Star Wars (Main Title)

"Star Wars Theme" redirects here. For the pop song associated with the 1977 film, see Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band.

"Star Wars (Main Title)"
Side A of original 1977 US single pressing
Single by John Williams
B-side	"Cantina Band"
Released	July 29, 1977
Recorded	1977
Genre	Film score
Length	5:52
Label	20th Century
Songwriter(s)	John Williams
Producer(s)	George Lucas
John Williams singles chronology
"Main Title (Theme from Jaws)" (1975) "Star Wars (Main Title)" (1977) "Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)

"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" 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, 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) 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^[1] and Gustav Holst's Jupiter from his orchestral suite, The Planets.

The B side featured the original movie score of Cantina Band.

"Star Wars (Main Title)" was the lesser of two hits featuring music from Star Wars. Meco's disco version of "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" reached number one concurrently with the chart run of Williams' original movie score version.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1977) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 67 Canadian RPM Top Singles[3] 13 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[4] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[5][6] 10 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[7] 4 US Cash Box Top 100[8] 18

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Rank Canada RPM Top Singles[9] 189 US Billboard Hot 100[10] 99 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] 44

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.^[12] His version was released in France and the United States.

References

1. Ross, Alex (1 January 2016). "Listening to "Star Wars"". The New Yorker.
2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
3. RPM 100 Singles: October 8, 1977
4. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
5. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
6. "The Hot 100 (week ending September 17, 1977)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
7. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
8. "Cash Box Top 100 9/17/77". www.tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
9. "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
10. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
11. Billboard, December 24, 1977.
12. "Patrick Gleeson - Star Wars Theme". Discogs. August 1977. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

External links

• John Williams - Star Wars (Main Title) on YouTube
• "Star Wars" at Discogs (list of releases)