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Disco-Flavored "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" Hits #1
1977
#1 on the Hot 100 is "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco. It's a 15-minute song made up of Star Wars music set to a disco beat. There's even an R2-D2 bleeping solo.
Meco Monardo, a session trombonist and music producer, is one of the first in line to see Star Wars on opening day in 1977 and is blown away – not just by the intergalactic tale of good vs. evil or the visionary special effects that bring it to life, but by the triumphant main title themeperformed by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra. Through the course of ten more viewings, he brainstorms a disco treatment that will combine the score's various character themes with other quirky elements from the film, like wookiee noises and R2-D2's chirpy bleeps.
Star Wars is an instant success both critically and commercially, making stars out of fresh faces like Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher and sending Williams' title theme to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. So when Meco brings the idea for a disco-infused version of the score to his pal at Casablanca Records, it is immediately green-lit. With the help of Harold Wheeler and Tony Bongiovi, whom he worked with on Gloria Gaynor's 1974 cover of "Never Can Say Goodbye," he arranges and records the Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk album in just three weeks.
The "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" single ("Cantina Band" referring to the house band's zippy number at the Mos Eisley Cantina) is a #1 hit. The album is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, but loses to Williams for the Star Wars Soundtrack.
Star Wars is an instant success both critically and commercially, making stars out of fresh faces like Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher and sending Williams' title theme to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. So when Meco brings the idea for a disco-infused version of the score to his pal at Casablanca Records, it is immediately green-lit. With the help of Harold Wheeler and Tony Bongiovi, whom he worked with on Gloria Gaynor's 1974 cover of "Never Can Say Goodbye," he arranges and records the Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk album in just three weeks.
The "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" single ("Cantina Band" referring to the house band's zippy number at the Mos Eisley Cantina) is a #1 hit. The album is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, but loses to Williams for the Star Wars Soundtrack.
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