On That Note - Strings Attached

MeanDean

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Jan 5, 2009
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It's Tuesday night, so here we go with another On That Note. As we say every week, OTN is a music themed series hosted alternately by @cyclones500, @CycloneRulzzz and me.

Last week's OTN was "Do You Wanna Dance." It can be found here:

https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/threads/on-that-note-do-you-wanna-dance.256252/

This week we're continuing our series on musical instrument families - with stringed instruments. But we're going to have to lay down a few guidelines or this could end up being something too unwieldy.
  1. No, guitars aren't going to be the thing to qualify a song. Too too many, too too easy. String bass? Same deal; no. Obviously a song can HAVE those but they alone don't qualify it for inclusion here.
  2. Symphony or classic performances are excluded.
  3. Musical groups that routinely include classical string sections such as ELO are to be avoided.
  4. Country or Blue grass acts with group members who normally play banjo or fiddle are out.
So in short, we're looking for songs by pop groups who have non-guitar/bass string performances incorporated into a song or performance.

Too complex - yes. Too difficult to find examples? I don't think so.

**********

My First 5:

A West Texas Rocker, Buddy Holly got pretty sophisticated with this one.


One of the first ones many people will think of is Paul's ballad from 1965. So only 18 months after they were dismissed as novelty flavor-of-the-day they come out with this.


And the Beatles, particularly George, were instrumental (pun intended) to incorporating Indian instruments into Western music - particularly the Sitar. Many mid/late 60's songs incorporated the instrument including the Rolling Stones on this major hit.


One of the most iconic songs of the 1970s from one of the most iconic acts of the decade. Banjo is very prominent in this one!


Another early 70's hit featured a not-often-used in Rock and Roll stringed instrument. In fact, it's a part of the song title.
 
MacArthur Park
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Park_(song)

Original version, performed by British actor Richard Harris, reached #2 on US Billboard Top 100 in 1968


Performance on Letterman with songwriter Jimmy Webb on keyboard


I’m not sure if this is excluded as a symphony, pretty unique in that it was a pop song and not by a group that performed it on a regular basis. Not sure if Richard Harris performed with symphonies more generally, though he didn’t sing/record at all I believe before this. Also not sure Jimmy Webb, a popular song writer, did any similar songs (such as Wichita Lineman, Up Up and Away, and other popular hits that are not similar).
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symphony

We played it in high school band without any strings.

Here is the Disco version by Donna Summer, #1 on Billboard Top 100 in 1978
 
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