Like so many who grew up as baby boomers in the 1950s/1960s in the years just prior to the British rock bands emergence in America, much of the Top 40 pop music we heard on AM radio and on jukeboxes was being created by artists such as Fats Domino, Bill Haley and the Comets, Little Richard, Chubby Checker, The Dells, Bill Doggett, etc. Many of these R&B and early Rock’n Roll recordings included a saxophone and inspired youngsters to start playing that instrument. In most cases, the names of the saxophonists on these recordings were not known by the general public. A number of them were outstanding jazz players, studio session musicians, or members of a self-contained band. Their saxophone solos often became identified with the recordings as much as the featured singers and helped make them hits. Even though many of these musicians have never been given credits on albums, CD covers, and streaming services, their contributions were essential elements in the evolution of pop music. Woodwind doublers have also for many years been part of that culture with artists such as George Young, Joe Farrell, Eddie Daniels, Dave Tofani, Lou Marini, Dan Higgins, Bob Shepherd, and Lawrence Feldman contributing their talents to this side of the industry. Today, it is incumbent upon woodwind doublers to be equally facile with the pop styles of the past 70 years as it is to be accomplished in classical, jazz, and commercial styles of music. Broadway, one of the few remaining vehicles for doublers to find steady employment, has increasingly made use of jukebox musicals over the past 30 years, often requiring the doubler to play stylistically accurate pop charts and solos. (i.e. Jersey Boys, Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Movin’ Out, The Heart of Rock and Roll, MJ, etc.) Fosse, a musical that I played in the late 90s, started out with an alto saxophone solo with the directions, “Quasi David Sanborn.”
In the 1950s and 1960s, King Curtis, Boots Randolph, Lee Allen, Ace Cannon, Buddy Savitt, Earl Bostic, Hank Crawford, David “Fathead” Newman, and Junior Walker were among those who created memorable sax solos on early R&B and Rock’n Roll recordings. During the 1970s and 1980s, saxophonists Dave Sanborn, Mike Brecker, Tom Scott, Lou Marini, Lennie Pickett, Pete Christlieb, Bob Mintzer, Mark Rivera, Groover Washington, Kenny G, among others, added their distinct voices to this idiom playing behind name singers, as sidemen in rock or funk bands, or as leaders on their own albums. Marc Russo, Dave Koz, Richard Elliot, Kirk Whalum, Andy Snitzer, Dave Mann, Candy Dulfer, and Gerald Albright have followed suit in more recent decades.
The alphabetized short list below should serve as a beginning to exploring many of these important artists in this sector of the music industry. Most of the tracks are on YouTube under the names listed in parentheses.
Lee Allen:
Long Tall Sally (Little Richard)
Lucille, Good Golly Miss Molly (Little Richard)
Mike Brecker:
I Do It for Your Love (Paul Simon)
Still Crazy After All These Years (Paul Simon)
Popsicle Toes (Michael Franks)
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (James Taylor)
Pete Christlieb:
Deacon Blues (Steely Dan)
Unforgettable (Natalie Cole)
Hank Crawford:
The Peeper (Hank Crawford)
Angel Eyes (Hank Crawford)
King Curtis:
Yakity, Yak (The Drifters)
Charlie Brown (The Coasters)
Respect (Aretha Franklin)
Eddie Daniels:
Got To Love Somebody Today (Sister Sledge)
Joe Farrell:
Every Natural Thing (Aretha Franklin)
Kenny G:
Songbird (Kenny G)
Silhouette (Kenny G)
Forever in Love (Kenny G)
Plas Johnson:
Country Boy (Fats Domino)
David Newman:
Hard Times (David Newman)
Unchain My Heart (Ray Charles)
Maceo Parker:
Cold Sweat (James Brown)
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (James Brown)
David Sanborn:
How Sweet It Is (James Taylor)
Young American (David Bowie)
Buddy Savitt:
The Twist (Chubby Checker)
Monster Mash (Chubby Checker)
Mashed Potato Time (Dee Dee Sharp)
Tom Scott:
If You Think I’m Sexy (Rod Stewart)
Listen To What the Man Said (Rod Stewart)
Black Cow (Steely Dan)
Zoot Sims:
Poetry Man (Phoebe Snow)
Wayne Shorter:
Aja (Steely Dan)
Junior Walker:
Shotgun (Junior Walker & The All Stars)
What Does it Take (Junior Walker & The All Stars)
Grover Washington:
Mister Magic (Grover Washington)
Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington/Bill Withers)
Ernie Watts:
Arthur’s Theme (Christopher Cross)
Phil Woods:
Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Doctor Wu (Steely Dan)
Have A Good Time (Paul Simon)
George Young:
Let’s Twist Again (Chubby Checker)
Native New Yorker (Frankie Valli)