Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)

For other uses, see Also sprach Zarathustra (disambiguation).

"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)"
Cover art of the Dutch vinyl single
Single by Deodato
from the album Prelude
B-side	"Spirit of Summer"
Released	1973 [1] [2]
Recorded	September 12–14, 1972
Studio	Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz-funk progressive funk [3]
Length	9:00 (Album version) 5:06 (Single version)
Label	CTI
Songwriter(s)	Richard Strauss
Producer(s)	Creed Taylor
Deodato singles chronology
"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" (1973) "Rhapsody in Blue" (1973)
Official audio
"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" (album version) on YouTube

"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" is an instrumental by Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato, from his 1973 album Prelude . ^{[1] [2]} It is a heavily jazz-funk styled rendition of the introduction from the 1896 Richard Strauss composition Also sprach Zarathustra . The "(2001)" mentioned is a reference to the soundtrack for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey .

Released as the album's first single in early 1973, his rendition peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 31 March 1973 (behind Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song"), number 3 in Canada, ^[4] and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. ^[1] It won the 16th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. ^{[5] [1] [2]}

The track has appeared on many compilation and re-issue albums since 1973. ^[6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart [4]	3
Canadian RPM AC Chart [7]	22
UK Singles Chart [8]	7
US Billboard Easy Listening [9]	5
US Billboard Hot 100 [10]	2

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Position
Canada RPM (magazine) [11]	42
US Billboard Year-End [12]	90

In popular culture

• The track was used in the 1979 film Being There starring Peter Sellers, as his character leaves home for the very first time. ^[13]
• Retired professional wrestler and pop culture personality Ric Flair used several versions of the opening fanfare as his entrance theme for the majority of his in-ring career. ^[14]
• The band Phish has played a cover of this song over 200 times across their various live shows. ^[15]

Lead musicians

• Eumir Deodato – piano, electric piano
• Ron Carter – electric bass, double bass
• Stanley Clarke – electric bass
• Billy Cobham – drums
• John Tropea – electric guitar
• Jay Berliner – guitar
• Airto Moreira – percussion
• Ray Barretto – congas
• Uncredited: string and brass instruments

References

1. Desouteiro, Arnaldo (September 30, 2013). "Jazz Station - Arnaldo DeSouteiro's Blog (Jazz, Bossa & Beyond): 40 Years of Eumir Deodato's iconic "Prelude"".
2. DEODATO, Eumir. About/Introduction/History (link) Archived 2015-03-10 at the Wayback Machine . Publicado no site official de Eumir Deodato. Página visitada em 3 de maio de 2015.
3. Breihan, Tom (April 20, 2020). "The Number Ones: Kool & The Gang's "Celebration"". Stereogum . Retrieved July 15, 2023. ...Eumir Deodato, who'd had a freak smash with the 1973 single "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)", a nine-minute instrumental prog-funk cover of the Richard Strauss classical piece...
4. "RPM Top 100 Singles – April 7, 1973" (PDF).
5. "GRAMMY Award Results for Eumir Deodato". GRAMMYS. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
6. "Cti Covers: Eumir Deodato". Dougpayne.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
7. "RPM Top AC – March 24, 1973" (PDF).
8. "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
9. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 77.
10. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012. Record Research. p. 233.
11. "RPM Top 100 Singles of '73 – December 29, 1973" (PDF).
12. Billboard Top Songs 1973 Musicoutfitters.com
13. "Being There (1979) Soundtrack". IMDB. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
14. "Ric Flair – Also Sprach Zarathustra". Classic FM. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
15. "Also Sprach Zarathustra History". Phish.net. 1993-07-16. Retrieved 2024-08-31.