Oboes in popular music

Last updated April 23, 2022

The soprano oboe (in C) and its alto version, the English horn (in F) , are instruments generally associated with art music, but they have been used sporadically in popular music recordings, generally by (often uncredited) studio musicians on recordings of specific songs.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, several bands emerged that featured oboists as members, including The Moody Blues (Ray Thomas), Henry Cow (Lindsay Cooper), New York Rock & Roll Ensemble (Martin Fulterman and Michael Kamen), Roxy Music (Andy Mackay), Electric Light Orchestra (Roy Wood), Wizzard (Roy Wood), and Japan (Mick Karn). The oboists in these bands generally used the oboe as a secondary instrument, not playing it on every song. Japan and Roxy Music, however, did use the oboe quite frequently. However, Iva Davies, the frontman of the Australian rock band Icehouse (formerly "Flowers) studied oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium and played both oboe and cor anglais in many of the band's songs.

Since the 1990s, the oboe has been used in rock most notably by Sigur Rós (played by Kjartan Sveinsson), as well as by indie rock musician Sufjan Stevens (who also plays cor anglais and often overdubs both instruments on his albums). Jarlaath, the vocalist of the French gothic metal band Penumbra, plays the oboe in a number of the band's songs, as does Robbie J. de Klerk, the vocalist of the Dutch melodic doom/death metal band Another Messiah. In America, a band called Hoboe defines itself as a rock band showcasing amplified oboe, fronted by oboist Zen Ben. The band Liminal Phase uses amplified oboe, played by Lisa Hirst Carnes along with bassoon, harmonium, cello, keys, guitar, drums & noise to create an electronic chamber sound.

Below is a historical sampling of songs and albums in which the oboe (ob) or English horn (Eh) is featured:

1964 – Marianne Faithfull – As Tears Go By (Eh)
1964 – Gerry & the Pacemakers – Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (ob)
1964 – Peter and Gordon – I Don't Want to See You Again (ob)
1965 – Sonny and Cher – I Got You Babe (ob)
1966 – The Left Banke – Pretty Ballerina (ob)
1966 – The Beach Boys – I'm Waiting for the Day (Eh. Leonard Hartman)
1966 – The Beatles – Original version of Penny Lane had two English horns playing the bridge instead of a piccolo trumpet
1966 - The Chiffons - Sweet Talkin' Guy features an oboe and cello during the instrumental break.
1966 – Donovan – Legend of a girl called Linda
1966 – Eduardo Rovira – Solo en la multitud – tango (ob. Pedro Cocchiararo)
1967 – Bee Gees – Turn of the Century (ob.)
1967 – Boudewijn de Groot – Eva (ob. Han de Vries)
1967 – The Turtles – Happy Together (ob)
1967 – The Rolling Stones – Dandelion (ob. Brian Jones)
1968 – Donovan – Jennifer Juniper
1968 – Dion – Abraham, Martin & John
1968 – Gary Puckett and The Union Gap – Over You (oboe)
1968–71 The Moody Blues – In Search of the Lost Chord , On the Threshold of a Dream and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (ob. Ray Thomas)
1969 – The Classics IV – Traces [of Love] (ob)
1970 – Essra Mohawk – Primordial Lovers (ob. George St. John)
1970–71 The Move – Looking On and Message from the Country (ob. Roy Wood)
1970–74 – King Crimson – Lizard and Islands and Red (ob. Robin Miller)
1971 – Electric Light Orchestra – The Electric Light Orchestra (ob. Roy Wood)
1971 - Genesis - Nursery Cryme (ob. Peter Gabriel)^[1]
1971 – Loggins and Messina – "House at Pooh Corner" (ob. Jon Clarke)
1971 – The Carpenters – For All We Know (Eh. Bob Messenger), Superstar
1972 – Roxy Music – Sea Breezes , Ladytron and Virginia Plain (ob. Andy Mackay).
1973 – Tower of Power – Just Another Day (ob. Doc Kupka)
1974 – Mike Oldfield – Hergest Ridge (ob. Lindsay Cooper)
1974 – Camel – Mirage (ob. Peter Bardens)
1974 – Gordon Lightfoot – Circle of Steel (eh. Jack Zaza)
1975 – Tangerine Dream – Rubycon (ob. Mellotron tapes) ^[2]
1975 – Judy Collins – Send In The Clowns (arr. Jonathan Tunick) (Eh. Sid Weinberg)
1976 – Braulio – Mujer De Solo Una Noche (ob)
1978 – Art Garfunkel – Bright Eyes.
1978 – Donna Summer – Last Dance (ob. Nellie Waldrop).
1978 – Lindisfarne – Run for Home (Eh)
1979 – The Clash – London Calling
1979 – Wire – A Mutual Friend (Eh)
1980 – Randy Crawford – One Day I'll Fly Away (Eh)
1980 – Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids (ob)
1982 – Alan Parsons Project – Old and Wise (ob)
1982 – Icehouse – Street Cafe, Trojan Blue from Primitive Man
1982 – Juice Newton – The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)
1983 – Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (ob. Andy Fletcher)
1983 – China Crisis – Working with Fire and Steel - Possible Pop Songs Volume Two (ob. Steve Levy)
1983 – Julian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth (ob. Kate St. John)
1983 – David Essex – A Winter's Tale from The Whisper
1983 – David Thomas – Variations on a Theme (ob./eh. Lindsay Cooper)
1983–85 Durutti Column – Another Setting and Without Mercy (ob. Manaugh Fleming)
1984–87 – a-ha – Living a Boy's Adventure Tale (ob. Claire Jarvis) and The Sun Always Shines On Tv and "The Living Daylights"
1985 – Madonna – Crazy for You (ob. George Marge)
1985 – The Dream Academy – Life in a Northern Town (Eh. Kate St. John)
1987 – Icehouse – Man of Colours (Eh. Iva Davies)
1987–88 The Go-Betweens – Bye Bye Pride from Tallulah and Clouds from 16 Lovers Lane (ob. Amanda Brown)
1988 – Tanita Tikaram – Twist in My Sobriety (ob. Malcolm Messiter)
1989 – Shelleyan Orphan – Shatter on Century Flower (ob. Paul Goodey)
1989 – Camouflage – Love Is a Shield (ob. Simone Winter)
1989 – Dyango – El Que Mas Te Ha Querido (ob)
1991 – Daniel Bélanger – Les Insomniaques s'amusent (Eh. Lise Beauchamp)
1991 – Electronic – Some Distant Memory (Eh. Helen Powell)
1991–92 REM – Out of Time and Automatic for the People (ob. Deborah Workman).
1992 – Roxette – Queen Of Rain (ob. Bo Ericksson)
1993 – Mariah Carey – Hero (ob).
1992–94 Several Portastatic recordings feature oboe.
1993 – Blur – Star Shaped on Modern Life Is Rubbish (ob. Kate St. John)
1994 – Seal – Kiss from a Rose from Seal II and Batman Forever (ob. David Theodore)
1994 – Steven Halpern & Guillermo Cazenave Iberian Nocturne Spanish Impromptu (ob. Ronald Lloyd)
2000 – Robbie Williams – It Was a Very Good Year on Swing When You're Winning.
2000 – S Club 7 – Natural from 7
2000 – Frankie Bomobabo – Me and My Oboe
2001 – Stereophonics – Cover of Mike d'Abo's Handbags and Gladrags (ob. Pete Long)
2002 – Tracy Chapman – Goodbye (ob. William Bennett)
2002 - Rodrigo Lessa - Mouro Amor (ob. Leo Fuks)
2008 – ABBA – Mamma Mia, musical Honey, Honey.
2008 – Dave Matthews Band – Bartender (ob. Leroi Moore).
2008 – Opeth – Watershed (ob. & Eh. Lisa Almberg)
2009 – Cameron Blake – When It Comes Down To It from En Route (ob. Shea Scruggs)
2009 – Hoboe – I'm Your Man/Charlie single (ob. Zen Ben)
2010 – Bo Burnham – "Oh Bo"
2011 – Skálmöld – "Kvaðning" from Baldur (ob. Gunnar Ben)

Related Research Articles

The oboe is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.

The cor anglais, or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto oboe in F.

The oboe d'amore, less commonly hautbois d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and a more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe (soprano) and the cor anglais, or English horn (alto). It is a transposing instrument, sounding a minor third lower than it is notated, i.e. in A. The bell is pear-shaped and the instrument uses a bocal, similar to but shorter than that of the cor anglais.

Icehouse are a rock band from Sydney, formed in 1977 as Flowers. Initially known in Australia for their pub-rock style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new-wave and synthpop music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been Iva Davies supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.

The bass oboe or baritone oboe is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is essentially twice the size of a regular (soprano) oboe so it sounds an octave lower which is why it's sometimes called a true tenor oboe; it has a deep, full tone somewhat akin to that of its higher-pitched cousin, the English horn. The bass oboe is notated in the treble clef, sounding one octave lower than written. Its lowest note is B₂ (in scientific pitch notation), one octave and a semitone below middle C, although an extension w/ an additional key may be inserted between the lower joint and bell of the instrument in order to produce a low B♭₂. The instrument's bocal or crook first curves away from and then toward the player (unlike the bocal/crook of the English horn and oboe d'amore), looking rather like a flattened metal question mark; another crook design resembles the shape of a bass clarinet neckpiece. The bass oboe uses its own double reed, similar to but larger than that of the English horn.

The oboe da caccia, also sometimes referred to as an oboe da silva, is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of European classical music. It has a curved tube, and in the case of instruments by Eichentopf, a brass bell, unusual for an oboe.

Albrecht Mayer is a German classical oboist and conductor. The principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, he is internationally known as a soloist and chamber musician and has made many recordings.

Howarth of London is a company specialising in the manufacture and retail of woodwind instruments and associated accessories. The company was formed in 1948 when its first oboe was produced, and continues to produce instruments today. The first oboe, serial number 1001, was purchased by Edward Selwyn, who at the time was principal oboist for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Today the Howarth XL, the professional model, is played by soloists and orchestral players around the world, including Gordon Hunt, Roy Carter, Richard Woodhams, Elaine Douvas, Martin Schuring and Emily Pailthorpe.

Ivor Arthur Davies, AM, known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.

"Flowers in the Rain" is a song by English rock band The Move. The song was released as a single and reached number two in 1967 on the UK Singles Chart, and number four in Ireland.

<i>Sidewalk</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Icehouse

Sidewalk is the third studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was originally released in June 1984, on the labels Chrysalis, Regular, and reached No. 8 on the National albums chart. Founding member Iva Davies used the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer on this more sombre and reflective album. This is the first album bassist Guy Pratt worked on as a member of the band. Pratt would later become a session musician, and go on to work with artists such as Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Geoffrey Grey British classical composer (born 1934)

Geoffrey Grey is a British classical composer.

<i>Man of Colours</i> 1987 studio album by Icehouse

Man of Colours is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records.

Jean-Claude Malgoire was a French oboist and later conductor.

Ian Keith Harris is a composer of classical music, arranger, oboist and music educator from Australia.

Carl Nielsen's Wind Quintet, or as indicated by the original score, the Kvintet for Flöte, Obo, Klarinet, Horn og Fagot, Op. 43, was composed early in 1922 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where it was first performed privately at the home of Herman and Lisa Mannheimer on 30 April 1922. The first public performance was on 9 October 1922 in the smaller hall at the Odd Fellows Mansion in Copenhagen. It is considered a staple of the repertoire for wind quintet.

The woodwind section, which consists of woodwind instruments, is one of the main sections of an orchestra or concert band. Woodwind sections contain instruments given Hornbostel-Sachs classifications of 421 and 422, but exclude 423

John Alfred Terence MacDonagh was an English oboist and cor anglais player, particularly known as one of the four members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's so-called "Royal Family" of woodwind players.

The Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra is a composition for oboe solo and orchestra by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. The work was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra in honor of their principal oboist John Mack's 25th year with the orchestra. It was first performed by Mack and the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Christoph von Dohnányi on January 17, 1991. The piece is dedicated "with affection" to John Mack.

References

↑ "Gabriel". Spin. September 1986. p. 53.
↑ Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Rubycon". Voices in the Net.

Sources

allmusic.com
Oboes And Cors In Pop Music thread at The Oboe BBoard
Oboes in pop music thread at ilXor.com

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Gabriel". Spin. September 1986. p. 53.

[2] Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Rubycon". Voices in the Net.

[1]

[2]