Editing Instrumental rock (section)

== Early history ==
Instrumental rock was most popular during [[rock and roll]]'s first decade (mid-1950s to mid-1960s), before the [[British Invasion]].

One notable early instrumental was "Honky Tonk" by the [[Bill Doggett|Bill Doggett Combo]], with its slinky beat and sinuous saxophone-organ lead. [[Jazz]] musicians who scored pop hits include [[Earl Bostic]] and [[Arnett Cobb]]. Several [[rhythm and blues]] sax players had hit instrumental songs, including Big Jay McNeeley, [[Red Prysock]], and  [[Lee Allen (musician)|Lee Allen]], whose "Walking with Mr. Lee" was quite popular. There were several notable [[blues]] instrumental songs during the 1950s; [[Little Walter]]'s rollicking "Juke" was a #1 R&B hit.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 R & B and Hip-hop Hits |date=2006 |publisher=Billboard |isbn=978-0-8230-8283-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0S0KAQAAMAAJ |language=en |page=350}}</ref>

Instrumental hit songs could emphasize [[electronic organ]] ([[the Tornados]]' "[[Telstar (song)|Telstar]]", [[Dave "Baby" Cortez]]'s "The Happy Organ", [[Johnny & the Hurricanes]]' "Red River Rock"), or the saxophone ([[the Champs]]' "Tequila",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sealsandcrofts.com/champs.html |title=THE CHAMPS (1958-1965) |website=Sealsandcrofts.com | access-date=2022-01-19}}</ref> [[Bill Black|Bill Black's Combo]]'s "Don't Be Cruel", [[the Piltdown Men]]'s "McDonald's Cave"), but the guitar was most prominent. [[Duane Eddy]] scored several hits (his best known probably being "[[Rebel-'Rouser]]"). Eddy was the first rock & roll artist to release an album in stereo.

[[The Fireballs]], featuring the distinctive guitar work of George Tomsco, began their career in the late 1950s with instrumental hits such as "Torquay" and "Bulldog." The band pioneered the guitar/guitar/bass/drums configuration, paving the way for [[the Ventures]], [[the Shadows]], and the [[surf music]] scene. The Fireballs were one of a few instrumental bands that successfully transitioned into vocal music, having the biggest hit of 1963 in the US ("[[Sugar Shack]]"). B Bumble & the Stingers gained hit "[[Nut Rocker]]".

[[The Shadows]], from the [[United Kingdom|UK]], had several hit singles from 1960 onwards, including  "Kon-Tiki" and "[[Apache (song)|Apache]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Surfing the First Wave of Hip-Hop: The 'Apache' Story|url=https://www.fender.com/articles/artists/surfing-the-first-wave-of-hip-hop-the-apache-story| access-date=2022-01-18 |website=www.fender.com|language=en-US}}</ref> The Shadows (alone and accompanying [[Cliff Richard]]) featured heavily in the UK charts until 1963 when Beatlemania arrived, combined with DJ indifference to non-vocal singles.

[[The Ventures]]' precise guitar work was a major influence on many later rock guitarists; they also helped shape surf music. The band reached chart success with songs such as "[[Walk, Don't Run (instrumental)|Walk-Don't Run]]" and "Hawaii Five-O". In the U.S. they greatly escalated the guitar instrumentals and use of the vibrato bar on the lead guitar.

[[Surf music]] was quite popular in the early 1960s, and was generally rather simple and melodic—one exception being [[Dick Dale]], who gained fame for his quick playing, often influenced by the [[Middle Eastern music|music of]] the [[Middle East]], and frequently using exotic [[scale (music)|scale]]s.

Around the time of the British Invasion, rock changed appreciably, and instrumental hits came mostly from the [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] world. Notable artists include [[Booker T. & the MG's]] and saxophonist [[Junior Walker]].

Just before the [[British Invasion]], [[Lonnie Mack]]'s version of [[Chuck Berry]]'s "Memphis" reached #5 on the Billboard Pop chart in June 1963. Employing both the blues scale and distortion, it ushered in the era of [[blues rock]] guitar of [[Eric Clapton]], [[Jimi Hendrix]] and [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]]. The early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with bandleader Peter Green achieved number one chart positions with the guitar-based instrumental "[[Albatross (instrumental)|Albatross]]" in February 1969. Previously, only three other rock guitar instrumentals had cracked Billboard's top five: the Virtues' "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959, and [[Duane Eddy]]'s "[[Because They're Young (song)|Because They're Young]]" and [[the Ventures]]' "Walk, Don't Run" in 1960.

In August 1964, [[Checker Records]] released the album ''[[Two Great Guitars]]'', recorded by rock and roll pioneers [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Bo Diddley]], which is one of rock music's first recorded guitar jam sessions.