"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" is an instrumental by Brazilian musician
Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...
, from his 1973 album '' Prelude''.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.DEODATO, Eumir About/Introduction/History (link) . Publicado no site official de Eumir Deodato. Página visitada em 3 de maio de 2015. It is a heavily
jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...
styled rendition of the introduction from the
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
composition ''
Also sprach Zarathustra
', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on 31 March 1973 (behind
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...
's "
Killing Me Softly with His Song
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit ...
"), number 3 in Canada, and number 7 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011.
*In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental
*From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance
...
.
The track has appeared on many compilation and re-issue albums since 1973.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
In popular culture
* The track was used in the 1979 film ''
Being There
''Being There'' is a 1979 American satire film directed by Hal Ashby. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, it was adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers a ...
'' starring Peter Sellers, as his character leaves home for the very first time.
* Retired professional wrestler and pop culture personality
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
used several versions of the opening fanfare as his entrance theme for the majority of his in-ring career.
* In 2001 it was used by the University of
South Carolina Gamecocks football
The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern ...
team in their entrance onto the field.
Lead musicians
*
Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...
- piano, electric piano
*
Ron Carter
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...
- electric bass, double bass
*
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...
- electric bass
*
Billy Cobham
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
He was indu ...
- drums
*
John Tropea
John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American guitarist.
Career
Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz guitar, harmony, ...
- electric guitar
*
Jay Berliner
Jay Berliner (born May 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist who has worked with Harry Belafonte, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, and Van Morrison, among others.
Career
Berliner had his first television experience at age seven w ...
- guitar
*
Airto Moreira
Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the ...
- percussion
*
Ray Barretto
Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...