Surf guitar, Duane Eddy, the Shadows, Boots Randolph, Al Hirt, the Tijuana Brass, Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," the original "Axel F," Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Candy Dulfer, Kenny G...
I don't think I'd consider all of those "pop" in the narrow sense (mmaybe Herbie Hancock, but not sure about Kenny G. or Jeff Beck). I do think they at least feature (or featured, for those past sell-by date) melodic lines that would be singable and were emulating the human voice.
For instance, I kinda think a lot of surf guitar was making songs that no one in the band was willing/able to actually sing. (Like, I can hear where the words "walk, don't run" would go in "Walk, Don't Run," but couldn't prove anything).
By the way, there's an interesting take on "pop" in wikipedia, wherein they say:
The term indicates specific stylistic traits but the genre also includes artists working in many styles (rock, hip hop, rhythm and blues (R&B), and country).... Often used to describe the current popular genres of music of any given time, the term "pop" cannot be used describe any one particular style.
What I'm saying is that it's possible to recognize something as pop -- as belonging to a pop style -- although the style might not be particularly particular. It's fuzzy around the edges. |
