Top Ten Requests - Saxy Songs!

There's something in the pop music Kool-Aid lately. Everybody's suddenly making their tracks Super-Saxy.

Pop artists just can't get enough saxophone loops these days.

The current Top 40 is under a sax attack - from Ariana Grande's PROBLEM to RedFoo's NEW THANG to Jason Derulo's TALK DIRTY TO ME, they're definitely bringing saxy back. Okay, enough sax puns.

It seems the sax revival began in 2011, with Katy Perry's FRIDAY NIGHT (even including that antidote to hip, Kenny G, in the video) and Lady Gaga's EDGE OF GLORY (with a sax solo from E Street's Clarence Clemons)

But, we in the piano bar world have known for years that songs with the sax just have that something extra. So, here is our top ten piano bar requests for those sax tracks.

#10 - MANEATER - Hall & Oates

Is it me, or are Hall & Oates seeing a bit of a piano bar revival lately? We can barely get through a week without the deluge of H&O requests coming in. And we are glad to see it! These underrated masters of the pop Philly sound are long overdue for their renaissance. And anytime you can point across the bar and shout "MANEATER!" at a stranger, bonus.

#9 - BRASS MONKEY - Beastie Boys

The use of the sax loop in pop, hip-hop and R&B has deep roots. Even before DJ Kool released LET ME CLEAR MY THROAT with that legendary sax part, the Beasties were all over it in this track. And if we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times - songs about illicit booze just seem to belong at the dueling piano bar.

#8 - CARELESS WHISPER - Wham

For those who like their saxophones melancholy and mid-tempo, George Michael is here for you. And for those who likewise want to revisit the prom of 1984, ditto.

#7 - LAND DOWN UNDER - Men At Work

Actually, any song by Men At Work would fit here, but this one certainly grabs the most airplay at the piano bar. Americans have their anthems, and the Aussies have this one. At least, when they visit America, they get this one.

#6 - BAKER STREET - Gerry Rafferty

The sax groove is so hot on this song that you forget there are any verses. Just lie back and surrender to the smoky vibe.

#5 - BROWN SUGAR - Rolling Stones

Is there a hotter sax solo in all of rock n roll than this one? Well, maybe just one...

#4 - URGENT - Foreigner

When the boys of Foreigner knew they needed a great, "Junior Walker-style", sax solo to finish off their track, one of them discovered that Junior was doing a gig nearby, and sure enough, he came in to drop the single greatest sax solo in rock history. And in one take.

#3 - BORN TO RUN - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

If you play piano in the NYC area and you DON'T know this song, run, don't walk to learn it. The unofficial anthem of New Jersey rock n roll, made even greater by the saxophone work of the late Clarence Clemons.

#2 - NEW YORK STATE OF MIND - Billy Joel

What we said for #3...double down for this. The OFFICIAL anthem for New Yorkers. And this one gets a special treatment in concert by Joel band member Mark Rivera, a long-time friend of the dueling pianos show here in NYC. Piano bars and dueling pianos everywhere know this tune to be a modern standard. In NYC, it's practically religion.

And at #1 -

OLD TIME ROCK N ROLL - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

No song is more of a staple than this one. Is it the nostalgic feeling of the lyrics? Is it Tom Cruise lip synching in Ray Bans and tidy whities? Is it the continuing popularity on Jimmy Fallon's shows? Is it the most famous eight note intro in all of modern music? Anyway you slice it, this song gets audiences clapping and singing every time.

Honorable Mentions go to Lou Reed's WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, and David Bowie's YOUNG AMERICAN.

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