. Hope you’re feeling better soon 🙂

    1. Mary,

      I like vocals typically, too. But, there’s something about listening to these old rock instrumentals. There’s definitely a place for this style of mewsic in your day. I hadn’t thought this post would fit into the ‘Wordless Wednesday’ category. Well, sorta. I was still a bit gabby in my post. 🙂 Thanks for the well wishes. I am feeling better. 😉

  8. Some really FANTASTIC instrumentals there, CATHY! I deeply dig almost all of them! I love instrumentals, but with Jazz being my favorite musical genre, that makes sense.

    I actually came here looking for your BOTB RESULTS post but I didn’t see one. Did I miss it somehow, or have you not yet tallied up your votes and announced a winner? {Maybe I’m already just “blind-drunk” at 10:15 in the morning. …Nah!}

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

    1. Stephen,

      I should’ve dropped you a link at your place but being in the fuzzy brain state that I’ve been in for much of this week then I goofed. I’m sorry about that! I did tally up my BoTB votes and it’s in yesterday’s post, Golden Earring ‘Radar Love’. I’m glad you enjoyed this post all the same.

  11. I love instrumentals! Rhino Records had a set of Rock Instrumentals CD’s, with one for each of the decades (’50’s, ’60’s and ’70’s) and one each for Soul and Surf. I own them and play them often. A lot of these songs are on those discs. IRS Records used to have an imprint called No Speak, that was specifically for instrumentals. Most of them are out of print now, but there were three called “Guitar Speak” that were collections of guitarists doing instrumentals. Some really great music there…

    This is a great set, the underrepresentation of surf notwithstanding…. 😉

    1. John,

      That’s good info to know regarding instrumental collections. I wouldn’t mind owning something like that. I might have to look into this and add it to my wish list. Thanks!

  12. You’ve chosen some fabulous tunes for today, Cathy! I especially love Santana, but they all bring back memories. Thanks for this day-brightener! 🙂 Hope you’re feeling better.

    1. Debbie,

      Santana is awesome and the sounds in this set really don’t go out of style in my opinion. Young artists can learn a thing or two from these oldies.

  13. Like you, I always considered myself more of a middle of the road rock music listener. However, even in high school, when most friends were listening to the Beatles I was buying Rolling Stones and The Animals. By the late sixties I was a fan of Cream, Led Zeppelin, Emmerson, Lake & Palmer. Don’t get me wrong, I listened to all sorts of music, but I really liked mine with a bit of an edge. As the sixties gave way to the seventies I became a little less edgy and Sir Elton John and The Eagles dominated my listening preferences along with Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears.The mid-seventies saw me turn toward Southern Rock with Alabama, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band and ZZ Top. By the 80’s I was married and a father so, while I listened to some of the “Hair Bands” of the day, I can’t say that I was a fan of anyone. The 90’s brought a resurgence of country music and several “Okies” lead the pack. Reba McIntire, Vince Gill, and Garth Brooks launched an attack on Nashville that changed country music for the better. Others that I listened to were Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Hal Ketchum, Lee Roy Parnell, Randy Travis, Lari White, Trisha Yearwood, Neal McCoy and John Berry. Today, I listen to The Garth Channel on Sirrius and I make my own playlists on Spotify. My favorite music of the day is Contemporary Christian and Southern Gospel, but I still like all the music that I have always listened to over the years. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

    1. Driller,

      You have an eclectic taste in mewsic and I’m like that, too. I bounce around all the time to listening to whatever moves me at the time. The only thing sounds I really do not dig is rap and death metal. Is that what you call the creepy demonic vocal mewsic? Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.

  15. Hope you’re feeling better soon! There are a few rock instrumentals I love to listen to, including Hawaii Five-O and Walk Don’t Run by the Ventures, but one of my all-time faves is Classical Gas by Mason Williams. Thanks for the link to the 100 Greatest Rock Instrumentals 😀 I’ll have to include a few more of those on my playlist 😀

  16. Hi, Cathy!

    I’m sorry you are under the weather, dear friend. Yesterday Mrs. Shady and I both got Shingles boosters and high dose flu shots at the same time. We are both feeling it, dealing with two painful shoulders and flu-like symptoms. It is another travel day for us and I might not have internet for the next day or two, just letting you know.

    During the 70s “T.S.O.P.” by MFSB & The Three Degrees became one of the most familiar instrumentals in America when adopted as the theme music for Soul Train. The AWB played their hit instrumental “Pick Up The Pieces” on that famous mewsic TV series hosted by Don Cornelius. It’s been many years since I heard the next two tunes, “Feels So Good” by Chuck Mangione and “Theme from S.W.A.T.” by Rhythm Heritage. They bring back the era, don’t they? So does the number by the BT Express. In 1970 I bought Santana’s Abraxas album and became familiar with the instrumental track “Samba Pa Ti.” It’s great to listen to it again. I don’t remember the other Santana track “Europa” and enjoyed it. I remember “Frankenstein” being a monster on rock radio. Funny how rock recordings wear better over the decades than disco songs, don’t you agree? The Barry White sound was huge in the 70s and that piece by Love Unlimited Orchestra was a big part of the soundtrack of my life as a twenty-something.”Tubular Bells” gives me a H-ween chill because it was the theme from one of the scariest motion pictures ever made – The Exorcist. Can you believe the pea soup spitting, demon possessed little girl (Linda Blair) is now age 60?

    Thank you for the wonderful wordless Wednesday mewsical menu, dear friend Cathy. I hope you (and I) feel better soon!

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