Zooming in on Unusual Rock Instruments Quiz

Answer: Wild Thing

"Wild Thing" was written by Chip Taylor, whose other song of note was Merrilee Rush's hit "Angel of the Morning". Originally, it was the Wild Ones, a New York based band, who'd released it in 1965. The band had called on Taylor to write a single for them and, taking his cue from their name, he (Taylor) claimed that the song came to him in minutes. Whilst the song didn't chart the interesting part was the solo in the middle of the song, which was performed by the studio's engineer, whistling into cupped hands. This intrigued the Troggs, an English garage band fronted by Reg Presley, who chose to perform this section using an ocarina. The ocarina is an ancient woodwind instrument that looks like it could be used as a substitute for "Marvin the Martian's" ray gun. It has twelve finger holes and dates back some 12,000 years. It was an important instrument for both the Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. That aside, the Troggs took "Wild Thing" to the top of the charts and soon followed that up with the single "With a Girl Like You".

This question was brought to you by Phoenix Rising's own wild thing... pollucci19.

Answer: Saxophone

'Baker Street' was named after a real thoroughfare in London, the same street where Sherlock Holmes' fictional rooms were. Band leader Gerry Rafferty had just parted company with his previous band, Stealers Wheel ('Stuck In The Middle With You'), and wrote the song mainly out of frustration with the long-winded legal proceedings involved in the breakup. He was staying with a friend who lived in Baker Street.

The plaintive eight-bar riff is one of the most recognisable in popular music, and marked a distinct crossover from jazz to pop.

Although it is generally made of brass, the saxophone is classified as a woodwind instrument. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1846, and comes in various sizes- the smaller the size, the higher the pitch.
Saxophones were an early feature of rock and roll, via the big band era and rhythm and blues. But they faded as mainstream instruments and were used occasionally for riffs rather than full-time melodies. Some bands, however had a full-time saxophonist, Clarence Clemons of The E Street Band being arguably the most well known.

A lagerphone is a very Australian instrument and consists of a lot of bottle caps (preferably beer bottles), loosely nailed to a broomstick, and shaken.

This questions was penned by team member ozzz2002 who might now "settle down
In some quiet little town / And forget about everything".

Answer: Under My Thumb

When Brian Jones left the Rolling Stones and tragically drowned in 1969, the band lost more than its founder - they lost a musical polymath. The Stones will always be remembered as a guitar band but Jones was a musical polymath playing, as well as guitars, mellotron, marimba, harmonica, recorder, and saxophone. He was a drummer as well but didn't get to showcase this talent in the band.
"Under My Thumb" was a 1966 track from their album "Aftermath". It was never released as a single but was a concert favourite and often opened their concerts. Jones played the marimba which provides the song's hook and bounces along the entire track. "Out of Time" was written at the same time, and also featured Jones on marimba but the song was omitted from this album. Both songs had themes of controlling female partners which would not be viewed favourably in the 21st century. However musically, both songs are timeless.

This question was hammered into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973. Subject to a lot of band member changes, they have however survived the test of time. Bon Scott, the lead vocalist 1974-1980, had been in a pipe band in his youth. He was persuaded to play the bagpipes on the track, despite being a drummer not a piper. He died in 1980 and was replaced by Brian Johnson. Johnson refuses to perform 'It's a Long Way to the Top' live, out of respect for his predecessor. The track was ranked as number five of the most Australian songs of all time in 2018.
Bagpipes are classified as a woodwind instrument. Firmly linked with Scotland, but actually found throughout Europe, Northern Africa and some parts of Asia, they are composed of pipes, a chanter and a reservoir bag.

This question has been written by smpdit who has been reliably informed that it is customary to change the lyrics when singing along, to: 'It's a long way to the shop, if you wanna sausage roll'.

Answer: Thick as a Brick

Ian Anderson was the frontman and flute maestro of the band. "Thick as a Brick" was presented as if it was an epic poem written by an 8-year-old boy, Gerald Bostock. Some audiences didn't "get the joke" and thought Gerald was an actual person instead of a figment of Anderson's prodigious imagination. As well as playing the flute, Anderson also plays keyboards, acoustic, electric and bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, and harmonica.

This question was piped in by Phoenix Rising team member pusdoc.

Answer: David Mason

Mason was a gifted musician who studied at the Royal College of Music. He was the youngest member of the National Symphony Orchestra formed in the 1940s, and being too young for national service, was called up into the Band of the Scots Guards during the war years. He became a member of the orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where he became lead trumpet.

Paul McCartney was looking for a special sound for 'Penny Lane' and after he heard Mason playing the piccolo trumpet in Bach's 'Second Brandenburg Concerto', Mason was asked to come to Abbey Road the next day. He ended up playing the piccolo trumpet for the project, pitched an octave above the usual concert instrument, which gave it the extraordinary sound associated with the song. George Martin, the '5th Beatle' is quoted as having said: "The result was unique, something which had never been done in rock music before".

Piccolo trumpets have a separate lead pipe for each of either B or A keys, with tubing half the length of a standard trumpet. It is also sometimes called a 'soprano' trumpet and the tone produced is high-pitched and bright.

This question was heralded by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid, who has decided to play a trumpet rather than a harp in heaven. Not that she can play either now.

Answer: Metronome

This is a crowd favourite. A real rock anthem with booming drums and a full-on chorus that often was the closing song of a setlist. The source of the click is a metronome, meting out a consistent 130 beats per minute. (From the options offered it was the only viable option). Whilst not a musical instrument, it adds to the overall mix of the song. When played live, the song lacks something that the original has. Might have something to do with the inability to amplify the sound. There is no mention of this in the credits for the song and it drove this author crazy trying to reproduce the sound. In the end, the author contacted the band who laughed when asked as this was not the first time they had been asked. When asked if they would mike up a metronome for their upcoming concert, they did not laugh as they said they had not been asked that question before but they would consider it.

This question by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who is a big fan of Eskimo Joe.

Answer: The Dreaming

Kate was only a teenager when she burst onto the music scene in 1978 with a fresh, amazingly, eclectic sound, which was accompanied by startling videos. She continued to push creative boundaries.

"The Dreaming" is the title song from Kate Bush's fourth studio album
produced in 1982. It was a protest song about white men's destruction of Australian aboriginal homelands in their quest for uranium.
The didgeridoo provided a constant drone in the background of drum and piano, as a replacement to a bass guitar. It was played by Australian Rolf Harris. She described the sound 'It was like a swarm of tiny velvet bees circling down the shaft of the dijeridu and dancing around in my ear. It made me laugh, but there was something very strange about it, something of an age a long, long time ago.'
Another bizarre tidbit; Percy Edwards, who was a bird impersonator, provided 'sheep noises' on the track.

The Didgeridoo is a long tube like instrument made from hollowed out wood branches requiring vibrating lip movements and circular breathing to produce the tunes. Women are forbidden to play the instrument by aboriginal tradition.

smpdit used to live very close to Kate Bush in South East London and remembers listening to her music for hours.

Answer: Radiohead

The glockenspiel is a percussion instrument similar to a xylophone composed of a set of tuned metal bars or tubes struck by mallets. Radiohead incorporated a glockenspiel to help set the tone for the twinkling melancholy of "No Surprises" on their "OK Computer" album. Lead vocalist Thom Yorke wrote the song while the band was opening for R.E.M.'s "Monster" tour in 1995. The music video only enhanced the quality of the song, with Yorke outfitted in an astronaut-type helmet slowly filling up with water. The song takes inspiration from Marvin Gaye, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (The Beach Boys), and "Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong).

REO Speedwagon, R.E.M., and Rage Against the Machine are American rock bands.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon crept in to submit this question.

Answer: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

That claim about Harrison was provided by Peter Lavezzoli in his 2006 book "The Dawn of Indian Music in the West". Harrison had previously experimented with the instrument on the Beatles film "Help!" (1965) and later had, famously, sought out the instruction of Indian sitar specialist Ravi Shankar. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, John Lennon explained that he was getting frustrated with the song as they had tried several variations of it and none were near the concept he had in his mind. George had the sitar in the studio, and he (John) asked him if he could play the song on the instrument. As it was still early days for Harrison with the sitar, he was dubious but prepared to have a go. In the notes on the Beatles "Anthology 2" album (1996) the first take featured the sitar prominently but was pruned back in a new version two weeks later.

The Yardbirds may have stolen the march on the Beatles with the sitar. In the original version of their 1965 song "Heart Full of Soul" they'd used the sitar to play the main riff but removed from the final version. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones would, later, use the sitar on the band's "Paint it Black" single (1966) and the instrument has continued to feature prominently in various singles since; The Cowsills' "The Rain, the Park, and Other Things", John Fred and His Playboy Band's "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)", The Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine" and Traffic's "Paper Sun" and "Hole In My Shoe", all from 1967.

(Note) None of the other answer options appeared on "Rubber Soul", all were from the Beatles' self titled album, better known as the "White Album" (1968).

While writing this question Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 managed to break his sitar but was told "don't fret".