Horn sections have been around popular music since the day one caveman blew through a conch shell and his buddy joined in on a hollow yak bone. Classical composers learned to blend brass and woodwinds to create pleasing melodies, and Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman built huge careers around their horn-centric big band sound.
But somewhere along the way, the horn section fell out of favor. Which is a shame, because nothing adds punch to a song like a few well-placed blasts from a horn section.
Horns never really went away and only a handful of acts have built big careers around the horn section. Here are a few of our favorites:
Blood Sweat & Tears
Chicago
Tower of Power
The J.B.s
Earth Wind & Fire
Kool & The Gang
The Ohio Players
Ides of March
Chase
There was one in particular horn band that caught the attention of a young man (way back when), that influenced him so much that he chose to play the trumpet. The DTM Band Leader himself recalls listening to the music of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. These horn bands as well as many others play a major role in the foundation of the Don’t Tell Mama Band.