Instrumental rock was most popular from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, with artists such as Bill Doggett Combo, The Fireballs, The Shadows, The Ventures, Johnny and the Hurricanes and The Spotnicks.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the instrumental rock genre was dominated by several guitar soloists, including Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai.
One notable early instrumental was "Honky Tonk" by the Bill Doggett Combo, with its slinky beat and sinuous saxophone-organ lead.
[1] Instrumental hit songs could emphasize electronic organ (the Tornados' "Telstar", Dave "Baby" Cortez's "The Happy Organ", Johnny & the Hurricanes' "Red River Rock"), or the saxophone (the Champs' "Tequila",[2] Bill Black's Combo's "Don't Be Cruel", the Piltdown Men's "McDonald's Cave"), but the guitar was most prominent.
The Fireballs, featuring the distinctive guitar work of George Tomsco, began their career in the late 1950s with instrumental hits such as "Torquay" and "Bulldog."
[3] The Shadows (alone and accompanying Cliff Richard) featured heavily in the UK charts until 1963 when Beatlemania arrived, combined with DJ indifference to non-vocal singles.
The Ventures' precise guitar work was a major influence on many later rock guitarists; they also helped shape surf music.
Just before the British Invasion, Lonnie Mack's version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis" reached #5 on the Billboard Pop chart in June 1963.
The early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with bandleader Peter Green achieved number one chart positions with the guitar-based instrumental "Albatross" in February 1969.
During the 70s, some musicians released instrumental records such as Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio"(1971), Booker T & the MGs' "Melting Pot", Incredible Bong Band's "Apache", Hot Butter's "Popcorn"(1972) and Rhythm Heritage "Theme from S.W.A.T."(1976).
Many of Pink Floyd's early compositions were largely instrumental pieces containing structured jams fusing psychedelic, progressive and space rock.
Swedish virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen made a name for himself in 1984 by playing in the popular band Alcatrazz, and then by releasing his debut solo album Rising Force later that year, reaching #60 on the Billboard Charts.
After Malmsteen left Alcatrazz, he was replaced by the extravagant Steve Vai, who had previously been playing with the Frank Zappa band.
Cacophony were a primarily instrumental group featuring Becker and Marty Friedman (the latter of whom went on to play with the thrash metal band Megadeth).
A fusion of rock, jazz, classical and Eastern tonalities, Passion and Warfare was a technical break-through in regards to what could be achieved in the field of guitar composition.
Don Caballero gained notice for their instrumental math rock, as did neo-surf-rockers the Mermen and Man or Astro-man?.
The majority of the popular performers from the 1980s have made rejuvenated and generally well-received comebacks, with a revitalized sound apparent on their recent releases.
Artists such as Steve Morse, Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert, Ron Jarzombek and Joe Satriani have continued releasing instrumental rock music and touring with success.
Other examples include Austin TV, Mogwai, The Cancer Conspiracy, the Mercury Program, 65daysofstatic, God Is An Astronaut, Russian Circles and Explosions in the Sky.