Song #393 of 9999 - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco

Song #393 of 9999

Title: Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
Artist: Meco
Year: 1977
Album: Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk

I'm a little short on time tonight so I thought I would just throw up what must be a fond memory for some and a crazy unknown abomination for others. I find that catchy movie soundtracks are rare these days—even those written by master soundtrack composer John Williams. But in 1977, everyone could sing the main title theme to Star Wars. Williams had constructed a masterpiece of leitmotifs for George Lucas's space opera and repeated viewings of the film were enough to plant the music into the psyches of millions, who went out and purchased what was probably (for most) their first record of "classical music."

But one thing the soundtrack did not have were the sound effects from the film. The noises made by the laser cannons, R2-D2, Chewbacca and more were in and of themselves quite unique and interesting for the time. Pop music producer Meco astutely recognized this and paired the award-winning sound effects with his hyper-active disco arrangement to create a piece of music that was entrancing to this 9-year-old. The inclusion of the Cantina Band Theme made it all the better—no-one ever questioned how weirdo musicians at the Mos Eisley Spaceport bar managed to stumble upon old timey jazz. (However, that weird space disco played by an alien elephant in Return of the Jedi is another story.) Depending on your tolerance level, you may wish to graduate from this four-minute version (which spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts and sold two million records) to the 7.5-minute version (on Spotify) or even the 16-minute medley (also on Spotify).