I remember the exact moment I became fascinated with instrumental singles. As I got ready for school one morning in the early 1970s, Red Alix, the longtime morning host on CJOB/Winnipeg, came off the ...

Lyrics and vocals are, of course, an integral part of music. As a matter of fact, some artists have made it big by being a mediocre musician and a masterful lyricist. On the other hand, some artists ...

How instrumental hits topped the charts from the ’50s through the ’70s and why they fell off—well, except for Kenny G. We're sorry, but something went wrong ...

The songs on Quilt's third album, Plaza, were stitched together from old voice memos and lyrics written at various times throughout the Boston band's seven-year lifespan. The result, however, feels ...

Today’s pop music is so dependent on the human voice—whether singing or rapping—that it’s hard to imagine a time when instrumentals could be mainstream hits. In fact, no instrumental has topped the ...

… but our independent journalism isn’t free to produce. Help us keep it this way with a tax-deductible donation today. It’s been a long time since the “golden age” of instrumental hits, those ...

Today we're starting WFUV's Quiet Drive - asking for your financial support, but with less talk and more music. So, for the Question of the Day we're going to give you the music without the lyrics.