"The Cantina Band got their start in a small bar in Mos Eisley. They rose to fame after playing alongside Bea Arthur during the annual Life Day celebration, but were overshadowed by the Ewok Chorus a few years later."
A metal tribute album to ABBA actually makes a lot of sense. It's a running-joke in certain Scandinavian communities that ABBA is just a metal band that ended up with the wrong instruments, because of how similar their composition and structure often is to metal and how many metal artist (especially around here) end up covering songs by them.
That little bit of Scandinavian culture sounds just awesome. What's it like in those countries? I need somewhere to go before the next U.S election. lmao
Buffalo Ruffalo: Good for the most part. Compared to the US: Politics are a lot further to the left (which is fine by me). Things from the private market are a bit more expensive, but pay is also generally higher here so it evens out if you live here, while things that the government is involved with here (education, healthcare, etc.) are a lot cheaper. Booze and tobacco is a lot more expansive though due to additional taxes on those (it's meant to discourage people from getting addicted, but I'm not sure how well it works). There is less violence due to more gun-control, less poverty and less economic difference between the rich and poor. Religion is generally more secular. Culture is (at-least here in southern half of Norway) a bit colder and more emotionally-reserved, in the sense that you don't really talk to strangers on the street or on the buss. If you are actually planning on moving here that can be a bit of a hassle, though. As applying for a visa can take quite a while, especially right now that we are prioritizing Syrian refugees.
As someone who has actually listened to the Tribute to ABBA album countless times - a lot of the songs are really damn good. There's a few duds here and there, of course, but a lot of it is amazing.
The Cardigans are exactly like that too. Yes, the band that wrote "Lovefool" got their start playing metal and gravitated towards fluffy pop - and their songs are pretty damn similar to metal songs despite being in an entirely different style and Nina Persson's voice.
I'm not kidding when I say this. The only reason I know this song is because my favorite local gospel radio station plays the disco star wars theme every night at 11, and I'd love it.
Having been there at the time I can give out a bit more info on what it was like back then. First, there was no geek culture in the seventies, that's an eighties thing. Back then, everyone was into Star Wars, no stigma attached. Disco was also still very popular so the crossover was kind of natural. Of course it outsold Williams' score, not many people were into orchestral soundtracks back then; heck, not many people are into it now. But most importantly, when there was only one movie, there was this enormous demand for more Star Wars that marketing had not caught up to yet. People was willing to consume anything that would take them back to that universe if only for a brief moment; and I do mean anything. Bear in mind, Star Wars pre-dates home video. That explains not only this, but the Holiday Special. Meco hit it out of the park; not only the arrangement worked, but you did not mention the suite was fifteen minutes and it went through a number of moods, almost like a mini-movie sound effects and all. It even has the death star blowing up! This record was in my house back then, I would listen to it and my young imagination would run wild. None of his other attempts had this allure. No one was yearning to experience a little bit more of Close Encounters or Superman.
There WAS geek culture in the 70s, even in the 60s. You just had to be a real oddball, and you got bullied for it. It worried your parents and repulsed most girls. The hippy revolution, mid 60s, legitimized a lot of our interests. "Geek culture" as in, "something cool we can pretend to like and that makes us seem hip" was actually getting big in the 80s, sure.
@@kerthgersen3163 "repulsed by most girls" eh? is that because the girls were elitist, or because of the misogyny that we still see echoes of in r/justneckbeardthings?
@Luis Ortega Just wanted to say thanks for posting this--it's really hard to understand what it was like living through history, so it's always a treat when somebody makes me really feel like i understand what it was like
It's interesting to me how clearly this song is an artefact of a time when fan culture and fanworks were in their infancy. Nowadays a mashup of movie theme plus popular genre would be available for free on UA-cam until it got copyright claimed.
@@theautisticguitarist7560 Well, Leia does the name explaining pretty soon after that, but true, the entrance is much more effective without someone blurting out exposition at the same time.
@@MosoKaiser considering that there was a long text scrolling away during the opening theme, to put another "blurting out exposition" sequence would have been very redudant XD
@@Ysckemia That too! Although the opening crawl doesn't really go into too much detail, rather just telling the overall setting and immediate context for the start of the movie; most of its info being conveyed in the movie pretty quickly. And perhaps mainly, it's Lucas' homage to the openings of old Flash Gordon serials of the 30's and 40's.
Okay, so... no one cares, but this is actually true in Legends canon. The cantina band, Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, are legends on the Outer Rim who never broke mainstream because they only did instrumentals -- real musician's musicians. The devil guy in the back is actually a huge music head and they're one one of the last live bands on his bucket list.
+Dark Crow I *heavy mechanical breathing* what is thy bidding my master *frozen corpse of walt disney* aquire the rights to the Star Wars franchise, the time is now, Lucas has become frail, old, and feeble from the years of nerdy onslaught and will be easily persuaded, with this power, we shall finally destroy that uppity Turner! *mechanical breathing* as you wish, my master
"Topsy" isn't an original by Meco, it's actually a Count Basie tune from 1937. It was also recorded the following year by Benny Goodman and later by Django Reinhardt, and then much later, in 1958, Cozy Cole did a version that was also a hit. All three of these versions are really good! Especially the original Basie version. Nowhere near the musical hell of Meco's version... There are a few other compositions that borrow heavily from it's melody, namely Benny Goodman's "Till Tom Special" from 1939, Nat King Cole's "Jumpin' at Capitol" from 1943, and of course, the inspector gadget theme. lol The original "Topsy" itself is sort of a swing interpretation of the classical composition, "In the Hall of the Mountain King".
Main reasons this was a hit (yes, I'm old enough to have seen Star Wars first-run in a movie theater!): 1. Disco, Disco, Disco!!! You're not be old enough to remember this, but "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" came out when 12" long-form singles were just becoming popular on the disco scene. "DJ-ing" as we know it today (i.e., creating a longer work by mixing pieces of shorter ones on the fly) was just getting its start, so this was the laziest, cheapest way for a DJ to give the drugged-out zombies something to shuffle to continuously for about 15-20 minutes. Other good examples of this kind of "disco single" are Giorgio Moroder's "Chase" (which he developed using a single theme taken from his own soundtrack for "Midnight Express") and Donna Summer's "Love to Love You, Baby". 2. Outstanding source material (John Williams's score). 3. Genuinely creative use of that source material. If you ever listened to the full-length track, you'll realize that it changes moods and tone several times throughout. As a result, it's much more reminiscent of the film despite the metronomic disco beat. Bonus info that nobody cares about: The B-side of the "Star Wars..." LP consists of three tracks, "Other", "Galactic", and "Funk". They're worth a listen, too, for the way they were put together. The story goes that Meco heard a high-school drum section practicing on his way to the studio one day, thought, "Hey, that's some funky shit!", took them into the studio, and constructed those three tracks based on the kids' improvisations.
Very well thought out comment. Meco should've toured. He would've been right up there with Donna Summer and Village People (same label Meco was on). When I hear a Harry Potter theme or Marvel theme now, I can't help but think "I wonder what Meco might've done with this".
I am so old that I actually own the Meco Star Wars thing on a 45. I also have the John Williams score on the double vinyl album he showed. At the time, Star Wars was a simply a huge summer movie - not the phenomenon it eventually became. The music was pervasive in the same way as the music from Jaws had been a couple of years earlier. There was no overlap of geek culture and disco in this as far as I can remember - just a hugely popular piece of music that got turned into a pop music version.
Watching the intro to this video after the horrors of the sequels showed up is...something. Oh, that blessed naiveté of the past... My mom had this album, recommended it to me saying it was really good, and honestly she was right. I just don't know how he ended up thinking a lot of his other covers were good; he clearly has a good ear for hits when producing, but when it came to following up this banger it just didn't work. Some people are destined to be in the producer's chair, I guess.
It's colloquially known as "jizz", but it's actual name is "Jatz". It's like calling Pringles "chips". It's technically not correct, but the only people that will correct you have a massive branch shoved right up their rear
I think Meco's "Close Encounters" cover is perfectly serviceable as a dance song. I admit I'm not much of a dancer myself but I can definitely groove to it.
Meco Monardo was a well known New York music producer and arranger along the lines of Nile Rodgers (the two were friends). Meco's earliest recognition is that he arranged the horns on the Tommy James hit "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All in all, Meco is definitely more than a bit campy, and not for everyone, but the man really did have tremendous orchestral arranging skills that even John Williams repeatedly acknowledged.
My father likes to listen to so many bluegrass cover songs on Spotify, it's not even funny. It's how I found out there's a bluegrass cover of Katy Perry's Dark Horse. And I just knew when I clicked on this that the stinger was gonna be Bill Murray. XD
I'm not a huge disco fan, but I play bass so i have to respect it. Along with funk and jazz, disco songs consistently have really good bass lines compared to most other genes.
In 1977 I was 4 years old, too young to appreciate it; but this song kept me interested enough that when Star Wars was re-released in 81, I was first in line at the theater.
For some reason I really want a One Hit Wonderland for 'Tiffany - I think we're alone now' ever since I heard she's trying to put out a 'comeback' album. pitty Todd took the patreons option for ohw down.
Except...I don't think she was a one-hit wonder. But neither were A-ha, Sir Mix-a-Lot, or Eiffel 65. He could do a One-Hit Wonderland on Miguel Bose, and he would add A LOT of follow-up hits to "The Eighth Wonder of the World", which in Spanish was titled "Duende", which translates to "Goblin".
5:48 I *was* there at the time and the overlap between Star Wars and the general public was practically 1:1. It played first-run for a year. Young people saw it, your parents eventually went to it to see what all the excitement was about, when you saw your aunts and uncles they'd ask "Have you seen this new Star Wars thing? We loved it!"
OMG! I've had parts of MECO Pop Goes the Movies stuck in my head for decades and I NEVER KNEW WHAT IT WAS! Now I can go listen to it an exorcise it from my soul! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
i was a kid at the time, anyone who didn't live through it wont get how big star wars was. it was in the movies for over a year, possibly up to two. i personally saw it in theater over 50 times. everyone and i mean everyone jumped on the band wagon. star wars was so huge that it was beyond description. seemed like everything referenced it. tv shows, music, books, magazines, radio, music, new papers, you get the idea.
Fun fact, I bought it on vinyl from a street seller while on holiday in Brazil ^^ I was pretty drunk but as soon as I saw the title I had to think about your video and just had to buy it :) Greetings from Germany
My work has a "70s radio" that consists of maybe 20 songs.... rest assured THIS SONG is one them. This song is ingrained in my mind for all of eternity.
I remember having this record, my mum bought it thinking it was the movie soundtrack. She hadn't actually seen the film but knew my brother and I loved it. It maybe got played once. That's one sale Meco made under false pretences...
Remember that Star Wars wasn't a "nerd thing". Sure, _obsessing_ over Star Wars was a nerd thing, but the movie and ensuing franchise was one of the biggest in history. It was an everyone thing, not a nerd thing.
I would love to hear a Daft Punk and Meco collaboration. I'm sure Daft Punk is aware of Meco. I imagine the two men from Justice are up on Meco's disco contributions as well.
@Todd in the Shadows I have the LP. The full version of this song, which takes up an entire side of the LP, incorporates many (if not all) of the themes in the soundtrack. It's actually done quite well. Despite the metronomic disco beat, the tone and mood of the music changes quite a bit to fit each theme. I found the "Leia's Theme" part to be quite lovely. Worth a listen, IMHO. Also, the album title is "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk". The other side of the LP has 3 tracks -- "Other", "Galactic", and "Funk", in that order. He made them using a local high school band drum section after he heard them practicing. It sounds as though he took their riffs and wrote (or had someone write) music to them, so these tracks are more "funk" than disco. They're not bad, especially when you consider the age of the percussion section, but nothing to write home about, either.
People kinda forget that Star Wars was absolutely mainstream from the start; unlike something like Star Trek, it didn't gradually gain mainstream acceptance, it had it instantly. It was like that for the whole original trilogy. But by the 90s Star Wars had become basically this cultural relic; not forgotten, but irrelevant and firmly in the past. It was the production of the prequels and the nostalgia and hype around them which started to turn Star Wars into this omnipresent cultural icon; at the same time, most everybody had moved on and the explosive novelty factor of the original films didn't apply, and the people who consistently gave a damn about it at that point tended to be fandom types, a situation surely exacerbated by how more recent Star Wars releases are mostly forgettable product. (But I'm not gonna go too far down that road)
Todd played low brass?? What was it? Trombone? Euphonium? Tuba? Although as a seasoned trombone and euphonium player I can say a few things. I wish I had rhythm so I could play the drums, no matter which low brass instrument you play, it WILL be heavy, and it WILL be a pain to carry no matter where you are, I've always wished I played the Alto Saxophone, AND STAR WARS IS REALLY HARD TO PLAY.
+Todd in the Shadows there's some weird terminology about which is which. Some have 3 valves others have 4, I'm not really sure about it. I've always just thrown the words around interchangeably.
1:40 Best fan artwork decades before that was a thing. Of course Darth Vader plays bass guitar, Chewy on drums, Luke and Han on guitars, droids on keys and Leia on vocals. Definitely should have been in at least one of the movies.
I actually like this version of the song, having disco as one of my biggest guilty pleasures. It sure beats the hell out of any more modern attempts to remix the music.
I'm with you. Meco never really got his props. He was even on the same label as Donna Summer & Village People, but it hurt that he never toured with his orchestra. He just enjoyed being a producer, arranger, and session musician. He is also famous for the trombone solo on Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out", so people in the industry embraced Meco's talent.
fun fact: jon bon jovi was the cousin of the producer for the track! he also went on to produce talking heads '77, and david byrne really disliked working with him
As an ex-Pennsylvanian (and not one of the major towns) and then went to live in large cities, thank you for that "distant backwater, alien world" line! Also sympathies on low brass as a school kid. I played baritone.
Watching this in 2023 as he's talking about his concern for Disney starwars after the prequels... Oh God the prequels are good now. That's how the new movies are....
My mom and I like to listen to the 70s channel on Sirius Satellite and whenever this song pops up, its always a good time. I'm going to a party this weekend where the theme is "Dancing Through the Decades". Each hour will feature songs from a specific decade, so I'm totally recommending this song to the DJ during the 70s section.
My copy of the full vinyl LP Star Wars and other Galactic Funk may be the only physical object that managed to follow me from my childhood. And disco was absolutely huge. Even if you thought it sucked, it was nearly impossible to avoid. Maybe if you only listened to country music stations or AM talk radio.
The ongoing 4 decade-long sci-fi battle between Star Wars and Star Trek began in 1977. 1977… what a year. Star Wars was incredibly and unbelievably huge beyond all imagination in 1977. HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! in the cinema and on the radio airwaves … But, at the end of the day I’m still a trekker. Star Trek still gets the sci-fi all time greatest nod. Word.
How is Meco a one hit wonder? Theme From Close Encounters hit #25, Theme From Wizard of Oz hit #35, Empire Strikes Back hit #18, and Pop Goes to the Movies hit #35. Five Top 40 hits seems to REALLY stretch calling someone a one hit wonder.
I didnt grow up with star wars but I had seen a couple vhs tapes of an animated show with fairytale bears which I blieved was just some similar fantasy series as the disney Care Bears show, searched for it for years with no luck and then one day I saw a video about star wars toys and media and they mention the show about the Ewoks and my mind was blown, my bear show I cried! Turns out I had indeed grown up with something from the star wars world and to this day it is the only star wars thing I have ever liked.
I don't know that "remix" is the right word here. It's technically a cover, not a remix. The original John Williams recording is not used. These are different guys playing a different arrangement of the written music.
Todd, I really would like to see you do a song that's captured my attention recently. I wanna see you do Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies Please Pretty please
The Scifi Nerd and the General audiance of 1977 was all caught up in what became known at "Star Wars Effect". It was in everything for about a year, every aspect of U.S. culture was effected by Star Wars, every TV show at the time did something related to Star Wars, etc.
I used to. I played it all the time. I also loved the album cover. So freaky and cool. I discovered through the internet that the man who did this album cover also did all the Quaker Oats artwork. Meco had connections.
I thought this episode was actually gonna be about the Cantina band from the film...
"The Cantina Band got their start in a small bar in Mos Eisley. They rose to fame after playing alongside Bea Arthur during the annual Life Day celebration, but were overshadowed by the Ewok Chorus a few years later."
Everybody seems to forget nowadays that the Cantina band actually invented the jazz-swing fusion known as jizz. Such a shame.
+CaptainJZH What about the Max Rebo Band?
+XTVking333 You and me both.
+CaptainJZH But their music will still be played by school jazz bands for all eternity.
A metal tribute album to ABBA actually makes a lot of sense. It's a running-joke in certain Scandinavian communities that ABBA is just a metal band that ended up with the wrong instruments, because of how similar their composition and structure often is to metal and how many metal artist (especially around here) end up covering songs by them.
That little bit of Scandinavian culture sounds just awesome.
What's it like in those countries? I need somewhere to go before the next U.S election. lmao
Buffalo Ruffalo: Good for the most part. Compared to the US: Politics are a lot further to the left (which is fine by me). Things from the private market are a bit more expensive, but pay is also generally higher here so it evens out if you live here, while things that the government is involved with here (education, healthcare, etc.) are a lot cheaper. Booze and tobacco is a lot more expansive though due to additional taxes on those (it's meant to discourage people from getting addicted, but I'm not sure how well it works). There is less violence due to more gun-control, less poverty and less economic difference between the rich and poor. Religion is generally more secular. Culture is (at-least here in southern half of Norway) a bit colder and more emotionally-reserved, in the sense that you don't really talk to strangers on the street or on the buss.
If you are actually planning on moving here that can be a bit of a hassle, though. As applying for a visa can take quite a while, especially right now that we are prioritizing Syrian refugees.
+Painocus Look up the cover of Lay All Your Love On Me, by Avantasia. It's pretty damn cool.
As someone who has actually listened to the Tribute to ABBA album countless times - a lot of the songs are really damn good. There's a few duds here and there, of course, but a lot of it is amazing.
The Cardigans are exactly like that too. Yes, the band that wrote "Lovefool" got their start playing metal and gravitated towards fluffy pop - and their songs are pretty damn similar to metal songs despite being in an entirely different style and Nina Persson's voice.
I feel like its important to note that this is still the best selling instrumental single of all time.
I'm not kidding when I say this. The only reason I know this song is because my favorite local gospel radio station plays the disco star wars theme every night at 11, and I'd love it.
that’s amazing
Having been there at the time I can give out a bit more info on what it was like back then.
First, there was no geek culture in the seventies, that's an eighties thing. Back then, everyone was into Star Wars, no stigma attached. Disco was also still very popular so the crossover was kind of natural.
Of course it outsold Williams' score, not many people were into orchestral soundtracks back then; heck, not many people are into it now.
But most importantly, when there was only one movie, there was this enormous demand for more Star Wars that marketing had not caught up to yet. People was willing to consume anything that would take them back to that universe if only for a brief moment; and I do mean anything. Bear in mind, Star Wars pre-dates home video. That explains not only this, but the Holiday Special.
Meco hit it out of the park; not only the arrangement worked, but you did not mention the suite was fifteen minutes and it went through a number of moods, almost like a mini-movie sound effects and all. It even has the death star blowing up! This record was in my house back then, I would listen to it and my young imagination would run wild.
None of his other attempts had this allure. No one was yearning to experience a little bit more of Close Encounters or Superman.
True. I was there too, Luis. Still, Close Encounters Disco by Meco actually got radio play quite a bit as well!
"Close Encounters" was a top 40 hit. Peaked at #25 on Billboard.
There WAS geek culture in the 70s, even in the 60s. You just had to be a real oddball, and you got bullied for it. It worried your parents and repulsed most girls. The hippy revolution, mid 60s, legitimized a lot of our interests.
"Geek culture" as in, "something cool we can pretend to like and that makes us seem hip" was actually getting big in the 80s, sure.
@@kerthgersen3163 "repulsed by most girls" eh? is that because the girls were elitist, or because of the misogyny that we still see echoes of in r/justneckbeardthings?
@Luis Ortega Just wanted to say thanks for posting this--it's really hard to understand what it was like living through history, so it's always a treat when somebody makes me really feel like i understand what it was like
It's interesting to me how clearly this song is an artefact of a time when fan culture and fanworks were in their infancy. Nowadays a mashup of movie theme plus popular genre would be available for free on UA-cam until it got copyright claimed.
Fox wanted Star Wars to use a disco theme from the beginning. This was one of the rare occasions George Lucas knew better.
@@theautisticguitarist7560 Well, Leia does the name explaining pretty soon after that, but true, the entrance is much more effective without someone blurting out exposition at the same time.
@@MosoKaiser considering that there was a long text scrolling away during the opening theme, to put another "blurting out exposition" sequence would have been very redudant XD
@@Ysckemia That too! Although the opening crawl doesn't really go into too much detail, rather just telling the overall setting and immediate context for the start of the movie; most of its info being conveyed in the movie pretty quickly. And perhaps mainly, it's Lucas' homage to the openings of old Flash Gordon serials of the 30's and 40's.
@Tom Ffrench THX-1138? That was another great one.
@Tom Ffrench It's kind of niche. If you're into slow-paced 70s sci-fi dripping with social commentary, you'll like it.
Although the 'Cantina Band' had only one major hit here in America, they were huge on Tatooine and of course...
in Japan!
best jizz wailers around
Okay, so... no one cares, but this is actually true in Legends canon. The cantina band, Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, are legends on the Outer Rim who never broke mainstream because they only did instrumentals -- real musician's musicians. The devil guy in the back is actually a huge music head and they're one one of the last live bands on his bucket list.
Well played Sir and/or ma'am well played.
*GONG*
Im surprised Todd didn't mention that the guy who did "A Fifth of Beethoven" is the guy who now does the score for Family Guy.
+Robogabriel whoa! i knew i'd seen that name before!
Both Walter Murphy and Meco are amazingly talented orchestra leaders. Meco was definitely on the campy side, but those arrangements are top notch.
He's done TONS of stuff with Seth MacFarlane. Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, American Dad, and both of the Ted movies.
Huh, TIL!
very sad
We are no longer handing George Lucas our money, we are now giving Disney our money
Wrath's Attack Long may he reign
Wrath's Attack R.I.P. To all those who question the Mouse
+Dark Crow I *heavy mechanical breathing* what is thy bidding my master
*frozen corpse of walt disney* aquire the rights to the Star Wars franchise, the time is now, Lucas has become frail, old, and feeble from the years of nerdy onslaught and will be easily persuaded, with this power, we shall finally destroy that uppity Turner!
*mechanical breathing* as you wish, my master
Wrath's Attack I guess? dont you know walt disney is cryoed under the Its A Small World?
Wrath's Attack he gets periodic updates, its a new developement, its how disney got star wars
Tbh Topsy kind of sounded like the theme to Inspector Gadget for a minute there
+Canadian Bacon maybe they stole the theme from mecco?
+Takiri Gem looks like it
but im glad they got away with it cause they made it much better
+Canadian Bacon THAT'S WHAT I SAID IN THE PREVIOUS UPLOAD
But sung by the chipmunks.
"Topsy" isn't an original by Meco, it's actually a Count Basie tune from 1937. It was also recorded the following year by Benny Goodman and later by Django Reinhardt, and then much later, in 1958, Cozy Cole did a version that was also a hit. All three of these versions are really good! Especially the original Basie version. Nowhere near the musical hell of Meco's version... There are a few other compositions that borrow heavily from it's melody, namely Benny Goodman's "Till Tom Special" from 1939, Nat King Cole's "Jumpin' at Capitol" from 1943, and of course, the inspector gadget theme. lol The original "Topsy" itself is sort of a swing interpretation of the classical composition, "In the Hall of the Mountain King".
It sounds like the Inspector Gadget theme
Topsy walked so Crazy Frog could run.
I came here to say this^
Main reasons this was a hit (yes, I'm old enough to have seen Star Wars first-run in a movie theater!):
1. Disco, Disco, Disco!!! You're not be old enough to remember this, but "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" came out when 12" long-form singles were just becoming popular on the disco scene. "DJ-ing" as we know it today (i.e., creating a longer work by mixing pieces of shorter ones on the fly) was just getting its start, so this was the laziest, cheapest way for a DJ to give the drugged-out zombies something to shuffle to continuously for about 15-20 minutes. Other good examples of this kind of "disco single" are Giorgio Moroder's "Chase" (which he developed using a single theme taken from his own soundtrack for "Midnight Express") and Donna Summer's "Love to Love You, Baby".
2. Outstanding source material (John Williams's score).
3. Genuinely creative use of that source material. If you ever listened to the full-length track, you'll realize that it changes moods and tone several times throughout. As a result, it's much more reminiscent of the film despite the metronomic disco beat.
Bonus info that nobody cares about:
The B-side of the "Star Wars..." LP consists of three tracks, "Other", "Galactic", and "Funk". They're worth a listen, too, for the way they were put together. The story goes that Meco heard a high-school drum section practicing on his way to the studio one day, thought, "Hey, that's some funky shit!", took them into the studio, and constructed those three tracks based on the kids' improvisations.
Very well thought out comment. Meco should've toured. He would've been right up there with Donna Summer and Village People (same label Meco was on). When I hear a Harry Potter theme or Marvel theme now, I can't help but think "I wonder what Meco might've done with this".
...but do you know who shot first?
I want Meco and Deelite to make a song called "Groove is in the force"
Since neither of these groups are making music today, I hope they see your comment and consider it. I could see it working.
Not, "Groove is in the Hutt"?
I would listen to the hell out of that. XD
I am so old that I actually own the Meco Star Wars thing on a 45. I also have the John Williams score on the double vinyl album he showed. At the time, Star Wars was a simply a huge summer movie - not the phenomenon it eventually became. The music was pervasive in the same way as the music from Jaws had been a couple of years earlier. There was no overlap of geek culture and disco in this as far as I can remember - just a hugely popular piece of music that got turned into a pop music version.
Watching the intro to this video after the horrors of the sequels showed up is...something. Oh, that blessed naiveté of the past...
My mom had this album, recommended it to me saying it was really good, and honestly she was right. I just don't know how he ended up thinking a lot of his other covers were good; he clearly has a good ear for hits when producing, but when it came to following up this banger it just didn't work. Some people are destined to be in the producer's chair, I guess.
7:44
Canonically the genre Max Rebo’s band plays is called “jizz.”
I’m not kidding. I wish I were.
Max Rebo didn't play Jizz. Figran Da'an and the Modal Nodes did. Particularly their big song "Mad About Me".
It's colloquially known as "jizz", but it's actual name is "Jatz". It's like calling Pringles "chips". It's technically not correct, but the only people that will correct you have a massive branch shoved right up their rear
Here's some money. Go see a Star War.
anyong
+SomethingAboutSean I went to beach once. Next thing you know I in crate next to pig.
This Comment section has a lot of tpyos
Dose nit.
Get rid of the seaward
Fun fact: that guy who made the disco remix of Beethoven’s 5th is the composer on Family Guy now
looked the guy up
the fact he got nominated for an oscar for co writing a song with seth McFarlane... that's just bizarre
@@209clayton HOW BIZARRE!
His remix is in the show too
He was also the composer for American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and both Ted movies.
I think Meco's "Close Encounters" cover is perfectly serviceable as a dance song. I admit I'm not much of a dancer myself but I can definitely groove to it.
I love his version of "Close Encounters". Meco Monardo was a very talented producer, orchestra arranger and leader. He has my respect.
They totally should have put this song in that Star Wars dancing game.
I was introduced to the Ewok Celebration through Neil Ciceriega, specifically in Mouth Dreams with the track of Limp Wicket.
Everytime Todd does a OHW episode from the 70s, you can almost guarantee that Todd will use a clip from german TV.
Is it me or does topsy sound like the inspector gadget theme song if it were covered by Alvin and the chipmunks?
+Zechs 96 Exactly what I thought.
It kinda reminded me of good ol’ Crazy Frog too
It's actually just a cover of an old jazz song: ua-cam.com/video/svbHFH92rHY/v-deo.html
Oh God, he's facing the OTHER WALL!!!! Why?!?! Why?!?! Everything is ruined now!
Right?? XD. I thought it was an old video for a moment because of the scene change!
Did... Did you just insult someone by calling them autistic, because you didn't get they were obviously joking?
That's freaking amazing.
+Markus Criticus you don't get it bro, by saying autistic he claims that he is edgy, cool and hip and not a 12 year old who learnt a new insult
Meco Monardo was a well known New York music producer and arranger along the lines of Nile Rodgers (the two were friends). Meco's earliest recognition is that he arranged the horns on the Tommy James hit "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All in all, Meco is definitely more than a bit campy, and not for everyone, but the man really did have tremendous orchestral arranging skills that even John Williams repeatedly acknowledged.
You should do Tal Bachman's "She's so high" for one of these. Now THAT'S a one-hit wonder.
Hannah J McLaughlin I actually love that song
My brother still has the 12" vinyl and the cover art is incredible. And there's a whole album side length version on there. The 70's were wild, y'all.
I think this is the most we've ever seen of Todd's face outside of Channel Awesome specials.
My father likes to listen to so many bluegrass cover songs on Spotify, it's not even funny. It's how I found out there's a bluegrass cover of Katy Perry's Dark Horse.
And I just knew when I clicked on this that the stinger was gonna be Bill Murray. XD
Huh. The Guardians of the Galaxy 2's Inferno clearly referenced/paid homage to the Meco video. Neat.
I'm not a huge disco fan, but I play bass so i have to respect it. Along with funk and jazz, disco songs consistently have really good bass lines compared to most other genes.
"Bluegrass Tribute to Linkin Park." I need to hear that. o_o
Kimi FW I have heard it, it is just as awesome as you could imagine
In 1977 I was 4 years old, too young to appreciate it; but this song kept me interested enough that when Star Wars was re-released in 81, I was first in line at the theater.
For some reason I really want a One Hit Wonderland for 'Tiffany - I think we're alone now' ever since I heard she's trying to put out a 'comeback' album. pitty Todd took the patreons option for ohw down.
Except...I don't think she was a one-hit wonder. But neither were A-ha, Sir Mix-a-Lot, or Eiffel 65. He could do a One-Hit Wonderland on Miguel Bose, and he would add A LOT of follow-up hits to "The Eighth Wonder of the World", which in Spanish was titled "Duende", which translates to "Goblin".
This reminds of a section in Lego Star Wars where in episode 2 second level, you can make a room turn into a disco.
I'm old enough to remember when this was a hit. You couldn't go anywhere without someone capitalizing on the Star Wars phenomenon.
5:48 I *was* there at the time and the overlap between Star Wars and the general public was practically 1:1. It played first-run for a year. Young people saw it, your parents eventually went to it to see what all the excitement was about, when you saw your aunts and uncles they'd ask "Have you seen this new Star Wars thing? We loved it!"
Topsy is actually a jazz standard from 1938, written by Benny Goodman.
OMG! I've had parts of MECO Pop Goes the Movies stuck in my head for decades and I NEVER KNEW WHAT IT WAS! Now I can go listen to it an exorcise it from my soul! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
3:46 I played the Trombone and I loved every minute of it.
Holy shit. The Star Wars disco guy also worked on "Crystal Blue Persuasion"? I love that song. Factoids like that are why I love this channel.
So is this version of the video considered the ToddInTheShadows: Special Edition?
A space battle featuring Tonfas and pod racers with episode 1 Anakin starts up around his head.
+Caz Why would you say that? I don't get it, what makes this version special?
+Mist ErSecurity
It's a reference to the "Special Editions" of the Star Wars films. No real context, but it's kinda funny.
Todd shot first
+Caz He'd have to reupload the video after adding a whole bunch of cgi effects for no particular reason first.
i was a kid at the time, anyone who didn't live through it wont get how big star wars was. it was in the movies for over a year, possibly up to two. i personally saw it in theater over 50 times. everyone and i mean everyone jumped on the band wagon. star wars was so huge that it was beyond description. seemed like everything referenced it. tv shows, music, books, magazines, radio, music, new papers, you get the idea.
Fun fact, I bought it on vinyl from a street seller while on holiday in Brazil ^^
I was pretty drunk but as soon as I saw the title I had to think about your video and just had to buy it :)
Greetings from Germany
Poor todd having faith in the sequels
My work has a "70s radio" that consists of maybe 20 songs.... rest assured THIS SONG is one them. This song is ingrained in my mind for all of eternity.
Thank you for the Bill Murray credit clip.
"It just works." Todd Howard in the Shadows. You've finally revealed your identity.
You watch your mouth when you talk about Me First and the Gimme Gimme! They are a national treasure!
"He kept his schtick up for a looooong time." He should probably see a doctor about that.
Todd: This is the sound of Hell...
Holy crap, it's proto-Hamster Dance!
I remember having this record, my mum bought it thinking it was the movie soundtrack. She hadn't actually seen the film but knew my brother and I loved it. It maybe got played once. That's one sale Meco made under false pretences...
Huh, hadn't heard of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes or Richard Cheese before, and now they're both in my playlist.
Remember that Star Wars wasn't a "nerd thing". Sure, _obsessing_ over Star Wars was a nerd thing, but the movie and ensuing franchise was one of the biggest in history. It was an everyone thing, not a nerd thing.
What if Daft Punk and Meco are related
+TheFrostbite324 That mashup would be interesting to be honest.....
I would love to hear a Daft Punk and Meco collaboration. I'm sure Daft Punk is aware of Meco. I imagine the two men from Justice are up on Meco's disco contributions as well.
What if Meco is Daft Punk.
The Pennsylvania jab was spot on.
Lollllllll
Just watching the little clips of a new hope you provide remind me of how fantastic it was, and new, and different
@Todd in the Shadows
I have the LP. The full version of this song, which takes up an entire side of the LP, incorporates many (if not all) of the themes in the soundtrack. It's actually done quite well. Despite the metronomic disco beat, the tone and mood of the music changes quite a bit to fit each theme. I found the "Leia's Theme" part to be quite lovely. Worth a listen, IMHO.
Also, the album title is "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk". The other side of the LP has 3 tracks -- "Other", "Galactic", and "Funk", in that order. He made them using a local high school band drum section after he heard them practicing. It sounds as though he took their riffs and wrote (or had someone write) music to them, so these tracks are more "funk" than disco. They're not bad, especially when you consider the age of the percussion section, but nothing to write home about, either.
People kinda forget that Star Wars was absolutely mainstream from the start; unlike something like Star Trek, it didn't gradually gain mainstream acceptance, it had it instantly. It was like that for the whole original trilogy. But by the 90s Star Wars had become basically this cultural relic; not forgotten, but irrelevant and firmly in the past. It was the production of the prequels and the nostalgia and hype around them which started to turn Star Wars into this omnipresent cultural icon; at the same time, most everybody had moved on and the explosive novelty factor of the original films didn't apply, and the people who consistently gave a damn about it at that point tended to be fandom types, a situation surely exacerbated by how more recent Star Wars releases are mostly forgettable product. (But I'm not gonna go too far down that road)
Todd played low brass?? What was it? Trombone? Euphonium? Tuba? Although as a seasoned trombone and euphonium player I can say a few things. I wish I had rhythm so I could play the drums, no matter which low brass instrument you play, it WILL be heavy, and it WILL be a pain to carry no matter where you are, I've always wished I played the Alto Saxophone, AND STAR WARS IS REALLY HARD TO PLAY.
+Mitch Stout It was the baritone, or euphonium as you call it.
+Todd in the Shadows I knew you played the Barry. You're just like the rest of us.
+Zoul barry's are the master race.
+Todd in the Shadows That's so cool. I play the baritone too. (I'm in the 10th grade) Do you still play it?
+Todd in the Shadows there's some weird terminology about which is which. Some have 3 valves others have 4, I'm not really sure about it. I've always just thrown the words around interchangeably.
1:40 Best fan artwork decades before that was a thing. Of course Darth Vader plays bass guitar, Chewy on drums, Luke and Han on guitars, droids on keys and Leia on vocals. Definitely should have been in at least one of the movies.
Jon Bon Jovi's first appearance on record was a star wars christmas album...well that explains literally the entire 80s.
I played tuba in high school and lower brass was always the most chill group of people in a marching or concert band.
I actually like this version of the song, having disco as one of my biggest guilty pleasures. It sure beats the hell out of any more modern attempts to remix the music.
Happiness is discovering a One Hit Wonderland episode you somehow missed during the first binge. :-D
I'm a huge fan of Meco and his albums. Star Wars always being my favorite of the bunch. To each his own I guess. :-)
I'm with you. Meco never really got his props. He was even on the same label as Donna Summer & Village People, but it hurt that he never toured with his orchestra. He just enjoyed being a producer, arranger, and session musician. He is also famous for the trombone solo on Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out", so people in the industry embraced Meco's talent.
The new cantina songs for The Force Awakens are composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, of In The Heights and Hamilton fame.
fun fact: jon bon jovi was the cousin of the producer for the track! he also went on to produce talking heads '77, and david byrne really disliked working with him
is tony bongiovi the name of the producer?
Empire Strikes Back disco version was awesome
The whole EP is amazing. Meco added some rock to the funk on that one. It was a hit in 1980. It sounded so cool on the radio. Yep...I'm old.
the disco version of Beethoven's 5th is wild, thanks for the heads-up
Hey, it was 1977, Disco was king, Star Wars was king, so, a fusion of the two was a natural thing, a dated song that hit it at the right time.
Hah. “After the prequels disappointed us”
Just wait for ep. 8 and 9
Speak for yourself. Episode 8 was divisive at worst.
Prequels were worse. But episode 9 is very close to being the worst Star Wars movie aside from 1.
The sequels being bad doesn't mean the prequels were good.
As an ex-Pennsylvanian (and not one of the major towns) and then went to live in large cities, thank you for that "distant backwater, alien world" line! Also sympathies on low brass as a school kid. I played baritone.
Watching this in 2023 as he's talking about his concern for Disney starwars after the prequels...
Oh God the prequels are good now. That's how the new movies are....
My mom and I like to listen to the 70s channel on Sirius Satellite and whenever this song pops up, its always a good time. I'm going to a party this weekend where the theme is "Dancing Through the Decades". Each hour will feature songs from a specific decade, so I'm totally recommending this song to the DJ during the 70s section.
Love all the little Star Wars jokes in this one!
My copy of the full vinyl LP Star Wars and other Galactic Funk may be the only physical object that managed to follow me from my childhood. And disco was absolutely huge. Even if you thought it sucked, it was nearly impossible to avoid. Maybe if you only listened to country music stations or AM talk radio.
Ah yes my favorite jizz music, yes that’s actually what the music is called in the cantina
The ongoing 4 decade-long sci-fi battle between Star Wars and Star Trek began in 1977. 1977… what a year. Star Wars was incredibly and unbelievably huge beyond all imagination in 1977. HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! in the cinema and on the radio airwaves … But, at the end of the day I’m still a trekker. Star Trek still gets the sci-fi all time greatest nod. Word.
How is Meco a one hit wonder? Theme From Close Encounters hit #25, Theme From Wizard of Oz hit #35, Empire Strikes Back hit #18, and Pop Goes to the Movies hit #35.
Five Top 40 hits seems to REALLY stretch calling someone a one hit wonder.
I didnt grow up with star wars but I had seen a couple vhs tapes of an animated show with fairytale bears which I blieved was just some similar fantasy series as the disney Care Bears show, searched for it for years with no luck and then one day I saw a video about star wars toys and media and they mention the show about the Ewoks and my mind was blown, my bear show I cried! Turns out I had indeed grown up with something from the star wars world and to this day it is the only star wars thing I have ever liked.
I'm convinced there is no north central Pennsylvania. Just a big forest with a tiny dirt road running through it.
"What was going on that year that turned a silly dance remix of a movie theme into a hit song?"
Drugs, Todd.
Drugs.
Lots and lots of drugs.
So Meco basically did Dance Remixes Before Making Dance Remixes Where Cool...
He really was kind of a pioneer in that regard. I bet some DJ's have mad respect for this guy. He was kind of "The Art of Noise" for the seventies.
I don't know that "remix" is the right word here. It's technically a cover, not a remix. The original John Williams recording is not used. These are different guys playing a different arrangement of the written music.
At least we can all agree that that damn cantina band was one of the catchiest things in cinema.
It's also iconic
Todd, I've never noticed your beautiful lashes. Now I know their beauty.
For anyone looking for an unreal novelty album, "We Wish You A Metal Xmas." You're welcome.
"We're all gonna hand George Lucas money yet again"
No we're not :P
+Lemon Beast Disney did that for us, we're just paying them back.
+Lemon Beast Force Awakens turned out to be awesome so...
Melon Sherbert
and George Lucas had nothing to do with it and is not getting any money from it so we are not giving him any money so...
Lemon Beast oh yeah that makes sense I'm dumb sorry xD
+Lemon Beast Actually, he got stock options as part of thevdeal too. So...
The other side of the Star Wars redo, "Other Galactic Funk" is great. Biased because I play drums, and it's cadences with music, but I love it!
Richard Cheese was great, and I will hear no words to the contrary.
Damn, that compilation at the end was epic. I found so many of those videos hilarious when I was a kid.
Todd, I really would like to see you do a song that's captured my attention recently. I wanna see you do Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Please
Pretty please
The Scifi Nerd and the General audiance of 1977 was all caught up in what became known at "Star Wars Effect". It was in everything for about a year, every aspect of U.S. culture was effected by Star Wars, every TV show at the time did something related to Star Wars, etc.
11:08 Todd hears "Topsy"
Todd: "This is the sound of Hell..."
The funk is strong with this one...I sense a disturbance on the floor...It's not wise to upset the boogie. (The possibilities are endless)
I have this on vinyl
digo Cool
I used to. I played it all the time. I also loved the album cover. So freaky and cool. I discovered through the internet that the man who did this album cover also did all the Quaker Oats artwork. Meco had connections.
You were not alived at that time, but I was. I was fifteen, and this song was on the radio all of the time!
Can you do a One-Hit Wonderland on Mr. Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan?
ElectroChart Top 25 You can use his Patreon and money to request songs
+1 for closing with the Bill Murray lounge singer version.