The absolutely fabulous disco funk track Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ was that powerful piece of music playing at the beginning of this week’s Loki as Loki keeps traveling through time again and again in an effort to stop Victor Timely being destroyed by the temporal radiation.
The scene — on Loki, Season 2, Episode 6, “Glorious Purpose“, the season finale — has the effect of making those scenes seem both ludicrously nuts and quite majestic.
Especially as, after centuries pass, Loki finally manages to fix the problem.
Well, sort of, because then we learn it wasn’t a fix at all, and now Loki has to travel back to exactly where he was at the end of Season 1.
When was ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ released?
Considering Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ was not only released decades ago, but that it became a huge hit when it was, chances are you have heard the disco version of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on other soundtracks besides Loki‘s.
It all began, however, when Walter Murphy’s version of the iconic classical music was released in 1976 after Murphy had recorded a demo tape featuring several songs, including ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘, and sent it to several record companies.
Nobody bit except for Private Stock Records who signed Murphy and proceeded to release ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘
A piece of music whose title not only described the legendary German composer’s most well-known composition, but was also a pun about ‘a fifth’ of whiskey or other liquor.
The track soon hit #1 on two U.S. charts including the Billboard Hot 100, the Cash Box and the Record World charts, but also climbed up three other American charts as well.
Outside the U.S. Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ performed just as well, charting in 11 other countries including Beethoven’s home country of Germany.
A year later, and Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven‘ was also featured on the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever, one of the 1970’s biggest films.
Not bad for a composer who, only a year before, struggled to find any record label to sign him.
In the five decades since, Murphy has also had a hugely successful career since his big 70’s hit writing music for popular shows like Family Guy, Ted and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Listen to Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven’ as heard on Loki this week in the video, and on his album of the same name.
Easy to hear why that track grabbed millions of people’s attentions, isn’t it?