TOP 100 INSTRUMENTAL ARTISTS
OF THE '50S AND '60S

1. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull, Taste of Honey, Zorba the Greek, Tijuana Taxi, What Now My Love, Spanish Flea, The Work Song, Casino Royale
2. Duane Eddy - Rebel-'Rouser, Cannonball, The Lonely One,
   Forty Miles of Bad Road, Because They're Young, Pepe
3. Billy Vaughn - Melody of Love, Sail Along Silvery Moon, La Paloma,
   Look For a Star, A Swingin' Safari
4. Les Paul - Nola, Josephine, Whispering, Meet Mr. Callaghan
5. Booker T. and the MG's - Green Onions, Soul-Limbo, Hang 'Em High, Time is Tight
6. The Ventures - Walk - Don't Run, Perfidia, Walk - Don't Run '64,
   Hawaii Five-O
7. Bill Black's Combo - Smokie - Part 2, White Silver Sands, Josephine,
   Don't Be Cruel
8. Roger Williams - Autumn Leaves, Almost Paradise, Till, Near You
9. Les Baxter - April in Portugal, Ruby, The High and the Mighty,
   The Poor People of Paris
10. Lawrence Welk - Moritat, Last Date, Calcutta
11. Hugo Winterhalter - Blue Tango, Vanessa, Canadian Sunset
12. Floyd Cramer - Last Date, On the Rebound, San Antonio Rose
13. Ferrante and Teicher - (Theme from) The Apartment, Exodus,
    Midnight Cowboy
14. Bert Kaempfert - Wonderland by Night, Tenderly, Red Roses for
    a Blue Lady
15. Johnny and the Hurricanes - Crossfire, Red River Rock, Beatnik Fly
16. Sandy Nelson - Teen Beat, Let There Be Drums, Drums Are My Beat
17. Bill Doggett - Honky Tonk, Slow Walk, Soft
18. Perez Prado - Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, Patricia, Guaglione
19. Percy Faith - Delicado, (Theme from) A Summer Place, Theme for Young Lovers
20. Ramsey Lewis - The "In" Crowd, Hang On Sloopy, Wade in the Water
21. The Champs - Tequila, El Rancho Rock, Too Much Tequila
22. Henry Mancini - Mr. Lucky, The Pink Panther Theme, (Love Theme from) Romeo and Juliet
23. King Curtis - Soul Twist, Memphis Soul Stew
24. Ralph Marterie - Caravan, Skokiaan
25. Nelson Riddle - Lisbon Antigua, Route 66 Theme
26. Mantovani - Charmaine, The Moulin Rouge Theme
27. Victor Young - The High and the Mighty, Around the World
28. Dave "Baby" Cortez - The Happy Organ, Rinky Dink
29. Al Hirt - Java, Cotton Candy
30. Mitch Miller - Song for a Summer Night, March from the River Kwai
    and Colonel Bogey
31. Jimmy Smith - Walk on the Wild Side, Back at the Chicken Shack
32. Ray Anthony - Dragnet, Peter Gunn
33. The Marketts - Surfer's Stomp, Out of Limits
34. Santo and Johnny - Sleep Walk, Tear Drop
35. David Rose - Calypso Melody, The Stripper
36. Willie Mitchell - 20-75, Soul Serenade
37. Leroy Anderson - The Syncopated Clock, Blue Tango
38. Frank Chacksfield - (Terry's Theme from) Limelight, Ebb Tide
39. Richard Hayman - Ruby, Moritat
40. Guy Lombardo - The 3rd Man Theme, Blue Tango
41. Cozy Cole - Topsy II, Turvy II
42. Martin Denny - Quiet Village, The Enchanted Sea
43. Eddie Heywood - Canadian Sunset, Soft Summer Breeze
44. The Fireballs - Torquay, Bulldog
45. Ernie Freeman - Jivin' Around, Raunchy
46. Don Costa - (Theme from) The Unforgiven, Never on Sunday
47. Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger on the Shore, Above the Stars
48. Little Walter - Juke, Sad Hours
49. Joe "Fingers" Carr - Down Yonder, Portuguese Washerwomen
50. Ernie Fields - In the Mood, The Charleston
51. Mongo Santamaria - Watermelon Man, Cloud Nine
52. Hugh Masekela - Grazing in the Grass, Riot
53. Paul Mauriat - Love is Blue, Love in Every Room
54. The Surfaris - Wipe Out, Point Panic
55. Dick Hyman - Moritat (A Theme from the Three Penny Opera),
    The Minotaur
56. Link Wray and his Ray Men - Rumble, Raw-Hide
57. Ace Cannon - Tuff, Blues (Stay Away From Me)
58. Jimmy McGriff - I've Got a Woman, All About My Girl
59. James Brown - Try Me, The Popcorn
60. The String-A-Longs - Wheels, Brass Buttons
61. Young-Holt Unlimited - Wack Wack, Soulful Strut
62. Lonnie Mack - Memphis, Wham!
63. The Mar-Keys - Last Night, Morning After
64. David Carroll - Melody of Love, Fascination
65. "Cannonball" Adderley - African Waltz; Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
66. Johnny Maddox - The Crazy Otto, Heart and Soul
67. Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five, Unsquare Dance
68. The Meters - Sophisticated Cissy, Cissy Strut
69. Arthur Lyman Group - Yellow Bird, Love For Sale
70. The Applejacks - Mexican Hat Rock, Rocka-Conga
71. B. Bumble and the Stingers - Bumble Boogie, Nut Rocker
72. Ralph Flanagan - Harbor Lights, Hot Toddy
73. The Viscounts - Harlem Nocturne, Wabash Blues
74. Bill Haley and his Comets - Rudy's Rock, Joey's Song
75. Al Caiola - The Magnificent Seven, Bonanza
76. Raymond Lefevre - The Day the Rains Came, Soul Coaxing
    (Ame Caline)
77. The Brass Ring - The Phoenix Love Theme, The Dis-Advantages of You
78. Anton Karas - "The Third Man" Theme
79. Cliff Nobles and Company - The Horse
80. The Village Stompers - Washington Square
81. Kenny Ball - Midnight in Moscow
82. Chet Atkins - Boo Boo Stick Beat
83. The Tornadoes - Telstar
84. Bill Justis - Raunchy
85. Hugo Montenegro - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
86. Sil Austin - Slow Walk
87. Davie Allan and the Arrows - Blue's Theme
88. Leroy Holmes - The High and the Mighty
89. Mason Williams - Classical Gas
90. Jorgen Ingmann - Apache
91. Morris Stoloff - Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic"
92. Earl Bostic - Flamingo
93. The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger
94. Bent Fabric - Alley Cat
95. Eddie Harris - Exodus
96. The Wailers - Tall Cool One
97. Steve Allen - Autumn Leaves
98. Earl Grant - Swingin' Gently
99. The Baja Marimba Band - Comin' in the Back Door
100. Herbie Mann - Memphis Underground

Instrumental artists in all areas of music (pop, rhythm and blues, country, jazz, folk, etc.) are included on this list. Rankings are based on the popularity of each artist during the period of 1950 through 1969, though vocal recordings (as opposed to instrumentals with sparingly-used words) are not factored into eligible artist's totals.

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