Sitting on my deck, having a beer and listening to tunes and J. Geils Band “Give it to Me” came on. Made me wonder what other classic tunes effectively insert a whistle into the song. The only one that came to mind was Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain.” Keep in mind I am not referring to human whistling as in Peter Gabriel’s “Games without Frontiers” or XTC’s “ Generals and Majors.” Can anyone help me out here?
starting at 1:31.
Technically this isn't whistling, but since birds' whistles inspired Duane so I figure, why not?
Billastro
I know you mean like a traffic cop whistle, I can't think of any effective use as a musical instrument, orher than as an effective means of irritation.
If tin whistle can qualify, great tin whistle by Ian on The Whistler
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rl3mPPPfCA
I have to believe there is one in the Beatles catalogue somewhere! They enjoyed their sound effects.
There is one in the middle of Genesis’s epic “Supper’s Ready.”
Since the “Fool in the Rain” whistle part comes in a section that sounds like Latin American / Caribbean flavor, I bet that realm has more.
I know the regular human/lips whistle is off topic, but the one in “Flirtin With Disaster” cracks me up.
I have to believe there is one in the Beatles catalogue somewhere! They enjoyed their sound effects.
They added a dog whistle at the end of "A Day in the Life".
Billastro
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy
Taj Mahal - whistles in "Cake Walk INto Town" and (appropriately) in "Ain't Gwine Whistle "Dixie" No MOre"
Bob Dylan - slide whistle in "Highway 61"
Molly Hatchet (I think) -"Whiskey Man"
Otis Redding - whistling at the end of "Dock of the Bay"
Edit - used the wrong Taj song.
[Edited on 5/28/2020 by Rusty]
... If tin whistle can qualify, great tin whistle by Ian on The Whistler
The Pogues used the tin whistle often!
Taj Mahal also played a penny whistle on a few of his early songs.
And, don't forget the kazoos on the Grateful Dead studio version of "Alligator".
[Edited on 5/28/2020 by adhill58]
It’s apples & oranges to put it mildly
But John whistles a lead on a POBand cut, mayb Jealous Guy
In her disco diva era Donna Summer used multiple referees whistles on one of those songs - same era as, Lookin for some hot stuff baby this evening, gotta have some hot stuff baby tonite...not that one tho
There’s a slide whistle in Genesis’s “Wot Gorilla?”
Thanks Rusty! I had a Dylan tune in the back of my mind, but couldn’t think of the tune - you got it for me. I was also thinking Hendrix’s “ Room Full of Mirrors” is a possibility. Tried to find the studio version I’m used to hearing on YouTube, but gave up after the first few weren’t right.
First music piece I thought of that involves whistling .... and it’s been in the news for a licensing lawsuit. I can imagine this is perhaps the single most famous/popular/valuable whistling music piece ever
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TvSXdO7SDCE
[Edited on 5/29/2020 by eric373737]
guns n roses -patience
scorpions-winds of change
Some of you didn’t read my initial post. I asked for tunes that DID NOT use human whistling, but some type of whistle that a person would blow in to - a policeman, lifeguard, etc. Penny or slide whistles are acceptable.
Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains I'm quite sure there is a slide whistle in there and maybe a ref's whistle don't have time to pull it out to be sure. Also possibly buried in the intro to California Girls, jeez seems like there's hundreds of sounds in that
Human? Not sure if he is actually but by the end of the solo - you will be cheering for him.
Supertramp - The Logical Song
Sock It To Me, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Some of you didn’t read my initial post. I asked for tunes that DID NOT use human whistling, but some type of whistle that a person would blow in to - a policeman, lifeguard, etc. Penny or slide whistles are acceptable.
Your headline reads EFFECTIVE use. Hard to use a mono-note, non-tonal device that was never intended for music EFFECTIVELY. Police whistle solo? Not sure John Cage or even Yoko Ono are ready for that yet.
I would bet the house Frank Zappa used one at least once.
Probably wrote a whole ensemble piece for it.
Listen to King Crimson's 1973 album, A Lark's Tongue in Aspic. They employed an incredibly strange and talented percussionist named Jamie Muir in this era who made use of many odds and ends, including various whistles.
