"Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" is a song recorded by

Meco Domenico Monardo (born November 29, 1939), known as Meco, is an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of his band or production team. Meco is best known for his 1977 space disco version of the ''Star Wars'' theme from his ...

, taken from the album ''

Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk ''Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk'' is a disco album by Meco released in 1977. The album uses various musical themes from the ''Star Wars'' soundtrack arranged as instrumental disco music. A single from the album, "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band ...

''. It hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 1, 1977, holding on to the spot for two weeks and peaked at no. 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 ...

, remaining in the charts for nine weeks. The single was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, having sold a million units. "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" is one of two songs that became hits featuring music from the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' movie. The other is " Star Wars (Main Title)," which is original music from the movie soundtrack by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. The song reached the Top 10 concurrently with Meco's more popular version. Meco again jousted with Williams a few months later, with both artists issuing competing versions of music from ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'', both reaching the US and Canadian Top 40, but with Williams' version being more successful than Meco's.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links