Whistle While You Rock
It can be exceptionally hard to write a hit song, especially if it has, you know, words and stuff. What happens when you don’t have anything left to say, but you know your melody rules and bears repeating?
Simple: you whistle. You whistle your ass off. Regardless of whether or not you think whistling in a pop/rock tune is a songwriting cop-out, it can be an incredibly effective way to get even the most tone-def of listeners to “sing” along, since almost everyone thinks they can whistle just fine. They can’t, by the way.
So put those lips together and blow as we present our picks for the ten wettest whistles in rock history. (In no particular order. Go easy on the hate mail.)
“Patience” by Guns N’ Roses
Axl’s second most famous ballad gets off to a great start with a masterful, minute-long whistle, only to eventually turn into another screaming match with Slash. But you have to hand it to him — his foreshadowing is fucking amazing. When’s that new GNR record coming out again?
Mp3: “Patience”
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin
This annoying piece of Polyanna piss proves that legendary jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin wasn’t always such a classy guy. And how about the fact that he goes fakin’ Jamaican with this bullshit accent? Oh, he’s from an island alright… called Manhattan. Dick. Helluva whistler, though.
Mp3: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
“The Stranger” by Billy Joel
No one knows why a guy as unafraid of words as Billy Joel would intro AND outro this white boy funky rock jam with such a long-winded whistle. Perhaps he was saving those missing lyrics for that epic turd about not starting fires. Or talking his way out of a DUI.
Mp3: “The Stranger”
“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” by Paul Simon
Rhymin’ Simon delivered this joyful ode to Corona, Queens on his first album after telling Garfunkel to get off his coattails and try writing his own fucking songs for a change. Extra points for actually working the whistling bit into the tune as a bridge.
Mp3: “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
“Centerfold” by J. Geils Band
This frathouse staple gives listeners the rare rock song cliché double dip, first bludgeoning them with an infectious “na-na” post-chorus, then finishing ‘em off with a slick whistle refrain. One of the few songs with equal appeal to New Wave fogies and date rapists alike. You cannot resist.
Mp3: “Centerfold”
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
Talk about going out with a bang; Otis Redding recorded this instant classic a mere three days before dying in a fateful plane crash. Coming from a man with one of the most powerful soul voices ever, the carefree ending whistle is touching and timeless.
Mp3: “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”
“Two of Us” by The Beatles
Though it sounds an awful lot like a tearful send off to the Lennon/McCartney partnership, the first cut off the last Beatles record was actually written for Linda Eastman prior to her marrying Paul, proving once again that girls ruin everything.
Mp3:“Two of Us”
“Wind of Change” by Scorpions
Considering singer Klaus Meine’s questionable English pronunciation skills, it’s no wonder they started this socio-political metal ballad off with the international language of song, the whistle. Interestingly, it’s the best-selling song ever in Germany. Take that Hasselhoff.
Mp3: “Wind of Change”
“Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel
A strange, groovy gem from a strange, groovy songwriter. Not only does it feature a prominent whistle part, but Gabriel gets profound by singing about whistling while he’s whistling. That beats singing about drums while drumming, which proves once and for all that Gabriel pwns Phil Collins.
Mp3: “Games Without Frontiers”
“Jealous Guy” by John Lennon
Great song, shitty whistle. It’s just jammed right there in the middle of the verses, probably because he was dreaming of something else. But by virtue of his writing about four hundred other fantastic songs filled with poignant lyrics, we’ll give him a pass.
Mp3: “Jealous Guy”
EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS WHISTLE:
“Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles
Shitty song, great whistle. If it is indeed a whistle. Kinda sounds like a crappy Yamaha keyboard patch, but chances are the patch is called “Whistle 1A,” so we’re letting it slide.
Mp3: “Walk Like an Egyptian”
Related posts: Punk Rock TV Theme Songs | A (Not So Complete) History of TV Theme Songs Sung By Cast Members
06.05.07 at 2:30 am
Less rock n’roll but unforgettable is the bridge over the river kwai’s whisteling BO
06.05.07 at 5:45 am
Bite your tongue. Walk like an Egyptian rocks.
06.06.07 at 7:22 am
The last beatles album was actually Abbey Road, not Let it Be. Abbey Roakd was recorded last.
06.06.07 at 7:54 am
I put a list together and made a CD with whistling songs a while back, 3 blantant ommisions….Civil War by GnR, Sweet Georgia Brown (Harlem Globetrotters Theme Song) and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Monte Python.
06.06.07 at 8:04 am
It’s only a year-old, but Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John has to make the cut, possibly second-best ever next to Dock of the Bay
06.06.07 at 9:26 am
[...] Whistling Songs June 6th, 2007 — Mikey Check out this list. [...]
06.06.07 at 10:11 am
Whistle While You Work, by the Seven Dwarfs. Awesome.
06.06.07 at 10:16 am
And the whistle in Two of Us is basically just the tune for “Hela, heba helloa” at the end of “Hello, Goodbye.”
06.06.07 at 10:23 am
Prince Paul sampled Otis Redding’s whistle to great effect on De La Soul’s “Eye Know.” That ought to receive some honorable mention. Whistle creativity in the hip-hop community has been in decline ever since.
06.06.07 at 2:20 pm
I can’t believe you don’t have “hocus pocus” by Focus
06.06.07 at 2:30 pm
Hocus Pocus Focus
06.06.07 at 5:44 pm
how soon is now-the smiths
06.06.07 at 7:28 pm
How about “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller?
06.07.07 at 12:26 am
I can hardly believe there is no mention of DJ Riko’s “Whistler’s Delight” remix.
(listen at http://www.culturedeluxe.com/prankmonkey/prm003.html)
Seriously, about the only thing he leaves out is the theme from Buckaroo Banzai.
–Patrick
06.07.07 at 2:22 am
Monty Python with “Always look on the bright side of life” …
06.07.07 at 4:16 am
How about Whistle While You Twurk- Ying Yang Twins
06.07.07 at 9:18 am
“My Girlfriend’s Dead” - The Vandals.
Whistling in punk rock just sucks, just like clapping (sorry Anti-Flag but you suck)
06.07.07 at 9:41 am
“Fly Like An Eagle” has ‘doo-doo-doodoos’…I don’t think there’s any whistling.
06.08.07 at 6:24 am
what? how come “Alpha Beta Gaga” by Air didn’t make the list?!? This is an atrocity that MUST be corrected! Nothing is better than the psychadelic blend of sitar and whistling surrounded by incredible atmospheric beats in that song.
06.10.07 at 4:20 pm
What about Andy Griffith Theme Song
06.11.07 at 6:48 am
[...] Ya que hay una canción de mis Guns N’ Roses que ha sido nombrada entre los 10 silbidos de la música rock, aprovecho para poner un vídeo de la gira del año pasado. Que grandes. [...]
06.12.07 at 7:18 am
[...] Yuppie Punk has compiled a list of the top whistlers (no, that’s not slang - we mean people who whistle) in rock. Axl Rose, beating out artists such as John Lennon, Billy Joel, Otis Redding and The Scorpions, tops the list for “Patience.” What, no “Civil War?” [...]
06.12.07 at 2:54 pm
never you done that by general public!
06.14.07 at 10:42 am
[...] This link is to a great website that is featuring 10 Rock songs featuring whistling. [...]
07.10.07 at 10:31 pm
Glad to see this subject being discussed! Nice song list too!
06.03.08 at 6:17 pm
One great whistling song is the theme from the early 1950’s movie starring John Wayne, “The High and the Mighty”. I luckily found it in the newsgroups last week and have been whistling it all this week!
p_rod
08.06.08 at 9:39 am
Whistling in song? hey all, i got a long list as well, i host a radio show every Thursday at 4pm on WMBR 88.1 FM. ya can listen live online, this week Aug 7th i’ll be playing an hour of songs that all feature someone whistling! and from the list above, i’m going with only 4, i got David Bowie, Stone Temple Pilots, Beck, Phish, and The Smiths, so do tune in and enjoy! thanks for the tip!