Pipeline (instrumental)

"Pipeline" is an instrumental surf rock song by The Chantays, which was recorded in July 1962.

The tune, originally called "Liberty's Whip", was renamed after the band members saw a surfing movie showing scenes of the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii.^[1] The tune, fitting in with the popular surfing craze of the time, swiftly rose up the Billboard Pop charts, reaching #4, and becoming a classic hit of its time. The tune is notable for using Alberti bass arpeggios.

Although they had myriad surf tunes, "Pipeline" was The Chantays' only hit single, and is considered one of the landmarks of the surf genre. The track's distinctive sound was largely due to the mix being "upside down" when compared to standard rock and roll of the era; the bass guitar, electric piano and rhythm guitar were at the forefront, while the lead guitar and drums were less prominent. Although the 45-rpm was released only in monaural, the track was recorded in wide stereo, with the rhythm guitar hard left, the bass and drums hard right, and the electric piano and lead guitar centered. Modern reissues, beginning with the 1980 MCA Records 7" single, are stereophonic.

In November 1997, The Chantays recorded a new acoustic version of the tune, entitled "Pipeline Unplugged", which was released on their album Waiting for the Tide.

The single was originally released in December 1962 on the label Downey,^[2] and was picked up for nationwide distribution by Dot Records as Dot 15-16440 in January 1963.^[3] Both releases spelled the band name as Chantay's.

The song was used as background music for BBC Match of the Day "Goal of the Month" competition. It was also used for many years during the 1980s and 1990s as the entrance music for the Edmonton Oilers ice hockey team at home games in Northlands Coliseum, "pipeline" being a pun on the oil industry.

Covers

"Pipeline" was covered and recorded by a large number of other musicians including Johnny Thunders (whose live version plays over the closing credits of television series The Sopranos' episode 74, entitled "The Ride"), Dick Dale (with Stevie Ray Vaughan and with Jimmie Vaughan), The Eagles, The Ventures, Nokie Edwards with the Light Crust Doughboys, Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans, Art Greenhaw, Incredible Bongo Band, Hanoi Rocks, Hank Marvin (duet with Duane Eddy on Hank's 1992 album Into the Light), Elton Motello, Agent Orange, The Challengers, Anthrax, The Low Babies, The Astronauts, Assassin, Hot Butter, Bruce Johnston, Sandy Nelson, Australia's Exploding White Mice and Les Claypool's Duo de Twang's Four Foot Shack. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dick Dale's version was also on the soundtrack for the 1987 film, Back to the Beach, as well as their separate compilation albums.

In 2014 Bill Frisell released a jazz version of "Pipeline" on his Guitar in the Space Age! album.^[4]

In popular culture

• "Pipeline" is featured in a Vietnam helicopter battle sequence in the 1979 film More American Graffiti.

• The song is also featured in several scenes in the 1986 film Club Paradise when Barry (Rick Moranis) loses control of his windsurfing board and heads out to sea.

References