"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" is an instrumental by Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato, from his 1973 album Prelude.[1][2] It is a heavily jazz-funk styled rendition of the introduction from the 1896 Richard Strauss composition Also sprach Zarathustra. The "(2001)" mentioned is a reference to the soundtrack for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
| "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art of the Dutch vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Deodato | ||||
| from the album Prelude | ||||
| B-side | "Spirit of Summer" | |||
| Released | 1973 [1][2] | |||
| Recorded | September 12–14, 1972 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 9:00 (Album version) 5:06 (Single version) | |||
| Label | CTI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Richard Strauss | |||
| Producer(s) | Creed Taylor | |||
| Deodato singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" (album version) on YouTube | ||||
Released as the album's first single in early 1973, his rendition peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 31 March 1973 (behind Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song"), number 3 in Canada,[4] and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It won the 16th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.[5][1][2]
The track has appeared on many compilation and re-issue albums since 1973.[6]
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart[7] | 3 |
| Canadian RPM AC Chart[8] | 22 |
| UK Singles Chart[9] | 7 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening[10] | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 2 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (1973) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM (magazine)[12] | 42 |
| US Billboard Year-End[13] | 90 |
In popular culture
edit- The track was used in the 1979 film Being There starring Peter Sellers, as his character leaves home for the very first time.[14]
- Retired professional wrestler and pop culture personality Ric Flair used several versions of the opening fanfare as his entrance theme for the majority of his in-ring career.[15]
- The band Phish has played a cover of this song over 200 times across their various live shows.[16]
Lead musicians
edit- Eumir Deodato – piano, electric piano
- Ron Carter – electric bass, double bass
- Stanley Clarke – electric bass
- Billy Cobham – drums
- John Tropea – electric guitar
- Jay Berliner – guitar
- Airto Moreira – percussion
- Ray Barretto – congas
- Uncredited: string and brass instruments
References
edit- ^ a b c d DESOUTEIRO, Arnaldo. 40 Years of Eumir Deodato's iconic "Prelude". Publicado em Jazz Station – Arnaldo DeSouteiro’s Blog (jazz, bossa e Beyond), Los Angeles – Based Jazz Historian, Educator and Record Producer. Voting member of Naras-Grammy, Jazz Journalists Association and Los Angeles Jazz Society. Founder & Ceo of Jazz Station Records (JSR), a division of Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting – Los Angeles, Califórnia – 30 de setembro de 2013. Página visitada em 1º de março de 2014.
- ^ a b c DEODATO, Eumir. About/Introduction/History (link) Archived 2015-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. Publicado no site official de Eumir Deodato. Página visitada em 3 de maio de 2015.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (April 20, 2020). "The Number Ones: Kool & The Gang's "Celebration"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
...Eumir Deodato, who'd had a freak smash with the 1973 single "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)", a nine-minute instrumental prog-funk cover of the Richard Strauss classical piece...
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles – April 7, 1973" (PDF).
- ^ "GRAMMY Award Results for Eumir Deodato". GRAMMYS. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Cti Covers: Eumir Deodato". Dougpayne.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles – April 7, 1973" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM Top AC – March 24, 1973" (PDF).
- ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 77.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012. Record Research. p. 233.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles of '73 – December 29, 1973" (PDF).
- ^ Billboard Top Songs 1973 Musicoutfitters.com
- ^ "Being There (1979) Soundtrack". IMDB. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "Ric Flair – Also Sprach Zarathustra". Classic FM. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- ^ "Also Sprach Zarathustra History". Phish.net. 1993-07-16. Retrieved 2024-08-31.