PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • A Fifth of Beethoven
rdfs:comment
  • "A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It was adapted by Murphy from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. It was one of the most popular and memorable pieces of music from the disco era. The "Fifth" in the song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from which the song was adapted.
owl:sameAs
Next Single
  • 76.0
Length
  • 182.0
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:ultimatepopculture/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
salesamount
  • 150000
B-side
  • "California Strut"
Label
Album
nounspecified
  • yes
Last single
  • "Disco Bells"
Producer
  • Thomas J. Valentino
Name
  • A Fifth of Beethoven
nosales
  • yes
Genre
Type
  • single
Region
  • Canada
  • United States
This Single
  • "A Fifth of Beethoven"
Title
Before
  • "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
Years
  • 1976-10-09
After
  • "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots
Cover
  • A Fifth of Beethoven Walter Murphy single.jpg
Released
  • 1976-06-01
Artist
Recorded
  • 1976
award
  • Gold
  • Platinum
Writer
certyear
  • 1976
autocat
  • yes
relyear
  • 1976
abstract
  • "A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It was adapted by Murphy from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. It was one of the most popular and memorable pieces of music from the disco era. The "Fifth" in the song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from which the song was adapted. The song when released entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 80 on May 29, 1976, and took 19 weeks to reach number 1, where it stayed for one week becoming Murphy's best known work and his only Top 40 hit. Early in 1977, it was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie Saturday Night Fever. Even though Murphy played nearly every instrument on the instrumental, his record company cautioned that the record would stand a better chance if credited to a group rather than an individual. To Murphy's annoyance, they came up with the name Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, only to discover two days after its release that there was already a Big Apple Band. The name on the label was changed to The Walter Murphy Band and then simply to Walter Murphy.