Despite what Courtney Love may think, saxophones do, in fact, belong in rock music. Of course they can be used poorly, just like anything else really, but these seven songs prove that saxophone can be integrated brilliantly into rock music.
1. Pink Floyd - "Money" (1973)
The first song that came to my mind (and probably yours, too) for this list was Pink Floyd's "Money," the only song from The Dark Side of the Moon to hit the top 20. Though the verses are played in a tricky 7/4 time signature, saxophonist Dick Parry manages to dance over it gracefully and give us a roaring blues solo.
2. The Stooges - "Fun House" (1970)
The Stooges may have invented punk, but they weren't too punk to include a sax on two tracks from their classic 1970 album Fun House. Though the album's last track "L.A. Blues" is a formless free-for-all featuring saxophone, the penultimate title track is a classic Stooges jam, with dueling riffs from guitarist Ron Asheton and guest saxophonist Steve Mackay.
3. The Contortions - "I Don't Want to Be Happy" (1979)
While the other songs on this list feature talented saxophonists playing melodic solos, James Chance of the Contortions was more content with just frantically blowing into his sax and seeing what came out. It's not like he was ruining a perfectly pleasant song, though: The Contortions pioneered "no wave," an avant-garde and dissonant form of punk music, later popularized by Sonic Youth.
4. David Bowie - "Soul Love" (1972)
Much like other glam rock artists at the time, David Bowie was interesting in working with rock music's conventions while simultaneously pushing it in strange, new directions, which he did most effectively on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The album's second track, "Soul Love," features a concise sax solo performed by Bowie himself.
5. Galaxie 500 - "Decomposing Trees" (1989)
Though you'd be hard pressed to find many alt-rock groups that love the sax, Cambridge, MA trio Galaxie 500 featured a sax solo on this track from their 1989 classic On Fire. The band's incredibly simple songwriting and dreamy atmosphere must have made it a breeze for sax player Ralph Carney to play over.
6. Roxy Music - "Virginia Plain" (1972)
"Virginia Plain" was probably chosen as Roxy Music's debut single not only because it's an excellent song, but also because it serves as a perfect introduction to the band. The song is in their typically rock & roll yet experimental style, and three of the band's instrumentalists get solos: guitarist Phil Manzanera, synth player Brian Eno, and sax player Andy Mackay.
7. King Crimson - "21st Century Schizoid Man" (1969)
Of all the prog giants of the '60s and '70s, King Crimson was the most eclectic. At times they were ambient, other times sweepingly melodramatic, and on "21st Century Schizoid Man," they were chaotically melding jazz and heavy metal.
