1967 - It was British band The Hollies which first used steel pans in pop music in its 1967 single Carrie-Anne. Since the use of steel pans in Carrie-Anne, the instrument has been used in numerous genres including Hip Hop, R&B, Rock, Dance, Country, and Jazz. The player may have been Ralph Richardson.
In a 3-35-2020 conversation with When Steel Talks, band leader and musician Brian Henderson said "Im not sure whether it was Mario (Gibbins) or Ralph Richardson.... in the 60s I had a band, and we used to record for EMI. Our producer, Ron Richards also produced the Hollies , and I vaguely remember Ron asking me about Ralph, because we had used pan on one of our tracks...Ralph also played bass...Mario was also a friend.. I used to do 3 pan gigs with him. I seem to remember thjs discussion years ago on Pan times.... I think it was Ralph, but, it could have been Mario."
Below is a list of notable examples from throughout the decades and from around the world. List prepared by Danny Friar - author of Gone Troppo Steel Pans In Pop Music. List republished with permission from the author. | see more |
Love The One Youre With Stephen Stills (1970)
Apeman The Kinks (1970)
Salmon Falls Harry Nilsson (1975)
Island Girl Elton John (1975)
Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town Talking Heads (1977)
Every Kinda People Robert Palmer (1978)
Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) John Lennon (1980)
The Street Parade The Clash (1980)
Just The Two Of Us Bill Withers (1981)
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic The Police (1981)
Gone Troppo George Harrison (1982)
Come Dancing The Kinks (1982)
Right By Your Side Eurythmics (1983)
Side By Side Earth, Wind & Fire (1983)
Shot In The Dark Belinda Carlisle (1986)
New Position Prince And The Revolution (1986)
Agadoo Blacklace (1987)
Kokomo The Beach Boys (1988)
We Kinda Music Andy Narell (1989)
Venus As A Boy Bjork (1993)
Bananas And Blow Ween (2000)
Pass This On The Knife (2003)
P.I.M.P 50 Cent (2003)
Bingo M.I.A. (2004)
Crank That (Soulja Boy) Soulja Boy Tellem (2007)
I Cant Stay The Killers (2008)
Far Nearer/Beat For Jamie xx (2011)
I Follow Rivers Lykke Li (2011)
Dont Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) Regina Spektor (2012)
Flashbulb Eyes Arcade Fire (2013)
Im Not You Clipse (2014)
When The Beat Drops Out Marlon Roudette (2014)
Rum Is The Reason Toby Keith (2015)
Me & The Rhythm Selena Gomez (2015)
Close Nick Jonas (2016)
| see more |