But during the year 1968, this genre enjoyed a great revival, of sorts:
- "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat was a no. 1 smash
- "Grazing In The Grass" by Hugh Masakela.
- Hugo Montenegro had a no. 2 smash with "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", from the Clint Eastwood film of the same name
- Cliff Nobles and Company with "The Horse".
- Young-Holt Unlimited capped off the year with "Souful Strut", a no. 3 smash in Dec.
The biggest instrumental hit of the '60s was "Theme From A Summer Place" by Percy Faith (and his orchestra). This was a no. 1 smash for 9 weeks(!) in 1960.
\The top instrumental of all time was "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado (and his orchestra), a no. 1 smash for 10(!) weeks in 1955.
Some of the genre's greatest stars and notable artists also include: Duane Eddy (with his backup group, The Rebels) was influenced by the gift of a a Chet Atkins album at 17. He was known for his trademark bass-heavy, twangy guitar sound and was often billed as "Duane Eddy and His Twangy Guitar". Eddy had a total of 15 Top 40 hits from 1958-1963. His biggest were "Rebel Rouser"(no. 6, 1958) and "Because They're Young"(no. 4, 1960). (I'm not sure, but isn't that Duane Eddy on "These Boots Are Made For Walking" by Nancy Sinatra(1966)?
Sandy Nelson was a drummer. His biggest hits were "Teen Beat"(no. 4, 1959) and "Let There Be Drums"(no. 7, 1961). He later became a studio musician. Elvis Presley's original bassist, Bill Black, (He was Bill of "Scotty and Bill" on Presley's Sun recordings.) formed Bill Black's Combo, and had several hits throughout the decade, such as "White Silver Sands"(1960) and "Smokie-Part 2"(late 1950-early 1960).
James Brown's backup band, The JBs, rode the "Night Train" to no. 35 in 1962 and took "The Popcorn" to no. 30 in 1969, among others. On the B side of some vocal hits, there would often be an instrumental version of it.
Booker T. and The MGs - Booker T. Jones and The Memphis Group, who were formerly The Mar-Keys. MG and former Mar-Key members Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn would become very instrumental (pardon the pun!) in putting Stax Records on the map, writing and producing hit songs for many of the label's artists. ) had the no. 3 smash "Green Onions" in 1962 and continued with other hits throughout the decade, inclluding "Hip Hug-Her" (no. 37, 1967), "Groovin" (no. 21, also '67), and "Soul-Limbo" (no. 17, 1968).
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