1970s
Funk and disco produced several instrumental hit singles during the 1970s.
The jazz fusion of the 1970s often had considerable stylistic cross-over with rock, and groups like Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report had sizable followings among rock fans.
The Allman Brothers Band is often not considered an instrumental rock band but they have many instrumentals and make longer versions of their songs. A good example is the 22-minute version of Whipping Post in At Fillmore East LP. Their instrumentals, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Jessica" are popular, with "Jessica" being featured as theme for both the 1977 and 2002 formats of Top Gear.
Jeff Beck also recorded two entirely instrumental albums in the '70s: Blow by Blow and Wired. Successful among mainstream audiences, both have strong jazz influences, the latter featuring a cover of Charles Mingus' jazz standard "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat".
Progressive rock and art rock performers of the 1960s and 1970s deserve some mention. Many of these musicians featured virtuosic instrumental performances (and occasional instrumental songs), but many of their compositions also featured vocals. King Crimson gained a massive cult following in the late 1960s and 1970s with their explosive instrumental output that merged rock, jazz, classical and heavy metal styles, though their albums also included songs with vocals. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, a progressive rock album released in 1973, was all instrumental (save for some brief spoken words) and is one of the best-selling instrumental albums ever, with 16 millions copies sold. The Dutch band Finch recorded three all-instrumental albums of progressive rock of continuing interest. One of the most acclaimed albums of the band Camel, 1975's The Snow Goose, was entirely instrumental.
Surf music's "2nd Wave" began in 1979 with the release of the first Jon & the Nightriders record.
Read more about this topic: Instrumental Rock