Star Wars (Main Title)
{{short description|1977 composition by John Williams}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}
{{Redirect|Star Wars Theme|the disco remake|Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Star Wars (Main Title)
| image = Star wars main title LSO US single side-A original pressing.png
| alt = Side-A label by 20th Century Fox Records
| caption = Side A of original 1977 US single pressing
| type = single
| artist = John Williams
| B-side = Cantina Band
| released = July 29, 1977
| recorded = 1977
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Film score
| length = 5:52
| label = 20th Century
| writer = John Williams
| producer = George Lucas
| prev_title = Main Title (Theme from Jaws)
| prev_year = 1975
| next_title = Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind
| next_year = 1977
| misc =
}}
"Star Wars (Main Title)" is a musical theme composed and conducted by John Williams. The 1977 London Symphony Orchestra recording peaked at number ten on Billboard Hot 100 and number thirteen in Canada RPM Top Singles. Meco's disco version of "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" from his album Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk was a global hit in the same year.
History
It is the main musical theme of Star Wars and is also considered the primary leitmotif for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy. The original 1977 recording was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The track became a hit in the United States (#10 on the Billboard Hot 100) and Canada (#13) during the fall of that year. The composition draws influence from Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score for the 1942 film Kings Row{{cite magazine|last=Ross|first=Alex|date=1 January 2016|title=Listening to "Star Wars"|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/listening-to-star-wars}} and Gustav Holst's Jupiter from his orchestral suite, The Planets.
The B side featured the original movie score of "Cantina Band".
Meco's disco re-recording of the track was featured on his album Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. A single edit from this album, "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band," reached number one concurrently with the chart run of Williams's original movie score version.
Charts
{{col-begin|width=63%}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| align="left"|Chart (1977)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |
|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles{{cite web|url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5502b&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5502b.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5502b |title= Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977 |work= RPM |date= 17 July 2013 |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |access-date= February 1, 2017}}
| style="text-align:center;"|189 |
| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web|url=http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1977.htm|title=Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977|website=www.musicoutfitters.com|access-date=23 April 2018}}
| style="text-align:center;"|99 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[https://books.google.com/books?id=k0UEAAAAMBAJ Billboard], December 24, 1977.
| style="text-align:center;"|44 |
{{col-end}}
Patrick Gleeson cover
The Star Wars main title theme was covered by Patrick Gleeson a month after the release of the London Symphony Orchestra performance.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Patrick-Gleeson-Star-Wars-Theme/release/9072488|title=Patrick Gleeson - Star Wars Theme|website=Discogs|date=August 1977 |access-date=23 April 2018}} His version was released in France and the United States.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|hy5GyCnvLa8|John Williams - Star Wars (Main Title)}}
- {{discogs master|226227|type=single}}
{{John Williams}}
{{Star Wars|state=collapsed}}
Category:Film music compositions by John Williams
Category:20th Century Fox Records singles
Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra