 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-11-09 12:04
What pop tunes have used oboes or cors in them?
The first time I recognised an oboe used in a pop single was in Culture Club - 'Victims' - anyone know who played oboe on this track?
China Crisis - 'Wishful Thinking'
Tanita Tikaram - 'Twist In My Sobriety'
Roxy Music - 'Virginia Plain'
As for cors:
Dream Academy - 'Life In A Northern Town'
Lindisfarne - 'Run For Home'
Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - 'Endless Love'
Though the Carpenters used them both in several of their tracks.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: DressedToKill
Date: 2006-11-09 13:17
And of course there was "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher.
Reba McEntire also uses a beautiful oboe solo in her song "Starting Over Again".
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2006-11-09 13:45
Isn't there an EH solo in a beatles tune? McCartney used to play oboe.
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Author: JRJINSA
Date: 2006-11-09 13:59
Really!?!? Too cool. I do know that McCartney's holding an English Horn on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I didn't know he played either of these two instruments at one time or another....
Post Edited (2006-11-09 14:25)
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Author: oboemelli
Date: 2006-11-09 15:12
I heard the oboe for the first time in a pop song in Stereophonics, 'handbags and gladrags' - I think it's called. The orginal one had a violin as the solo, though.
"People imagine they can reach one another. In reality they only pass each other by"- Schubert.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-11-09 15:16
"And of course there was "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher."
I saw one of the oboes owned by the player that was paid to play the two notes in that (he played Howarth S2 oboes - pure thumbplate systems but these had fully automatic 8ves!), I can't remember his name but when he retired from playing it's been said that he was more than glad to!
The Move - 'Flowers In The Rain' has oboe in it - not surprising as Roy Wood did use a variety of 'unusual' instruments (as 'unusual' was rather popular in the late '60s, though a bit later on the bari sax found it's place in the Glam Rock era in the early '70s).
Japan - 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' - Mick Karn plays oboe on this, though I do use the term 'plays' very loosely.
The bari sax player in Portishead's live in New York video is seen with an oboe.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: winstondawg
Date: 2006-11-09 15:27
Bright Eyes (sung by Art Garfunkel) has a very good oboe intro.
Abraham, Martin and John (sung by Dion, around 1968) has very good oboe (or cor anglais - or both) solo and accompaniment.
Don't Give Up on Us, Baby (sung by David Soul mid to late 70's) has a brief oboe intro.
Theme to "Miss Marple" (with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple) composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley.
Post Edited (2006-11-09 15:47)
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Author: JRJINSA
Date: 2006-11-09 15:32
Any children o' the '80s out there? "Love is a Shield" by Camouflage (released approximately 1988) has an oboe in it. The solo sounds rather amateurish but is an oboe nonetheless and rather catchy.
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Author: Astrobleme
Date: 2006-11-09 18:17
If I remember correctly there's some oboe in a Steve Hackett song, probably on the album Spectral Mornings or some other from about the same time.
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Author: mosh
Date: 2006-11-09 23:56
SEAL
Are we are missing Seal and "Kiss from a rose" with David Theodore playing his Howarth arn't we ?? That was a rather large oboe intro and solo in the middle.
ICE HOUSE
Also.. for an FYI there is an Australian Iva Davies who could be the biggest selling recorded "oboist" ever .. like 10 gold records etc.....
He was the front man for Ice House, an 80's Australian Band with hits like "Great Southern Land" and also one called "Man of Colours" which has oboe and Cor played by the Lead Singer ( Iva - studied Oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium prior to turning to Electro-Pop).
I have seen a video where they band is doing a stadium concert ( like 50,000 people) and Iva is in a cherry picker over the audience with a micophone and an oboe in hand.. he does a very large oboe solo with synthesiser backing - very 80's and rather pop meets art music ( not so rock & roll), but some one has done it !!
He could also be the only ever "Oboist Sex-Symbol" with 80's hair and tight jeans with an oboe ??
I once did a two day class at the conservatoirum ( in my younger years) and Iva was there, I went home and told my sister that that guy form that band ?? ( I had no idea at the time) was at the class.. She really wanted to learn the oboe, that weekend and meet this pop star.... !!!
He now does composition for movies, such as the Rusel Crowe Film Master & Commander and works with modern dance companies on compositions..
http://www.icehouse-iva.com/bio/ivabio.html
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-11-10 13:02
Icehouce didn't dent the UK charts - only their UK debut single 'Hey Little Girl' made an impact (got to 17).
I didn't realise David Theodore played on the Seal track - I'm surprised I didn't remember that as it was played all the time on Virgin.
Jaz Coleman (of Killing Joke fame) arranged various Led Zep tunes for orchestra on the 'Kashmir' album - and has 'Stairway To Heaven' as an oboe solo (with the harp playing the famous guitar part) - though the track 'Kashmir' definitely lends itself well to the sounds only lower strings can make.
Is Jaz Coleman still running youth orchestras in NZ?
Japan - 'Nightporter' - an Eric Satie 'Gymnopodie' inspired track has oboe on it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Craig Matovich
Date: 2006-11-21 21:27
If I may extend the topic slightly to include jazz, new age, and world music featuring oboe or englsih horn there is a lot to enjoy.
Paul McCandless probably has the most out there. He played with Paul Winter ( I think they even had a bit of a pop hit with Icarus.) He co-produced another 25 or so CDs with Oregon where he just plain wails... oboe, e-horn, bass clarinet and some other toys. He has a few solo and other mixed-ensemble things and even played with Bela Fleck a few years back.
Nancy Rumble, also of Paul Winter heritage is out there and has some solo works available.
On the folk/jazz side there are a few others including myself doing oboe in alternative settings.
Another oboist here in Colorado appears on a Steve Barta CD in a nice setting...
There is much to choose from and its a lot of fun to follow our instrument around to unusual places and musical settings.
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Author: oboemoboe
Date: 2006-11-22 05:36
Lise Beauchamp plays some cor anglais (quite wonderfully) on a Daniel Belanger album (a well known Quebec pop signer).
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Author: Jaysne
Date: 2006-11-28 02:18
Yeah, it's at the end of You've got to Hide Your Love Away. Not really a solo, but a soli with flute and other winds.
Interestingly, the famous bridge of Penny Lane with that great piccolo trumpet solo was originally scored for two cor anglais! You can hear that version on the Beatles Anthology discs.
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Author: Jaysne
Date: 2006-11-28 02:19
I heard what I thought was a cor anglais at the very beginning of the Carpenters' "Bacharach/David Medley," but upon closer listening it sounds suspiciously like a synth.
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Author: mzcmnw
Date: 2010-11-21 19:50
Check out this rock oboe band, called Hoboe:
http://www.reverbnation.com/hoboe
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hoboe/hoboes-debut-cd-bring-rock-oboe-to-the-modern-worl
http://www.hoboe.com
http://www.myspace.com/hoboeband
http://www.facebook.com/hoboeband
http://www.twitter.com/hoboeband
http://www.hoboeband.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/hoboeband
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Author: Old Oboe
Date: 2010-11-22 02:55
I always wondered about the little lick in "Happy Together". It sounded like oboe but could have been synth. It was the only time my little brother let me play with his junior high "garage band"!
Linda
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Author: heckelmaniac
Date: 2010-11-22 07:43
A number of "pop" pieces with bass oboe as well,
To name a few:
John Pearson Heather recorded by The Carpenters
Anthony Phillips The Geese and the Ghost
Buell Neidlinger Our Night Together
Frank Zappa The Duke of Prunes
The Grand Wazoo
The Petite Wazoo
Be-Bop Tango
Civilization Phase III
Marty Krystall The Way Is West
I do not know of any "pop" pieces so far with Heckelphone, though both
Heckelphone and bass oboe have been used extensively for film scores and commercials...
With best wishes,
Peter Oboes.us
Oboes.us
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-02-24 03:04
Judy Collins's interpretation of the Sondheim ballad "Send in the clowns" wouldn't be what it is without the obbligato C. A. (it's clarinet in the Broadway cast recording). Not sure if that counts as 'pop', though.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-10-29 20:39
'Crazy For You' by Madonna has oboe in it.
Just remembered the Eurythmics album track "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)" (from the album 'Touch') - the oboe picks up from Annie Lennox's high C and again in the outro/fade. I think the orchestral arrangement on this album was by Michael Kamen who was also an oboist.
There was a recent documentary on BBC4 about George Martin who studied oboe at the Guildhall under Margaret Eliot (Jane Asher's mum). He later sold it to raise money for a house.
Also Alison Moyet (of Yazoo fame) played oboe in Basildon Youth Orchestra.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2015-10-29 20:48)
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Author: newedit617
Date: 2015-11-01 05:17
My favorite examples are:
Madonna - "Crazy for You"
Seal - "Kiss From a Rose"
Seal - "This Could Be Heaven"
REM - "Nightswimming" (beautiful solo starts at 3:02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-YHU6BwPR0)
Johnny Gill (gospel style) - "I Know Where I Stand"
And... "Silver and Gold" from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie :-)
Post Edited (2015-11-01 05:22)
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Author: veggiemusician
Date: 2015-11-02 11:54
"Kiss from a rose" with David Theodore playing on his S2... Common with session players, these solo's are sometimes recorded quickly... I've done such sessions and they have taken the first and only take. "Kiss from a rose" was recorded with just a click track, David did not even realise he was playing on the single until someone pointed it out to him much later.
Kate Bush - "The Man with the Child in his eyes" has an oboe player in it
Jerome Broun
Principal Oboe UAE NSO Symphony Orchestra
Post Edited (2015-11-02 11:56)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-11-21 04:55
Kursaal Flyers "Little Does She Know" has what sounds like an oboe in it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2016-08-21 05:27
There's some good EH solos in "I'll Never Leave You," by Harry Nilsson, on the Nilsson Schmilsson album.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2016-08-22 10:49
A bit esoteric, but I'll let you decide ..
The iconic Israeli anti-war ballad Hachita Tzomachat Shuv ("The wheat grows again"), sung by Hava Alberstein.
The song opens with a Cor Anglais intro that is repeated on oboe later in the song.
The song was written by Dorit Tzameret after the Yom Kippur War. Eleven members of her tiny Kibbutz (Bet Hashita) did not return from the war and the song asks how it is, how could it be that the wheat still continues to sprout in the fields.
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Author: JohnW
Date: 2016-09-17 03:57
Had to bring up "Send in the Clowns" for the first time in many years. I had forgotten what a lovely voice and interpretation Collins did with that. The cor intro excellent too.
John
JohnW
amateur adult beginner, oboe and cor
www.OboeHobo.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-06-20 18:09
cjwright - "Isn't there an EH solo in a beatles tune?"
Jaysne - "Interestingly, the famous bridge of Penny Lane with that great piccolo trumpet solo was originally scored for two cor anglais! You can hear that version on the Beatles Anthology discs."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxO4nODCGD0
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2017-06-20 18:26)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-06-11 01:35
Just reviving this topic as I just saw this on telly and don't think it was mentioned - Randy Crawford singing "One Day I'll Fly Away" with the BBC Top of the Pops orchestra (instead of miming to the single due to MU rules) which has a prominent cor feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDUU1ek30xk
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Hotboy
Date: 2022-06-12 19:40
Great topic...one of my faves throughout the years was Sinatra in 1965, which was popular music at the time. Oboe solos in many places, the most prominent at beginning, 0:58, and the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeDfgUvyKHk
Here's a video of the recording studio when they laid this track down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh0rwbtI9Ro&t=292s
Dane
Bay Area, California
Post Edited (2022-06-12 19:50)
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Author: davidjsc
Date: 2022-07-05 09:23
I read somewhere Mick Karn used a shawm in Gentlemen Take Polaroids. He was trained as a bassoonist in school until it was stolen and he switched to bass guitar when he could afford a new bassoon and the school wouldn't replace it. And just like that, we got one of the best fretless bass players ever.
DSC
~~ Alto Clarinet; Bass Clarinet; B-flat and C Boehm Clarinets; Albert C Clarinet; Oboe ~~
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