I love a good whistle. And, as far as my own ears are concerned, I can actually hold a half-decent tune – especially when I’m in the shower. Those of you who also enjoy whistling will appreciate what I’m saying here: the whistle is something to be savoured, an expression of musicality and happiness, an age-old human ability that requires two lips and nothing more.
But in our age of instant streaming, 24-hour TV, and bleeping smartphones, the act of whistling isn’t something we really have the time or space to do anymore. Which is why it’s odd that we still find the whistle making its way into some of our biggest pop songs.
Right from recorded music’s earliest days up until the present pop scene, the whistle appears – going through phases of popularity, admittedly, but cropping up across the genres and throughout the decades. Below, you’ll find a potted history of the whistle in music – a “whistle-stop” tour, if you like – and a list of its best pop song appearances!
Uncovering the origins of whistling in popular music isn't exactly easy, but it seems that there was a variety of blues music where whistling was a key component. This was exemplified by black artists, often exploited by white business moguls and presented in a way that would now be considered derogatory and racist. Of course, that didn't mean the music wasn't good; these men were expert whistlers with an ear for catchy melodies and, even if we can't list them here, produced a raft of successful songs.
Expert whistlers were also present in the jazz world, showing a talent for complex melodic lines and advanced techniques, and becoming known exclusively as whistlers. Ron McCroby, a jazz whistler, coined the phrase ‘pucculo’ – a combination of ‘pucker’ and ‘piccolo’ – to refer to this complex jazz style. Vaudeville, in the UK, also had room for whistling early on, where music-hall performers (siffleurs) such as Fred Lowery (who was blind) and Ronnie Ronalde demonstrated, through their recordings, the difference between regular whistling and the pucculo style.
The name of this article actually comes from a US vaudeville performer called Billy Murray and his 1921 track ‘Pucker Up and Whistle (Till The Clouds Roll By)’ . Before we get into the pop songs, we should really look at where else the whistle has been utilised. I'm sure many of you are fans of the X-Files, the soundtrack to which you may remember contains an incredibly eerie whistle that sets the tone for the terrifying alien encounters awaiting Mulder and Scully (the duo was also subject of a 1998 track by Catatonia, which sadly featured no whistling at all).
Decades before the X-Files, we were given perhaps one of the most legendary soundtracks of all time: Ennio Morricone’s score for Spaghetti Western classic The Good, The Bad & the Ugly. Credited with using an unusual array of sounds – including yodelling, gunfire, and, you guessed it, whistling – to create a unique atmosphere. We’ve covered jazz, vaudeville and some killer soundtracks. But what about the simple, memorable whistle?
The one we know and love in some of our favourite pop songs? Well, it's surprisingly difficult to uncover the very first example of whistling in a tried-and-tested pop song. The closest I could get was probably Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ back in 1942, although I'm sure I stand to be corrected by you and your fellow Pro Mobile readers. (If you do know, please email or tweet me – this is the kind of trivia that keeps me awake at night.) Later on, in the 1960s, we find a few examples: Roy Orbison’s ‘Here Comes The Rain, Baby’ (1967) and Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ (1968) being prime candidates.
I found fewer examples in the ‘70s, but we do get the beautiful Beatles track ‘Two of Us’ , the funky late-seventies sound of Billy Joel’s ‘The Stranger’ , and John Lennon with ‘Jealous’ . Not bad. After a dry period in the ‘70s, the whistle seemed to make a resurgence in the 1980s, where I found plenty that made the final list. These ranged from rock numbers (Guns ‘n’ Roses – ‘Patience’) and dark synthpop (Peter Gabriel – ‘Games Without Frontiers’) to the sublimely cheerful ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ and De La Soul’s delicate ‘Eye Know’ (which actually sampled Otis Redding).
Following in Peter Gabriel’s footsteps, Scorpions explored similar political ground with their epic ‘Winds of Change’ (1991), which featured a prominent whistled section as its opening hook. Even the deep-voiced German rockers Rammstein had a go, in their rather ominous-sounding 1997 single ‘Engel’ . But it wasn’t until the 2000s that the whistle would be significantly revived by two different but equally impactful pop songs. If you don't know at least one of the following two tracks, you've been living under a rock for the past decade or so.
Because in the mid-noughties – 2006, to be precise – the whistle made a comeback in a big way! Almost overnight, chapstick sales rocketed and every person in Britain was whistling the opening melody to 'Young Folks' – the devilishly addictive number-one by Swedish band Peter, Bjorn & John. I revisited this song in preparation for writing this piece and genuinely believe it could be the most catchy song of all time. It’s almost definitely the catchiest whistle.
If this track annoyed you – and it did reach that point for many, even those who liked it – then there was another song released that year that may have floated your boat instead. Much like 'Young Folks' , Bob Sinclar's 'Love Generation' relied on a casually whistled refrain as its main hook, but with a summery dance beat behind it. Both songs were brilliant, with a proven track record of floor-filling capability. For that reason, a tonne of artists began inserting whistles into their tracks. ‘Young Folks’ worked influence in the indie scene, while Bob Sinclar saw a raft of imitations from the likes of Flo-Rida (‘Whistle’) in 2012 and José Lucas (‘If It Weren't For Love (The Whistle Song)’) in 2017, essentially becoming the soundtrack of choice for summer parties throughout the decade.
Were these copycat tracks any good? I’ll let you be the judge of that. As we look to 2019 and beyond, who knows what the future holds for the whistle in pop music? Hold that pucker, we’ll just have to wait and see.
59PUCKER UP AND WHISTLE! ‘Young Folks’ is a pop song that will stick in your heads for days, even weeks. Once that famous opening whistle is finished, the same melody is reiterated by cool, collected vocal takes from singer Peter Moren and guest vocalist Victoria Bergsman, backed by minimal bass and drums, before an emphatic bongo-backed chorus kicks in, celebrating the vibrancy and joy of young love. Overplayed, definitely. But there is a reason why.
Just as the whistle in ‘Young Folks’ was originally used as a placeholder during recording, a similar situation occurred for this legendary track. A departure from his preceding sound, the laid-back, melancholic pop song was re-recorded by the iconic soul singer just three days before his death in a plane crash. The whistled section at the end was meant to feature an ad lib by Redding, but, following the accident, it was kept by producer Steve Cropper for the final 1968 version.
The Bangles certainly knew how to craft a catchy pop tune. Written by songwriter Liam Sternberg after observing ferry passengers struggling to walk, this 1986 classic uses overdriven guitars, primal punk drums and, let’s not forget, an earworm of a whistle, to drive home its key message: we all love to dance! The song sold millions of copies, becoming Billboard’s number-one single of 1987 and remaining a firm dance-floor favourite ever since. Filled with positive summer vibes calling for peace, unity and love across the globe, Bob Sinclar’s feel-good 2006 track still sounds as fresh and enjoyable as it did over a decade ago.
Strummed acoustic guitars and a pulsing kick drum provide the perfect backing for Sinclar’s vocals, but it’s the track’s prominent whistled motif that steals the show. One listen and you’ll be whistling it for days to come. In a similar way to ‘Love Generation’ , Bobby McFerrin’s widely known classic associates the whistle with notions of positivity, happiness and inner peace. A completely ‘a cappella’ recording, where everything – including the bassline and organ rhythm – is recreated using human voices, ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ opens with a whistled melody, before Bobby offers a few tips for living a happier, healthier life in the face of trouble and strife.
This list just wouldn’t be complete without it. If we’ve come to know the whistle in pop music as a signifier of life’s brighter side (more on that in a minute), ex-Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel did quite the opposite with his 1980 hit ‘Games Without Frontiers’ . It was a dark, eerie exploration of world affairs in an era still gripped by Cold War fears, using the ‘games’ of the song’s young characters as a metaphor for international relations. Underscored by stabbing ‘80s synths, the track’s pre-chorus whistle could be innocent children at play or it could be soldiers marching to war.
Who knows? Many of us will have whistled this track at some point in our lives, and Life of Brian’s lead character is even cajoled into singing it on his deathbed! It is, of course, Eric Idle's funeral favourite ‘Always Look On the Bright Side of Life’ – used to awesome ironic effect in the closing scenes of the controversial 1979 comedy. It's this whistle that solidified the song’s reputation in British culture as defining our ‘stiff upper lip’ and our cynical outlook on life (and death).
Whistling a catchy tune while you await crucifixion? It’s certainly a British way to go. The reverb-soaked motif in ‘Home’ sounds like it’s being whistled from the open window of a Cadillac convertible, screaming across the desert beneath a scorching summer sun. So it’s no wonder the song became car-advert gold quicker than you can say Peugeot.
Everybody reading this will know the track, even if not by name, and it did become annoyingly overplayed at one point. But revisiting it seven years on, you realise that the whistle perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere of the Great American Road Trip; the feeling of heading home, even if you don’t quite know where ‘home’ is yet. Coming just one year after little-known Edward Sharpe and Co.’s indie hit, this 2011 pop behemoth featured two huge chart-topping artists singing about one of the greatest frontmen of all time.
Whether you think ‘Moves Like Jagger’ is commendable or cringeworthy, what nobody can deny is its formidability as a floor-filling party starter. Funky guitars, solid disco beats and an appearance from vocal powerhouse Aguilera make this a near-perfect pop song, but it’s the whistle (again!) that sticks in your head. Another example of the whistle signifying a carefree attitude or outlook on life, this Beatles track, from the band’s final album, was written by Paul McCartney primarily about getting purposefully lost in the countryside with then-wife Linda.
A simple, summery track featuring strummed acoustics, a playful bassline (actually played on George Harrison’s Telecaster guitar) and harmonised Lennon-McCartney vocals, ‘Two of Us’ ends with a gently whistled melody that sounds almost identical to the coda from the group’s 1967 hit, ‘Hello, Goodbye’ . No doubt taking influence from 2006’s ‘Young Folks’ , this deceptively dark indie track reinforces its chorus melody with a whistled section towards the end, ensuring that we’re unlikely to forget the song anytime soon.
If you like the track – a danceable indie-pop tune that tells the story of a US school massacre from the perspective of the shooter (I know!) – then this isn’t a problem, but it’s fair to say ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ was played to death, often being used in TV shows and adverts where its morbid undertones were clumsily missed. Unless you’re DJing a party for the National Association of Spaghetti Western Enthusiasts, it’s unlikely you’ll be busting out Ennio Morricone’s incendiary, atmospheric soundtrack anytime soon.
But it contains one of those whistles that almost everybody knows, so I had to include it! Written as the title track for Sergio Leone’s classic western, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, the music uses a variety of odd sounds to evoke the danger, beauty and mystery of the American West, including a haunting whistle that echoes the main motif like the distant howl of a coyote.
