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    [OC] What Happened to the Saxophone in Pop Songs?
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    [OC] What Happened to the Saxophone in Pop Songs?

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    2. saschaleib on

      Sax doesn’t sound good when sampled – and modern producers are too cheap to actually pay for musicians…

    6. Ares6 on

      What were the songs with a sax in the 10s? All I can think of is that one Katy Perry song. 

      Edit: I think people are forgetting this is about Billboard #1s which is a US based chart. So most of the replies aren’t really correct. 

    9. KooKooMagoo on

      In 1981, pop sax peaked with Urgent by Foreigner. It was so gnarly that other bands kept trying for a bit, but eventually just gave up.

      Edit: I know it never hit number 1 pop, but it still shook the world and changed the course of history.

    12. Moreinius on

      Skill issue. Sax is really hard to play and master. Electronic Sax sounds bad. Really Sax players are expensive to hire, because it’s hard to play. Solution: just not putting Sax in music at all.

    21. WantsToBeUnmade on

      Clarence Clemmons.

      Springsteen was at his most popular in the seventies and eighties. Everyone wanted his sound and a large part of that was the E Street Band.

      But Bruce broke up the E Street Band after the Tunnel of Love tour, and of course grunge/alternative wasn’t melody/solo driven in the same way as what came before so interest died off.

      Then Clarence Clemmons’ death in 2009 caused a lot of people to reflect on his life’s work which reintroduced people to saxophone solos and brought about a resurgence of interest in the sound. It lasted about five years.

      That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Even though I made the story to fit the data and have no proof either way. Did it really happen that way? I don’t know, but as a Springsteen fan I have to say it would be cool if it did.

    23. yaninho88 on

      Yes! Where are all the Sax solos?! The 1975 band have a dedicated Sax player and their live shows give a lot of space for the saxophonist to shine. Their live album in Apple Music at the moment is very good for sax middle 8s; highly recommend.

    28. JetScootr on

      They don’t give a damn about any trumpet. playing. band.

      It’s not what they call rock n’ roll.

    29. triodoubledouble on

      At the end of the Fires of St Elmo movie the main character jumped on a bus to make a career in NYC as a sax player. Ironic.

    31. Student-type on

      Sax expertise requires years of practice, then jobs are quite limited, people have families and need to pay rent and bills.

      There’s not enough money in sax these days.

    32. fatwiggywiggles on

      Basically the reason is the decline of jazz as a popular genre in the 60s created a lot of out of work, but nevertheless talented, saxophonists. They were plugged into the music industry though and available for work so guys like the Rolling Stones and whathaveyou picked them up and stuck them into their songs, and cheaply. Nobody new was becoming a saxophonist though, so by the mid 90s after these guys retired there was nobody left to keep it going

    34. maxdacat on

      Great viz. I love a good sax line and some notable ones off the top of my head:

      Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty

      [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPX3L44TdS4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPX3L44TdS4)

      Careless Whisper – George Michael

      [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6en0SQNFs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6en0SQNFs)

      Never Tear us Apart – INXS

      [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ62S3A9wn0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ62S3A9wn0)

      Long as I can see the Light – CCR

      [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFP5afPweVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFP5afPweVI)