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List of rock instrumentals

The following is a list of rock instrumentals. Only instrumentals that are notable are included.

Instrumentals which have charted

Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics, or singing, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting.

1950s and 1960s chartings

1970s and 1980s chartings

0-9

10cc

38 Special

  • " Robin Hood" (Wild Eyed Southern Boys, 1980)

A

ABBA

AC/DC

Aerosmith

The Allman Brothers Band

Herb Alpert

  • "Rise", (1979), No. 1 US, No. 13 UK, No. 4 R&B

And So I Watch You from Afar

Animals as Leaders

Ray Anthony

  • Peter Gunn (1959), No. 8 US, No. 22 UK, No. 4 R&B song's composer Henry Mancini wrote that it, "actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz".

Anthrax

Apocalyptica

  • Plays Metallica by Four Cellos (1996)
  • Inquisition Symphony (1998)
  • Cult (2000) The Standard Version it's all instrumental and the Special Edition Disk 2 include: "Path Vol. 2" feat. Sandra Nasić and "Hope Vol. 2" feat. Matthias Sayer on vocals.
  • Reflections (2003) On The Revised, Russian Edition & 2005 US Reissue it's include: "Seemann (Rammstein Cover)" feat. Nina Hagen on vocals.
  • Apocalyptica (2005) Vocals: "Life Burns!" & "Bittersweet" feat. Lauri Ylönen; "En Vie" feat. Manu; On Special Edition Bonus Tracks: "How Far" & "Wie Weit" Marta Jandová.
  • Amplified // A Decade of Reinventing the Cello It consists the band's most notable covers and original songs on 2 CDs, one for the instrumentals tunes and the other for the tunes with vocals.
  • Worlds Collide (2003) Vocals: "I Don't Care" Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace; "I'm Not Jesus" Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Stone Sour; "S.O.S (Anything but Love)" Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, additionals backing vocals: Mats Levén of Therion, Krux; "Helden" Till Lindemann of Rammstein.
  • 7th Symphony (2003) Vocals: "End of Me" Gavin Rossdale of Bush; "Not Strong Enough (Album Version)" Brent Smith of Shinedown; "Not Strong Enough (US Single Version)" Doug Robb of Hoobastank; "Broken Pieces" Lacey Mosley of Flyleaf; "Bring Them to Light" Joe Duplantier of Gojira.
  • Wagner Reloaded-Live in Leipzig (2013)

Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and various artists

Asia

August Burns Red

Avenged Sevenfold

Average White Band

AVKRVST

  • "Østerdalen" (The Approbation, 2023)
  • "Preceding" (Waving at the Sky, 2025)

B

The Bar-Kays

  • "Soul Finger", (1967), No. 17 US, No. 33 UK, No. 3 R&B

Michael Angelo Batio

The Beach Boys

Beastie Boys

The Beatles

Jeff Beck

Most of Beck's recordings following the dissolution of The Jeff Beck Group are instrumentals.

Jason Becker

Bee Gees

Bill Black's Combo

Most, if not all, of the Bill Black Combo's recordings are instrumentals.

Black Flag

Black Sabbath

Blaqk Audio

Booker T. and the M.G.'s

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Boston

David Bowie

Bring Me the Horizon

B. T. Express

  • "Express", (1974), No. 2 US,#34 UK, No. 1 R&B,

Roy Buchanan

Buckethead

Most, if not all, of Buckethead's recordings are instrumentals.

B. Bumble and the Stingers

Most, if not all, of B. Bumble and the Stingers' recordings are instrumentals.

The Byrds

C

Café Tacuba

Cake

Calexico

Camel

  • Supertwister (Mirage, 1974)
  • Earthrise (Mirage)
  • The Snow Goose (1975)
  • Aristillus (Moonmadness, 1976)
  • Chord Change (Moonmadness)
  • Lunar Sea (Moonmadness)
  • First Light (Rain Dances, 1977)
  • One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night (Rain Dances)
  • Elke (Rain Dances)
  • Skylines (Rain Dances)
  • Rain Dances (Rain Dances)
  • The Sleeper (Breathless, 1978)
  • Eye of the Storm (I Can See Your House from Here, 1979)
  • Survival (I Can See Your House from Here)
  • Ice (I Can See Your House from Here)
  • Pressure Points (Stationary Traveller, 1984)
  • Missing(Stationary Traveller)
  • After Words(Stationary Traveller)
  • Dust Bowl (Dust and Dreams, 1991)
  • Dusted Out (Dust and Dreams)
  • Needles (Dust and Dreams)
  • Milk and Honey (Dust and Dreams)
  • Storm Clouds (Dust and Dreams)
  • Cotton Camp (Dust and Dreams)
  • Broken Banks (Dust and Dreams)
  • Sheet Rain (Dust and Dreams)
  • Whispers (Dust and Dreams)
  • Little Rivers and Little Rose (Dust and Dreams)
  • Hopeless Anger (Dust and Dreams)
  • Whispers in the Rain (Dust and Dreams)
  • Irish Air (Instrumental Reprise) (Harbour of Tears, 1996)
  • Cóbh (Harbour of Tears)
  • Under the Moon (Harbour of Tears)
  • Generations (Harbour of Tears)
  • Running from Paradise (Harbour of Tears)
  • Coming of Age (Harbour of Tears)
  • The Hour Candle (A Song for my Father) (Harbour of Tears)
  • Three Wishes (Rajaz, 1999)
  • Sahara (Rajaz)

Camper Van Beethoven

Gustavo Cerati

The Champs

Most, if not all, of the Champs recordings are instrumentals.

The Chantays

The Chemical Brothers

Chicago

  • "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: Anxiety's Moment" (Chicago, 1970)
  • "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: West Virginia Fantasies" (Chicago)
  • "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: To Be Free" (Chicago)

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse

The Dave Clark Five

  • Instrumental Album (1966)

Bruce Cockburn

Dennis Coffey

  • "Scorpio", (1971), No. 6 US, No. 7 UK, No. 9 R&B

The Commodores

  • "Machine Gun", (1974), No. 22 US, No. 20 UK, No. 7 R&B

Dave "Baby" Cortez

Floyd Cramer

Most, if not all, of the Floyd Cramer's recordings are instrumentals.

Cream

Creedence Clearwater Revival

King Curtis

D

The Dakotas

Dick Dale

Most of Dale's recordings are instrumentals.

Deep Purple

Deodato

Derek and the Dominos

Destroyalldreamers

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Dixie Dregs

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Bill Doggett

Down

  • "Pray for the Locust" (NOLA, 1995)
  • "Doobinterlude" (', 2002)
  • "Flambeaux's Jamming with St. Aug" (', 2002)

Dream Theater

Duran Duran

The Durutti Column

Most of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Bob Dylan

E

Earthless

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Duane Eddy

Most, if not all, of the Duane Eddy's recordings are instrumentals.

Electric Light Orchestra

Emerson, Lake and Palmer

An Endless Sporadic

  • "Ameliorate" (EP, 2008)
  • "An Endless Sporadic" (Album, 2009)
  • "Spaceship Factory" (Single, 2014)
  • "Derpulous" (Single, 2014)
  • "The Adventures of Jabubu II" (Single, 2015)
  • "Magic Machine" (Album, 2016)

Preston Epps

Explosions in the Sky

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

F

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Family

(Note: Bandstand, from 1972, is the only Family album that does not feature an instrumental track.)

Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens

Fleetwood Mac

A Flock of Seagulls

Focus

Most, if not all, of Focus' recordings are instrumentals.

Marty Friedman

The Bobby Fuller Four

Peter Frampton

FromUz

Funkadelic

G

Peter Gabriel

  • Birdy (1985) (portions of the album are instrumental reworkings of previously recorded vocal tracks)
  • ' (1989)
  • ' (2002) (also contains elements from previously recorded vocal tracks)
  • The first twelve tracks on Disc 2 of the deluxe edition of New Blood (2011) are instrumental versions of the first twelve tracks on the main album

Genesis

Ghost

Paul Gilbert

David Gilmour

Gary Glitter

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

God Is an Astronaut

Godsmack

Gorillaz

Gov't Mule

Grails

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Green Day

H

Jan Hammer

Kirk Hammett

Hammock

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Jet Harris

Jet Harris and Tony Meehan

George Harrison

The Jeff Healey Band

Hellecasters

Jimi Hendrix

Gary Hoey

Most of Hoey's recordings are instrumentals.

Hot Butter

  • "Popcorn", (1972), No. 9 US, No. 5 UK

I

If These Trees Could Talk

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Iron Maiden

J

Jade Warrior

Jazz Is Dead

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Jefferson Airplane

Jethro Tull

  • "Dharma for One" (This Was, 1968)
  • "Bouree" (Stand Up, 1969)
  • "Warm Sporran" (Stormwatch, 1979)
  • "Elegy" (Stormwatch)
  • "The Pine Marten's Jig" (A, 1980)

Johnny and the Hurricanes

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Elton John

Eric Johnson

  • "Tones" (1986)
  • "Ah Via Musicom" (1990)
  • "Venus Isle" (1996)
  • "Seven Worlds" (1998)
  • "Souvenir" (2002)
  • "Bloom" (2005)
  • "Up Close" (2010)
  • "Mrs. Robinson" (EJ, 2016)
  • "Once Upon A Time In Texas" (EJ, 2016)
  • "Serinidad" (EJ, 2016)
  • "Fatherly Downs" (EJ, 2016)
  • "The World is Waiting For The Sunrise" (EJ, 2016)
  • "Song For Irene" (EJ, 2016)
  • "Collage", 2017)
  • "Charldron's Boat" (EJ Vol II, 2020)
  • "Lake Travis" (EJ Vol II, 2020)
  • "Black Waterside" (EJ Vol II, 2020)
  • "For The Stars" (EJ Vol II, 2020)

Billy Joel

Bradley Joseph

Journey

Bill Justis

  • "Raunchy" (1957), No. 2 US, No. 24 UK, No. 1 R&B

K

Kinks

  • "Revenge", from the (Kinks album, 1964)

King Crimson

Kiss

Mark Knopfler

Kokomo

L

Laika and the Cosmonauts

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Led Zeppelin

Tony Levin

Most of Levin's solo recordings are instrumentals. Notable exceptions are "L'Abito della Sposa" from Double Espresso (2002), most of Resonator (2006) and some of its follow-up, Stick Man (2007).

Linkin Park

Liquid Tension Experiment

Liquid Trio Experiment

The Lively Ones

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals in the surf music genre.

Kiko Loureiro

The Love Unlimited Orchestra

M

Lonnie Mack

  • "Memphis", (1963), No. 5 US, No. 4 R&B

Madness

Magna Carta Cartel (MCC)

  • "Mayfire" (The Demon King, 2017)
  • "So Long" (Goodmorning Restrained, 2009)
  • "Sunsettlers" (Goodmorning Restrained)

Taj Mahal

Tak Matsumoto

Yngwie Malmsteen

Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

The Mar-Keys

The Marketts

Hank Marvin

Hugh Masekela

Dave Matthews Band

Mastodon

Brian May

  • Furia (2000) except "Dream of Thee"

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

Paul McCartney (and Wings)

Van McCoy

  • "The Hustle", (1975), No. 1 US, No. 3 UK, No. 1 R&B

Meshuggah

Metallica

The Meters

MFSB

Midnight Oil

Moby Grape

Mogwai

Most, if not all, of Mogwai's recordings are instrumentals.

Mono

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Vinnie Moore

Most, if not all, of Moore's recordings are instrumentals.

Van Morrison

Steve Morse Band

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Walter Murphy

Muse

N

Sandy Nelson

  • Most, if not all, of Sandy Nelson's recordings are instrumentals.
  • "Teen Beat" (1959), No. 4 US, No. 9 UK, No. 17 R&B, The piano on the recording is by Bruce Johnston.
  • "Drums Are My Beat" (1962), No. 29 US, No. 30 UK

New Order

Jack Nietzsche

Nine Inch Nails

Cliff Nobles and Co.

  • "The Horse", (1968), No. 2 US, No. 2 UK, No. 2 R&B

Ted Nugent

O

The Offspring

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozric Tentacles

Most of if not all of their albums consist of instrumentals.

P

Jimmy Page

The Alan Parsons Project

Particle

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Pell Mell

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Joe Perry

The Joe Perry Project

John Petrucci

Phish

  • "The Divided Sky" (Junta, 1989)
  • "The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony" (Lawn Boy, 1990)
  • "Eliza" (A Picture of Nectar, 1992)
  • "Magilla" (A Picture of Nectar)
  • "The Landlady" (A Picture of Nectar)
  • "Faht" (A Picture of Nectar)
  • "All Things Reconsidered" (Rift, 1993)
  • "Cars Trucks Buses" (Billy Breathes, 1996)
  • "Bliss" (Billy Breathes)
  • The Siket Disc (1999)
  • "The Inlaw Josie Wales" (Farmhouse, 2000)
  • "Maggie's Revenge" (Undermind, 2004)
  • ' (2007)

Pink Floyd

Pivot

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Chris Poland

The Police

Porcupine Tree

Billy Preston

The Pyramids

Q

Queen

Quiet Sun

R

Rainbow

Ramones

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Sparowes

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

Rhythm Heritage

Rockin' Rebels, aka The Rebels

  • "Wild Weekend", (1963), No. 8 US, No. 3 UK, No. 28 R&B

Rodrigo y Gabriela

The Rolling Stones

Jordan Rudess

Rush

S

Santana

Carlos Santana

Santo and Johnny

Most, if not all, of Santo & Johnny's recordings are instrumentals.
  • "Sleep Walk" (Santo & Johnny, 1959), No. 1 US, No. 22 UK, No. 4 R&B
  • "Tear Drop", (1959), No. 23 US, No. 50 UK, No. 17 R&B

Joe Satriani

Albums:

Savatage

Scorpions

Sepultura

  • "Inquisition Symphony" (Schizophrenia, 1987)
  • "The Abyss" (Schizophrenia, 1987)
  • "Kaiowas" (Chaos A.D., 1993)
  • "Jasco" (Roots, 1996)
  • "Itsári" (Roots, 1996)
  • "Canyon Jam" (Roots, 1996)
  • "Tribus" (Against, 1998)
  • "F.O.E." (Against, 1998)
  • "T3rcermillenium" (Against, 1998)
  • "Valtio" (Nation, 2001)
  • "Enter Sandman/Fight Fire with Fire Medley" (Revolusongs, 2002)
  • "Lost" (Dante XXI, 2006)
  • "Limbo" (Dante XXI, 2006)
  • "Eunoé" (Dante XXI, 2006)
  • "Primium Mobile" (Dante XXI, 2006)
  • "A-Lex I" (A-Lex, 2009)
  • "A-Lex II" (A-Lex, 2009)
  • "A-Lex III" (A-Lex, (2009)
  • "Ludwig Van" (A-Lex, 2009)
  • "A-Lex IV" (A-Lex, 2009)
  • "Iceberg Dances" (Machine Messiah, 2017)
  • "The Pentagram" (Quadra, 2020)
  • "Quadra" (Quadra, 2020)

The Shadows

A significant number of the band's recordings are instrumentals. See The Shadows discography for more details.

Derek Sherinian

Silver Convention

Slade

Slayer

Slint

Sonic Youth

  • ' EP (1997)
  • ' EP (1997)

Soulfly

  • "Four Sticks" (bonus track on deluxe edition of Omen)

Steely Dan

Steve Stevens

Rod Stewart

The String-A-Longs

  • "Wheels", (1961), No. 3 US, No. 8 UK, No. 19 R&B

Styx

The Surfaris

Symphony X

T

Tangerine Dream

Only three albums in this band's extensive discography contain any vocal tracks: Cyclone (1978), Tyger (1987) and Inferno (2002). Also, while the band's music does contain rock elements, it is often categorized within new-age, electronic and other genres instead.

Tarentel

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals.

The T-Bones

Therapy?

Timo Tolkki

The Tornados

Most of the band's recordings are instrumentals.
  • "Telstar" (1962) No. 1 US, No. 1 UK, No. 5 R&B

Tortoise

Most, if not all, Tortoise recordings are instrumentals.

Traffic

Trans Am

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The Derek Trucks Band

Most of the band's early recordings, prior to their introduction of vocalist Mike Mattison, are instrumentals. Many of these recordings also veer strongly towards jazz fusion with rock elements.

U

U2

V

Steve Vai

Van Halen

Eddie and Alex Van Halen

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

The Ventures

Most, if not all, of the band's recordings are instrumentals. See The Ventures discography for more details.

The Virtues

W

The Wailers aka The Fabulous Wailers

  • "Tall Cool One", (1959), No. 36 US, No. 24 R&B

Rick Wakeman

Mike Watt

The Who

Mason Williams

Brian Wilson

The Edgar Winter Group

Link Wray

  • "Rumble" (1958), No. 16 US, No. 11 R&B

Y

The Yardbirds

Yes

Neil Young

Yowie

Z

Frank Zappa

A significant portion of Zappa's discography consists of instrumental works, but many of these could be classified as modern classical or avant-garde music rather than rock.

See also

References

External links