"The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

composed by

Charles Randolph Grean Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

and performed by

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

, telling the story of

Bilbo Baggins Bilbo Baggins is the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', a supporting character in ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the fictional narrator (along with Frodo Baggins) of many of Tolkien's Middle-ear ...

and his adventures in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's 1937 novel ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

''. The recording was featured on the 1968 album ''

Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' is Leonard Nimoy's second album released shortly after '' Music from Outer Space''. It was released in early 1968 by Dot Records and reached 97 on the US album chart. Background The album is a continuation of the " ...

,'' the second of Nimoy's albums on Dot Records. It was also released as a single (Dot Records Cat. #45-17028) in July 1967, backed with a "modern thought-image" folk song called "Cotton Candy". When the single was originally released, Nimoy

lip-synched Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

to the recording during a guest appearance on the July 28, 1967 episode of ''

Malibu U ''Malibu U'' is an American variety show that aired in the summer of 1967 on ABC. The series starred Ricky Nelson, and aired on Friday evenings from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Overview In the series, Nelson starred as the "Dean of the Drop-Ins" of a ...

'', a short-lived variety television series. This segment survives as a "

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

" and shows Nimoy (wearing his '' Star Trek'' hairstyle as the series was in the midst of production of its second season at the time) and a group of color-coordinated young women, all wearing plastic pointed ears (presumably like

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

s as

Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

s only had slightly pointed ears in Tolkien's writing), singing and dancing an overtly strange, hopping-waddling dance on a beach. Clothing and random objects would fly up from behind a hill, and a variety of buttons with typical Hobbit/Star Trek slogans ("Hobbits Unite!", "Admit Middle-earth to the U.N.!", "What's a Leonard Nimoy?") were occasionally visible. Since its rediscovery on the BBC2 documentary ''Funk Me Up Scotty'' and propagation over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

, it has been treated as an example of 1960s

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

. An excerpt from the musical number is included in the documentaries '' Ringers: Lord of the Fans'' about ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' fandom, and in '' For the Love of Spock''. The song was also included in the 1993 Nimoy compilation album '' Highly Illogical''.

References to the song

An audio clip of the song was played as part of an answer on an episode of ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

'' aired January 5, 2006. The song was sampled by

Bentley Rhythm Ace Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British electronic music duo formed in Birmingham in 1995, consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March. Career The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat Itself, and ...

for their track "Theme From 'Gutbuster'" on their album ''

For Your Ears Only ''For Your Ears Only'' is the second studio album by Bentley Rhythm Ace, released through Parlophone in 2000. It peaked at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and ...

'', released in 2000. Segments of the song were shown during '' Bring Back... Star Trek'', with

Justin Lee Collins Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England. Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...

citing it as research into Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy recites the song's first verse in a 2013

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

advertisement, where he engages in rivalry with another actor who also played Spock,

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek'' (2009) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, The Music based on Middle-earth Songs about fictional male characters Songs written by Charles Randolph Grean Leonard Nimoy songs 1967 songs 1967 singles Works based on The Hobbit