Hit Parade | Insert Lyrics Here Edition Part 2
Host: Chris Molanphy (Slate Podcasts) | Date: September 29, 2023

Episode Overview

This episode explores the rise and fall of the instrumental in pop music, particularly focusing on its heyday, its gradual decline through the 1980s and 1990s, and rare fluke comebacks in the 21st century. Host Chris Molanphy dissects why instrumentals once thrived on the charts, how new genres and radio formats shifted their influence, and the curious cultural afterlife of these hits. The narrative blends chart history, storytelling, and signature trivia, with memorable anecdotes and witty commentary.

The Decline of Instrumentals: Moving Into the 1980s

• Instrumentals' Early Glory Declines: The instrumental hit, once a staple of pop charts, lost ground by the 1980s (“we're now moving into the 80s when the instrumental is diminishing as a pop force…” – Chris Molanphy, 00:40).
• The Medley Craze: Non-instrumental, but relevant medley hits like Stars on 45 birthing a trend, leading to “Hooked On Classics” (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) reaching #10 in 1982 (02:20).
• Film & TV Themes as Instrumental Survival: Movie and TV scores emerged as rare remaining sources of instrumental chart-toppers.

Notable Quotes:

• “Hooked On Classics had more to do with a fleeting fad than anything to do with the instrumental as an enduring pop form.” (03:12)

Charting Instrumental Hits in the 80s: The Last Hurrah

• TV Theme Success: Mike Post returns with “Hill Street Blues Theme” (Top 10, 1981) and “Magnum P.I.” theme (#25, 1982) (04:00).
• Vangelis’ "Chariots of Fire": The biggest 80s instrumental, topping the Hot 100 (05:24). Remarkably, only two pure instrumentals hit #1 across the 1980s.
• Radio Preference Changes: FM radio's shift toward sing-along, lyric-driven music squeezes out instrumentals.

Timestamps:

• [05:24] Vangelis “Chariots of Fire” details and chart journey
• [08:00] Shockingly low pop success for otherwise well-known instrumentals (e.g., Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit,” Art of Noise, Yellow's “Oh Yeah").

The Screen Symphony Boom (Mid-1980s)

• “Axel F” from Beverly Hills Cop (Harold Faltermeyer) peaks at #3 [11:20]
• “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire” by David Foster (#15)
• “Miami Vice Theme” by Jan Hammer, #1 Hot 100, 11 weeks atop the album chart [12:30]

Notable Quote:

• “In the 38 years since this song topped the Hot 100, no pure instrumental… has gone to number one.” (13:10)

The Rise and Rule of Smooth Jazz: Kenny G’s Chart Domination

• Pop Goes Niche: FM radio and the rise of rap music further marginalized instrumentals; instrumentals become the domain of smooth jazz and adult contemporary formats [15:00].
• All About Kenny G: Initially pushed to feature vocals for crossover, Kenny G’s career pivots after a fateful “Tonight Show” performance of “Songbird” (vocal-free against instructions) [18:54].

Quotes & Moments:

• “Kenny G didn’t want to break his music with vocalists… he was eager to showcase his melodic brand of soprano sax playing, vocal free.” (15:50)

• “That instrumental was Songbird... the Tonight Show performance of Songbird was highly acclaimed…” (18:54)

• “Songbird ultimately topped out at number four and Duotones immediately hit the top ten and went double platinum.” (20:35)

• Casey Kasem American Top 40 audio: “Here’s the first top 10 instrumental since Jan Hammer hit #1… Kenny G with Songbird.” (21:03)

• Kenny G defies the usual one-hit-wonder trajectory for instrumentalists [22:10], achieving continued chart presence into the 1990s.

• “Going Home”: A surprise sensation in China, routinely played at end of the work day.

• Smooth Jazz Radio Format: Emerges in 1987, built for Kenny G and like-minded artists; Kenny G becomes the genre’s signature star (23:35).

Instrumentals in the 90s: From Obscurity to Oddball Hits

• Kenny G’s Peak and Others’ Attempts:
  • “Breathless” (1992) – 12 million sales, massive album success (25:00)
  • “Miracles” (1994) – #1 holiday CD, 8x platinum (27:00)
  • John Tesh and Yanni follow Kenny’s business model, but the pop instrumental is relegated mostly to smooth jazz radio.
• Rare 90s Instrumental Hits: Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart & Candy Dulfer (“Lily Was Here,” #11), Robert Miles (“Children,” #21), U2 members’ “Mission: Impossible Theme” (#7, 1996) [29:15].

Notable Quote:

• “With so many instrumentals now aimed at the smooth jazz and New Age markets, actual top 40 pop hits by anyone not named Kenny G were increasingly rare. The instrumental became more fluky than ever.” (28:30)

Sampling, Reboots, and Cultural Afterlife

• Classic Instrumentals Repurposed:
  • Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova”— Austin Powers theme/sampled by Dream Warriors [31:12]
  • Herb Alpert’s “Rise”—turned into Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” by Puff Daddy (1997)
• Rock and Rap’s New Role: New generations tap classic instrumentals for samples, giving these tracks renewed mass appeal.

Quotes:

• “Herb Alpert’s 1979 number one smash Rise was transformed… into a posthumous #1 smash for The Notorious B.I.G…” (32:30)

2000s and Beyond: From Dance Clubs to Internet Virality

• Dance/EDM Emerges as Instrumental’s Mainstream Outlet:
  • Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” (misses Hot 100 but #1 on Club Play, 1997)
  • Fatboy Slim’s “The Rockefeller Skank” (#2 dance, de facto instrumental)
  • Darude’s “Sandstorm” (#5 club, 2000) becomes a sports event staple
  • Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” (club chart, Hot 100 #69, 2011)
• Viral Fluke #1: Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” goes viral in 2013, and due to new YouTube-streaming chart rules, debuts at #1 on the Hot 100—despite containing only a few spoken instructions (“Do the Harlem Shake”) [38:10].

Quote:

• “In the first week of Billboard's new YouTube chart tally, Harlem Shake was powered to the top... by more than 100 million streams in a single week.” (39:02)

• Other Modern Instrumental Moments: Martin Garrix’s “Animals” (#21, 2014), and TikTok-era opportunities.

The Instrumental’s Cultural Echo: Recent Examples & Legacy

• The instrumental remains rare on the pop charts but still energizes dance clubs and sports arenas.
• Instrumental riffs spark new chart hits: Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” grew out of a sample from a 2008 Nine Inch Nails instrumental (44:52).
• Instrumentals as cultural glue: “The instrumentals that live on as more than just earworms have a certain cultural meta resonance. The melody matters, but so does the package.” (46:02)

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• [21:03] Casey Kasem (American Top 40): “Here’s the first top 10 instrumental since Jan Hammer… Kenny G with Songbird.”
• [39:02] Chris Molanphy: “In the first week of Billboard's new YouTube chart tally, Harlem Shake was powered to the top... by more than 100 million streams in a single week.”
• [44:52] “Remember, it was this obscure 2008 instrumental by Nine Inch Nails that led to this 19 week number one smash by Lil Nas X in 2019.”

Final Reflections

• Serendipity & the Instrumental: Chris closes by reinforcing the accidental, luck-driven nature of instrumental hits in the pop era, and the sense of nostalgia and memory attached to enduring instrumentals.
• Packaging and Memory: Herb Alpert’s live use of iconic album imagery underscores how “a catchy melody is worth more than a thousand words” (47:40).

Key Timestamps

• 80s instrumental decline & medley craze – 00:40–03:30
• Vangelis’ "Chariots of Fire" story – 05:24–08:00
• Miami Vice theme & the last #1 pure instrumental – 12:30–13:30
• Kenny G and Smooth Jazz’s mainstreaming – 15:00–23:30
• Rare 90s pop instrumentals – 28:00–30:00
• Instrumentals in hip-hop sampling – 31:00–33:00
• Dance/club instrumentals & EDM – 34:20–40:00
• Viral “Harlem Shake” #1 moment – 38:10–39:20
• Instrumental origins of “Old Town Road” – 44:52
• Closing reflections on instrumental hits’ legacy – 46:00–end

This episode offers a revelatory, chart-driven narrative about a once-dominant musical form often overlooked in 21st-century pop — reminding listeners that even the wordless can echo loudest in collective memory.