The Brass Ring was a group of American studio musicians led by saxophonist and arranger Phil Bodner. They were based in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and were stylistically similar to Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert

Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...

 and other "Now Sound" instrumental pop groups from the 1960s, although the twin-sax sound more closely resembles Billy Vaughn, whose biggest hits were in the 50s. In addition to several successful albums, they had two hit single

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

s. The first, The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine), was used in the movie The Flight of the Phoenix

The Flight of the Phoenix

The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor. The plot involves the crash of a transport aircraft in the middle of a desert and the survivors' desperate attempt to save themselves...

, and hit #32 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in 1966. The second, The Dis-Advantages of You, was used in a commercial

Television advertisement

A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

 for Benson & Hedges

Benson & Hedges

Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by the Gallaher Group, which became a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco in 2007. They are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and are manufactured in Lisnafillen, Ballymena, Northern Ireland for the UK and Irish markets.-History:Benson & Hedges...

, and hit #36 in 1967. Numerous other singles hit Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and a non-chart single, "Love In The Open Air", is prized by collectors, as it is a cover of a little known composition by Paul McCartney.

The group recorded until at least 1972 on Enoch Light's Project 3 label.

Discography

Year	Title	Label	US Top 200
1966	Lara's Theme	Dunhill Records Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started by Lou Adler, Al Bennett, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts in 1964 as Dunhill Productions, originally for the purpose of releasing Johnny Rivers recordings on Imperial Records. It became a record label in 1965 and was distributed by ABC Records...	-
	Love Theme from The Flight of the Phoenix		109
1967	Sunday Night at the Movies		157
	The Dis-Advantages of You		193
1968	The Now Sound of the Brass Ring		-
	Gazpacho: Brass Ring Featuring Phil Bodner		-
	Only Love		-
1970	The Best of the Brass Ring Featuring Phil Bodner		-