Big Horn Bands of the Sixties and Seventies

Well blow me down!

A lot of bands in the sixties and seventies used some horns in their recordings and sometimes in performances, but only a few featured the horn section as the band’s raison d’être. Let’s revisit them.

Blood Sweat & Tears

A rock band? A jazz band? A jazzy rock band!

Chicago

The quintessential horn section: Three guys: trumpet, sax, trombone.

Tower of Power

A funk band … a soul band … a studio horn section — their horn section recorded with many other artists.

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass

Definitely a pop band, they were HUGE in the sixties and seventies. Several of their tracks were used as theme songs for The Dating Game television show. My high school English teacher claimed he went to USC with Alpert and Alpert was the worst trumpet player in the band! But go figure, the teacher was a pretty weird dude.

Honorable Mention: The E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band had a one-man horn section, sax player Clarence Clemons, a.k.a. the Big Man. While he can hardly be said to be the raison d’être of the band, it certainly wouldn’t have been the same without him.