BY MIKEY MIGO
The term "whistling" traces its roots back to Old English and proto-German for reference of "hissing of a serpent". It's one of the earliest forms of communication. Humans do it, a lot of animals do it, and it's as common as any other function in most cases. The coolest fact I found was that there is actually a language that utilizing "whistling". "Silbo Gomero" is a language of the Canary Island that has four vowels, four consonants, over four thousand words and ALL of it is whistled. It's not all love for the whistle though. Old Russian folklore actually considered whistling to be a bringer of back luck. If that's true, poor Harpo Marx.
We fast forward to a more modern era. Whistling became another form of musical expression. Performers would start whistling in their music and it just became something normally accepted. We had Disney including it in hits like "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, "Give a Little Whistle" from Pinocchio, and of course "A Spoon Full of Sugar" from Mary Poppins.
Those two songs are as iconic Americana as you'll find. Still, it's pretty silly to think that sounds that come from blowing through puckered lips can actually rock, but in some cases it does. Today we're going to take a look at the top 9 songs with whistling that I can think of. I'm sure I'll overlook YOUR favorite or completely snub a song that seems SOOO obvious, but whatever. I can't have every single song ever made cataloged in my head. Here's what I came up with…
NINE
The Song: "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin
Of course I must include this crack-addicting like song. Bobby McFerrin may not enjoy this song as much as he did during his stint of super fame, but it's still an 80's staple. It's a fun and good hearted song. You don't find many of those that aren't lame these days. McFerrin accomplished this with this song. It's an interesting fact that there are NO instruments used in this song. It's all harmony, singing, and of course the whistling.
EIGHT
The Song: "Games Without Frontiers" by Peter Gabriel
I'd be lying if I claimed to be a huge Gabriel fan. I've always appreciated his work, but never really got into him on any level higher than that. Of course I know this song. The opening "She's so popular" screams 80's to me. It takes about a minute, but the whistling kicks in. It's not too gimmicky or intrusive. It's one of those rare cases where the whistling compliments the work as opposed to defining it.
SEVEN
The Song: "Civil War" by Guns N' Roses
The "failure to communicate" clip starts off the original track, but I couldn't pass up this version with Slash rocking out "VooDoo Child" for the intro. I remember this song very fondly from my tween years. I remember the whistling being pretty eerie at the time and still kind of is. This is one of the rare cases I can find of when the whistling comes off this dark. This is also easily one of the most underrated Guns N' Roses tracks out there. Don't freak out on me yet… this isn't the last of GnR on this list.
SIX
The Song: "Walk Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles
I was a young child when I first heard this song and saw the video on MTV. Even then I knew there was something uncomfortably satisfying about this song. Saving the cost of therapy, I almost want to say this is the song that perverted me. The song was sultry, catchy, well done, and all that. The dancing, chorus, the too sexy for it's own good "look" given while singing at 2:45ish, and whip sound stand out but to me the whistling is what made this song awesome.
FIVE
The Song: "La La Love You" by The Pixies
A few months ago, I listened to the entire discography of The Pixies in one very long sitting. A lot of it wasn't my cup of tea, but this song specifically stood out to me as awesome. The casual, somewhat snarky whistle followed by "Yeah" makes this song for me. I still want to use this for a movie someday.
FOUR
The Song: "Wind Of Change" by The Scorpions
I have a weird love/hate relationship with "The Scorpions". I totally dig their music at times, but I love screwing with one of my best friends about how they're horrible and suck. I even used his very own cell phone once to call a radio station and request they NOT play The Scorpions. And yeah, I got on the air. This is a great classic rock ballad and the whistling at the beginning is top notch. Besides the chorus, the whistling is the owner of this song's memory. Music hasn't been this epic in a long time. If my friend asks, I'll deny typing this.
THREE
The Song: "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python
The end of "Life of Brian" rocks the whistle New Testament style. Eric Idle, while crucified, tells us to "always look on the bright side of life" and gives a pleasant and very memorable whistle. Personally, if there is ever a time that I find myself being crucified next to a choir I'm going to request this song.
TWO
The Song: "Patience" by Guns N' Roses
We all know the original and how this spectacular song sounds. On this video, it's October 30th, 1987 and I would assume this is the first time the band performed it live. It's a very casual performance, Axl uses a clip board with lyrics, and some parts don't mesh up as well as the studio version but there is a huge charm in this video. I mentioned this column idea to about six people this past week and this was the first song ALL of them said. It's a classic and the whistling rocks, even in this version.
ONE
The Song: "Sittin' On The Dock of The Bay" by Otis Redding
This is the reason this column exists. I randomly heard this song with headphones on about a week ago. The whistling segment will NOT leave my head. Otis is on his A-Game here. The soul, the funk, and melody is amazing, but the whistling is excellent stuff.
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