Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News

8 throbbing horn riffs

By Ben Rogerson
published 26 September 2013

Brass beauties that'll leave you satisfied

Classy brass
(Image credit: Veda Jo Jenkins/Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Classy brass

Kenny G might have done his best to give brass instruments a bad name, but in the right hands - and in the right songs - saxophones, trumpets and trombones can make noises that hit you in the gut and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

So let's celebrate the horn riffs that rip out of your speakers and threaten to tear your roof off. If you think there are any notable omissions, let us know about them.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin
Soul men

Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin

Sam & Dave sound like the names of a couple of nice, dependable but ultimately anonymous chaps, but with the Stax songwriting dream team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter behind them, they became the most fearsome soul duo on the planet.

Hold On, I'm Comin's horn riff throbs to such an extent that it serves not only as the song's intro, but also the backbone of the chorus. What's more, the message of salvation in the lyrics is so strong that it's lessened only slightly when you learn that the encounter that inspired it involved Hayes giving Porter the hurry-up when he was using the Stax toilet.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood
Mighty chops

Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood

Another Stax gem - when Knock On Wood's supercharged horn riff kicks in, it feels like you've been hit by a soul-powered missile.

In true Catchphrase style, you'll note that this 1966 single's cover shows Eddie Floyd about to bury an axe into a tree. Say what you see.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
The J.B's - Pass The Peas
Soul food

The J.B's - Pass The Peas

A polite dinnertime request is turned into a fleet-footed funk instrumental by James Brown's backing band.

If the main riff doesn't fill you up, Fred Wesley's delicious trombone solo surely will.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
Smashed it

Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces

Scottish funk isn't the most widely recognised of genres - a fact acknowledged in this Dundee-based outfit's choice of name - but although these guys may have been white and in a band, they were anything but average.

Pick Up The Pieces might be structurally simple, but the horn riff is so musically nutritious that it could feed a family of four for a week.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
Sly And The Family Stone - Dance To The Music
Taking us higher

Sly And The Family Stone - Dance To The Music

A multi-racial band that fused rock, soul, pop and funk, Sly And The Family Stone broke the mould.

With its simple, euphoric message, Dance To The Music feels almost unstoppable, and Jerry Martini and Cynthia Robinson's horn blasts are a key ingredient of this bewitching musical brew.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
Kool And The King - Hollywood Swinging
Blink and you'll miss it
(Image credit: CORBIS)

Kool And The King - Hollywood Swinging

Played at the start of the song before the groove kicks in, Hollywood Swinging's brassy fanfare almost begs to be sampled, and so it has been.

The riff doesn't actually appear anywhere else in the song, but it's so memorable that it doesn't need to.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
The Commodores - Brick House
Ain't holding nothing back

The Commodores - Brick House

Although it's the bassline that underpins this taut funk masterpiece, it wouldn't have half the impact that it does if it weren't for the stabby brass licks that drop in and out throughout.

As for the lyrics, it doesn't take a genius to work out what kind of brick house is being referred to, though you'd have to be a master of seduction if you wanted to woo a woman by comparing her to that kind of building.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
You can feel it all over
(Image credit: David Reed/CORBIS)

Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke

You might argue that Sir Duke actually has two horn riffs, though the post-chorus one skips around so much that you can barely keep up with it.

So we'll focus on that joyous opener; in the wrong context it could come off sounding a little cheesy, but in Wonder's hands it works a treat.

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

More about guitars
Dave Matthews of Dave Matthews Band performs onstage during the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Festival at Footprint Center on February 10, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona

Dave Matthews explains how Robert Fripp inspired his hit song Satellite and developed the guitar's role in his writing

PRS Guitars 1984 Samples: Paul Reed Smith took these guitars on the road to secure orders and start the company

Watch Paul Reed Smith take a trip down memory lane with the 1984 PRS sample guitars that started it all

Latest
Remi Harris

Running out of inspiration as a musician? Guitarist Remi Harris has a quick fix

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Kirk Hammett’s 1960 Les Paul Standard “Sunny” is A) beautiful and B) up for sale via Gibson Certified Vintage

By Jonathan Horsley19 May 2023

Joe Bonamassa pushes his voice and Stratocaster to the limit on up-tempo soul party single, I Want To Shout About It

By Jonathan Horsley19 May 2023

Phil Collen talks Def Leppard's orchestral maneuvers, Rockman amps, Mutt Lange… and why he wants the band to play in the round again

By Rob Laing19 May 2023

Mackie’s DLZ Creator is an all-in-one podcast mixer that makes things easy for beginners but can also be configured for pros

By Ben Rogerson19 May 2023

Graham Nash recalls a furious Little Richard lambasting Jimi Hendrix after the young guitarist upstaged the rock ’n’ roll godfather

By Jonathan Horsley19 May 2023

How patten used text-to-audio AI to make an entire album: "We're at the precipice of a fundamental shift in how we think about making music"

By Matt Mullen19 May 2023

Andy Rourke, Smiths bassist, dies aged 59

By Will Groves19 May 2023

Karnivool pedalboard tour: Jon Stockman and Drew Goddard

By Rob Laing18 May 2023

Black Corporation's Expander Mk2 is all the vintage effects processing you'll ever need

By Matt Mullen18 May 2023

Daniel Lanois talks producing and his memories of making So with Peter Gabriel: "If you don't get to a soulful place making a record, don't put it out"

By Rob Laing18 May 2023

Omagoqa: "Percussion and bass. Those are the elements that make gqom music"

By Future Music18 May 2023

  1. Mixing might be mostly about using our ears, but there are other senses we can bring in too, specifically our eyes
    1
    How to use visual metering tools to help you mix
  2. 2
    5 songs featuring Josh Freese on drums (that you might not know were him)
  3. 3
    Did Paiste cymbals reveal the new Foo Fighters drummer early?
  4. 4
    Foo Fighters confirm Josh Freese as new drummer
  5. 5
    The Great Synth Showdown: Which is the best hardware polysynth in 2023?
  1. 1
    How to master the Roland TR-8S
  2. 2
    How to use visual metering tools to help you mix
  3. 3
    Don’t tell anyone, but Focusrite and Novation customers can currently upgrade from Ableton Live Lite to Live 11 Suite at a 50% discount
  4. 4
    Fluid Audio Image 2 review
  5. 5
    5 songs featuring Josh Freese on drums (that you might not know were him)

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.