# Herbie Hancock — Every Record We Rank

Herbie Hancock appears 8 times in our Funk, Electro, Jazz, The Waxonia Desk — One Subject, The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved, and Twice Over lists, placing as high as No. 5. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.

- **Ranked entries:** 8
- **Appears on:** Funk, Electro, Jazz, The Waxonia Desk — One Subject, The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved, and Twice Over
- **Years:** 1965–1983
- **Highest placing:** No. 5 in Funk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/herbie-hancock/

## Appears on

### [Chameleon](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--chameleon/)

*1973 · Columbia · No. 5 in [Funk](https://waxonia.com/genre/funk/)*

Fifteen minutes built on two chords and an ARP bassline. A jazz pianist of the first rank decides the groove is the interesting problem, and takes a generation of musicians with him.

Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — One Subject](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/), [The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-accent-moved/), [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Chameleon) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iqomTAiRnVM)

### [Rockit](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--rockit/)

*1983 · Columbia · No. 6 in [Electro](https://waxonia.com/genre/electro/)*

A jazz pianist wins a Grammy for a record whose lead instrument is Grand Mixer DXT's hands on a turntable. Scratching entered the mainstream through this door.

Also on: [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Rockit) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY)

### [Maiden Voyage](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--maiden-voyage/)

*1965 · Blue Note · No. 10 in [Jazz](https://waxonia.com/genre/jazz/)*

Suspended chords that never resolve and a rhythm section that floats rather than drives. The record that made harmonic ambiguity feel like weather rather than like theory.

Also on: [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Maiden%20Voyage) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EWC5x9G45yo)

### [Chameleon](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--chameleon/)

*1973 · Columbia · Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — One Subject](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/)*

The record where a jazz musician of the first rank decides the groove is the interesting problem. If acid jazz began as a joke, this is the thing the joke was about.

Also on: [Funk](https://waxonia.com/genre/funk/), [The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-accent-moved/), [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Chameleon) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iqomTAiRnVM)

### [Chameleon](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--chameleon/)

*1973 · Columbia · Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-accent-moved/)*

A jazz musician of the first rank deciding that the groove was the interesting problem. The traffic between jazz training and dance records ran both ways, and this is the busiest lane on it.

Also on: [Funk](https://waxonia.com/genre/funk/), [The Waxonia Desk — One Subject](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/), [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Chameleon) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iqomTAiRnVM)

### [Maiden Voyage](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--maiden-voyage/)

*1965 · Blue Note · Picked by [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/)*

Twenty-five years old and already writing the kind of tune other people would build careers on. This is the entry that makes the other two astonishing rather than merely eclectic: he was not a dabbler crossing over, he was a jazz composer at the top of the form.

Also on: [Jazz](https://waxonia.com/genre/jazz/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Maiden%20Voyage) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EWC5x9G45yo)

### [Chameleon](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--chameleon/)

*1973 · Columbia · Picked by [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/)*

Eight years later the same man writes a bassline that funk never gave back. Jazz musicians called it a betrayal at the time, which is usually the sound of a genre boundary being crossed by somebody who could see it was arbitrary.

Also on: [Funk](https://waxonia.com/genre/funk/), [The Waxonia Desk — One Subject](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-one-subject/), [The Waxonia Desk — Where the Accent Moved](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-accent-moved/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Chameleon) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iqomTAiRnVM)

### [Rockit](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--rockit/)

*1983 · Columbia · Picked by [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/)*

Ten years after that, at forty-three, he hands the record to a turntablist and lets the scratch be the lead instrument. Most artists get one genre. He got three, twenty years apart, and was decisive in each.

Also on: [Electro](https://waxonia.com/genre/electro/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Rockit) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.