The oboe and its alto version the English horn are instruments generally associated with art music, but they have been used sporadically in popular music recordings, generally by (often uncredited) studio musicians on recordings of specific songs. In the late 1960s and 1970s, several bands emerged that featured oboists as members, including The Moody Blues, Henry Cow, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, Roxy Music, Electric Light Orchestra, Wizzard, and Japan.

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  • The oboe and its alto version the English horn are instruments generally associated with art music, but they have been used sporadically in popular music recordings, generally by (often uncredited) studio musicians on recordings of specific songs. In the late 1960s and 1970s, several bands emerged that featured oboists as members, including The Moody Blues, Henry Cow, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, Roxy Music, Electric Light Orchestra, Wizzard, and Japan. The oboists in these bands generally used the oboe as a secondary instrument, not playing it on every song. Japan and Roxy Music, however, did use the oboe quite frequently. However, Iva Davies, the frontman of the Australian rock band Icehouse (formerly "Flowers) studied oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium and played both oboe and cor anglais in many of the band's songs. Since the 1990s, the oboe has been used in rock most notably by Sigur Rós, as well as by indie rock musician Sufjan Stevens (who also plays cor anglais and often overdubs both instruments on his albums). Jarlaath, the vocalist of the French gothic metal band Penumbra, plays the oboe in a number of the band's songs, as does Robbie J. de Klerk, the vocalist of the Dutch melodic doom/death metal band Another Messiah. In America, a band called Hoboe defines itself as a rock band showcasing amplified oboe, fronted by oboist Zen Ben. Below is a historical sampling of songs and albums in which the oboe (ob) or English horn (Eh) is featured: 1964 - Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By (ob) 1964 - Peter and Gordon - I Don't Want to See You Again (ob) 1965 - Sonny and Cher - I Got You Babe (ob. Harold Battiste). 1966 - The Left Banke - Pretty Ballerina (ob) 1966 - The Beach Boys - I'm Waiting for the Day (Eh. Leonard Hartman) 1966 - The Beatles - Original version of Penny Lane had two English horns playing the bridge instead of a piccolo trumpet 1967 - Boudewijn de Groot - Eva 1967 - The Turtles - Happy Together (ob) 1967 - The Rolling Stones - Dandelion 1968 - Dion - Abraham, Martin & John 1968-69 The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord and On the Threshold of a Dream 1969 - The Classics IV - Traces [of Love] (ob) 1970-71 The Move - Looking On and Message from the Country 1971 - The Carpenters - For All We Know (Eh. Bob Messenger) 1972 - Roxy Music - Sea Breezes and Virginia Plain. 1974 - Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge 1978 - Lindisfarne - Run for Home (Eh) 1980 - Randy Crawford - One Day I'll Fly Away (Eh) 1980 - Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids (ob) 1982 - Icehouse - Street Cafe, Trojan Blue from Primitive Man 1983 - China Crisis - Working with Fire and Steel - Possible Pop Songs Volume Two (ob. Steve Levy) 1983 - Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth 1983 - David Thomas - Variations on a Theme 1983-85 Durutti Column - Another Setting and Without Mercy (ob. Manaugh Fleming) 1985 - Madonna - Crazy for You (ob. George Marge) 1985 - The Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town (Eh. Kate St. John) 1987 - Icehouse - Man of Colours 1987-88 The Go-Betweens - Bye Bye Pride from Tallulah and Clouds from 16 Lovers Lane 1988 - Tanita Tikaram - Twist in My Sobriety 1989 - Shelleyan Orphan - Shatter on Centur Flower 1989 - Camouflage - Love Is a Shield (ob. Simone Winter) 1991 - Daniel Bélanger - Les Insomniaques s'amusent (Eh. Lise Beauchamp) 1991 - Electronic - Some Distant Memory (ob. Helen Powell) 1991-92 REM - Out of Time and Automatic for the People (ob. Deborah Workman). 1992-94 Several Portastatic recordings feature oboe. 1993 - Blur - Star Shaped on Modern Life Is Rubbish (ob. Kate St. John) 1994 - Seal - Kiss from a Rose from Batman Forever 1995 - Queen - It's A Beautiful Day from Made in Heaven. ) 2001 - Stereophonics - Cover of Mike d'Abo's Handbags and Gladrags (ob). 2008 - Dave Matthews Band - Bartender. 2009 - Cameron Blake - When It Comes Down To It from En Route (ob. Shea Scruggs)
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  • The oboe and its alto version the English horn are instruments generally associated with art music, but they have been used sporadically in popular music recordings, generally by (often uncredited) studio musicians on recordings of specific songs. In the late 1960s and 1970s, several bands emerged that featured oboists as members, including The Moody Blues, Henry Cow, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, Roxy Music, Electric Light Orchestra, Wizzard, and Japan.
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  • Oboes in popular music
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