1960 may have been the year that Instrumentals hit the charts in a big way, but it was in 1961, that their hold on the hit parade was consolidated with a good number of guitar or sax-led rockers and slinky organ groovers. These are the discs that teenagers wanted to hear in the juke joints: exciting, uptempo stompers with catchy, melodic riffs, and slow, soulful, down home blues. Our compilation throws the spotlight on instrumentals by artists who are more widely associated with vocals, along with more obscure musicians who may only have one or two releases to their name.
1962 was the peak year for hit records instrumental-style, with no less than 123 discs scoring on the American pop charts. There wasn’t much in the hit parade to interest R&B fans though, apart from King Curtis’s Soul Twist, Booker T. & The MG’s Green Onions and James Brown’s Night Train, but that’s where Mighty Instrumentals R&B-Style 1962 comes in. So what was new in 1962? A bit of surf, a bit of funk, a brand new rhythm on Boogie Twist. More slinky organ groovers, uptown dancers and late night smoochers for teenagers to dance to.
And there you have it – 118 R&B scorchers with rhythm aplenty.
We hope you enjoy these grooves and if you like what you hear from 1961-62, just wait till you find out what was on offer in 1963, and in 1964!
RANDB106
Awesome R&B instro Cd’s – well pleased and great to hear a load of new material. Just when I thought I’d heard it all! Graham Cann
These are two mighty instrumental collections from R&B Records…with no real duds amongst them. A veritable cornucopia of fine sounds which will be of interest to all instrumentally minded fans of R&B. Fred Rothwell Blues & Rhythm
