Theme from Star Trek
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The "Theme from ''Star Trek''" (originally scored under the title "Where No Man Has Gone Before") is an instrumental musical piece composed by
Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...
for ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
,'' the
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
created by
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
and originally aired between September 8, 1966, and June 3, 1969.


History

The music was played over both the opening and closing credits of the original series. The opening credits begin with the now-famous "
where no man has gone before "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, ''Star Trek''. Written by Samuel A. Peeples and directed by James Goldstone, it first aired on September 22, 1966. In t ...
" monologue recited by series star
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
, accompanied by an opening fanfare. The main theme begins, punctuated at several points by the ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...
'' flying toward and past the camera with a "whoosh" sound for dramatic effect, created vocally by Courage himself. A slightly longer version of the theme, minus the eight-note fanfare, was played over the closing credits, which were overlaid on a series of stills from various episodes. Courage has said his inspiration for the main part of the theme was the
Richard Whiting Richard Whiting may refer to: * Richard Whiting (abbot) (1461–1539), last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey before the Dissolution of the Monasteries * Richard A. Whiting (1891–1938), writer of popular songs, father of singer Margaret Whiting and act ...
song "
Beyond the Blue Horizon ''Beyond the Blue Horizon'' is a 1971 studio album by American jazz guitarist George Benson. It was his first album released by CTI and included organist Clarence Palmer, drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Ron Carter, and percussionists Michae ...
," giving him the idea for a song which was a "long thing that...keeps going out into space...over a fast moving accompaniment." The unaired pilot "
The Cage The Cage may refer to: Sports * West Fourth Street Courts, also known as "The Cage", as of 1978, a public venue for amateur basketball in New York City * Al-Shorta Stadium, 1990-2014, former football stadium of Al-Shorta SC, nicknamed "The Cage ...
" used a wordless rendition of the melody line, sung by
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Loulie Jean Norman Loulie Jean Norman (March 12, 1913 - August 2, 2005) was a coloratura soprano who worked with arranger Gordon Jenkins. Jenkins and Norman collaborated on a number of albums. Norman was also a member of The Rhythmaires and the Ray Conniff Singers. ...
with flute and organ, over an orchestral arrangement. When originally composed (and as heard in "The Cage"), Courage had Norman's vocalizations and the various instruments mixed equally to produce what Courage described as a unique "'what is ''that'' that I'm hearing?' sound." According to Courage, however, Gene Roddenberry had the mix changed to bring up the female vocal, after which Courage felt the theme sounded like a soprano solo. Finally, for the third season it was remixed again, this time emphasizing the
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
. The first several episodes, without any vocals, was a concerto-like solo of an electric violin playing the melodic line. Norman's vocal was restored for the remainder of the season. Producer Herbert Solow recalled that Norman had been hired under a Screen Actors Guild agreement and that she would receive rerun fees for her part in the theme. For the second season onwards, her vocalization was dropped from the theme. Solow regretted the choice and composer Courage was not informed until twenty-seven years later. The unaired version of the second pilot episode used an entirely different main title theme (''Star Trek'' was the first series in American television history for which a network, NBC in this case, requested and paid for a second pilot episode), also composed by Courage. This version of the theme never aired for when the second pilot was re-edited for broadcast it received the series standard titles and the original theme, minus the William Shatner opening narration (this was changed for home video) . In 2006, CBS began syndicating a "remastered" version of the series with numerous changes, including a re-recording of the theme music, which was used for all episodes of the series. Elin Carlson, a professional singer and lifetime ''Star Trek'' fan, recorded the replacement for Norman's vocalization. Over time, the show's theme music has become immediately recognizable, even by many people who have never seen the program. Portions of the original theme have been used in subsequent ''Star Trek'' series and motion pictures. For 1979's '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture,'' scored by
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
, Alexander Courage provided additional cues featuring his theme, where it softly accompanies the "captain's log" scenes. Dennis McCarthy reused the original theme's
fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
when he reworked Goldsmith's main theme for use as '' Star Trek: The Next Generation's'' theme music, where the fanfare precedes Goldsmith's theme. Most of the subsequent ''Star Trek'' motion pictures' main title themes started with the fanfare before segueing into music composed specially for the given film. 2009's ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' broke with this tradition; instead, composer
Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), a ...
used the opening notes sparingly in the movie, but featured an arrangement of the theme in the film's end credits. All the ''Star Trek'' feature films to date use the fanfare at some point. The spin-off series '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (2017-), originally set 10 years before the original series, has featured a new recording of the theme twice: during the closing credits of the Season 1 finale episode "Will You Take My Hand?" (following the reintroduction of the U.S.S. Enterprise), and again at the start of the Season 2 episode "If Memory Serves" during a recap of "The Cage", of which the ''Discovery'' episode is a direct sequel.


Lyrics

Without Courage's knowledge, Roddenberry wrote amateurish
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
to the theme — not in the expectation that they would ever be sung, or indeed ever be made publicly available, but so that he could be officially registered as the lyricist of the theme and hence claim half the performance
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
. Although there was never any litigation, Courage later commented that he considered Roddenberry's conduct unethical. Roddenberry was quoted as responding, "Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not gonna get it out of the profits of ''Star Trek''.". These lyrics were published in the book ''The Making of Star Trek'' by Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield, and were featured in an issue of the
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
''Star Trek'' comic book, "performed" by the character
Uhura Nyota Uhura () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the Star Trek: The Original Series, original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six List of Star Trek ...
. Series associate producer
Robert Justman Robert Harris "Bob" Justman (July 13, 1926 – May 28, 2008) was an American television producer, TV director, director, and Unit production manager, production manager. He worked on many American TV series including ''Lassie (1954 TV series), ...
noted that work on the film ''
Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...
'' kept Courage from working on more than two episodes of the first season. Justman claims he was unable to convince Courage to return for the second season and believed that Courage lost enthusiasm for the series due to the "royalty" issue. This is in contradiction with Courage doing work on the show before the show's second season; conducting thirty minutes of library music (much of it newly composed) on June 16, 1967, including a new arrangement of the Star Trek theme; and returning again for the third season to score the episodes "
The Enterprise Incident "The ''Enterprise'' Incident" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast September 27, 1968. I ...
" and "
Plato's Stepchildren "Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968. In the ep ...
".


Other recordings and uses

* Contrary to many claims, part of the theme was not copied for use in the television series ''
Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...
.'' While there is a recurring musical motif by
Dominic Frontiere Dominic Carmen Frontiere (June 17, 1931 – December 21, 2017) was an American composer, arranger, and jazz accordionist. He composed the theme and much of the music for the first season of the television series '' The Outer Limits'', as wel ...
that sounds quite similar to eight notes of the ''Star Trek'' theme, that motif appeared as early as the fifth episode of that series ("Climate of Doubt") which aired October 23, 1964, two months before the ''Star Trek'' pilot episode "The Cage" commenced production. As such, it is not the ''Trek'' theme as it pre-dates the scoring of that pilot. *In the 1970s,
Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...
, who portrayed Uhura on the original series, recorded a
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
version of the song with lyrics different from Roddenberry's. *
Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...
released an instrumental
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
version of the song on his 1976 album ''The Real McCoy.'' *
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
's band,
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
, released a disco version of the song on their 1976 album, ''Disco Jets.'' * Jazz trumpeter
Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
recorded a fusion version of the tune with his big band, first released on his ''
Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
'' album in January 1977. This recording was later used as the opening theme for '' The Larry King Show'' on the
Mutual Radio Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...
, and was so popular that King would occasionally play the entire song at the end of the show. * The theme was used as the
breakaway music Breakaway music is a modern U.S. Naval tradition used to motivate sailors upon the conclusion of underway replenishment (UNREP), although using breakaway music is at the discretion of the captain, and not all commands use it. When the two ships in ...
for the aircraft carrier for many years, until it was replaced by the theme from ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'' * In 1992, Austrian dance act
Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signals ...
had a hit with the number "Starship Edelweiss," which used the theme as its melodic base. * In the movie ''
Wayne's World "Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live''. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" (1987) on the CBC Television series '' It's Only Rock & Roll'', as the main characte ...
,'' Garth Algar (
Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
) is heard whistling the ''Star Trek'' theme while lying on top of the hood of an
AMC Pacer The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact car produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1975 through the 1980 model years. The Pacer was also made in Mexico by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) from 1976 until 1 ...
. While looking at the stars, he says, "Sometimes I wish I could boldly go where no one's gone before." * At the 2005 Emmys, Shatner and operatic singer
Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...
performed a live version of the theme, with Shatner reciting the opening monologue and von Stade singing the wordless melody line. * The 2003 release ''Magical Moods of the Theremin,'' by lounge act Project: Pimento, includes the theme performed with lyrics, and a
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
. (The title theme recordings for the TV series are often erroneously believed to feature a theremin.) * In the 2006 film '' RV,''
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
's character has an RV with a horn that uses a snippet of the theme. * In 2007, some TV ads for the
Hummer H3 The Hummer H3 is an off-road vehicle that was produced from 2005 to 2010 by General Motors. The smallest model of the Hummer lineup, it was offered as a 5-door SUV or a 4-door pickup truck known as the H3T. Unlike the larger H1 and H2 models, t ...
featured the theme recording used in the second and third seasons. * In 2009, the theme was used as the wake-up call for the crew of mission
STS-125 STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the last solo flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. The launch of ...
aboard the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
''
Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
.'' * On March 7, 2011, Shatner, in character as Kirk, voiced a wake-up call for the crew of
STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' docked with the International Space Station. It was ''Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission l ...
in the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on its final day docked to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
. His call at 0723 UTC, reminiscent of the over-voicing on the original ''Star Trek'' series, was backed by the theme as he said, "Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery.'' Her 30 year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before."'Star Trek' moment for Earth-bound shuttle Discovery
space-travel.com, March 7, 2011, accessed March 9, 2011 *
Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacio ...
has covered the theme live, with the original lyrics, on several occasions. * In at least one episode of the ''
Big Bang Theory The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
'', Sheldon is seen playing the theme song on a theremin.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theme From Star Trek
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
Star Trek: The Original Series Music based on Star Trek Songs written for films 1966 instrumentals