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Sound effects in pop music explored

KNKX Public Radio | By John Kessler,
John Maynard
Published February 2, 2012 at 4:30 AM PST
The 1812 Overture calls for cannon
The 1812 Overture calls for cannon

The Beatles were famous for using sound effects they found in the Abbey Road library, and many other artists used sound to great effect. (haha)  Babby Darin’s “Splish Splash” had a gurgling bath in the track, and The Ronettes “Walking in the Rain” was Grammy-nominated for use of thunder sound effects.

Maybe the first use of sound effects in music was in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, which calls for live cannons.

We prefer this version, from the Muppets, which still has plenty of explosions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dDljd_7Yq0&feature=related

Spike Jones set a high standard for use of sound effects in music. His epic stage productions are like watching a Rube Goldberg contraption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1CJMYT05t4

Dolly Parton on the cutting edge? This was one of her biggest hits, won 2 Grammys, and assured she would never ever have to actually work “Nine to Five”. Integral to the rhythm of the song is the humble typewriter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpKAA2VxWY8
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John Kessler
John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.
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John Maynard
John Maynard started working in radio in the seventies as a DJ at Seattle’s KJR AM which at the time was the dominant AM station in the Seattle market. After a brief stint as a restaurateur and night club owner, Maynard returned to radio with Robin Erickson, creating the hugely popular “Robin and Maynard Show.” In the more than 20 years under that marquee, Maynard flew with the Blue Angels, piloted the Goodyear Blimp, sang with Donny Osmond and hung out in a Universal Studios bar with Kojak (Telly Savalas).
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