(John Williams)
This theme was originally written by John Williams as part of the score of Steven Spielberg’s 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and won a Grammy Award and Golden Globe and was nominated for Academy and BAFTA Awards.
Opening with possibly the most famous arrangement of five notes in movie history, the music is instantly recognisable as being from this science fiction film starring Richard Dreyfuss. The original version reached No. 10 on the Billboard chart and Meco’s later disco version would reach No. 25 on the Billboard chart. Its introductory notes have now been heard and often parodied countless times in other movies and television programmes such as Moonraker, The Wizard, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, The Oblongs and That’s So Raven.
The Meco version appeared on his LP Encounters of Every Kind, which added notes to each track. The addition for this one reads “(1979 AD Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. From my hiding place I can see the lights of the spaceship growing brighter…almost blinding. It seems to be calling me?!! Gotta go!!!)”.
Used in other music it can be heard on John Petrucci’s “Trial of Tears”, Duran Duran’s “The Chauffeur”, Daft Punk used it to open their 2006, Jerry Garcia used it in a Grateful Dead concert solo and Stevie Vai referred to is in his “Little Green Men”.
Meco recordings
RCA Victor (XB 1039) (UK 45)
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