Based on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Walter Murphy’s A Fifth of Beethoven …. oh, wait a minute. I just got that. Fifth Symphony …. A Fifth of Beethoven. That’s clever. How would Beethoven have felt about a disco version of his symphony? I imagine Beethoven would probably sue for royalties. The music business is cutthroat.
Anyway, this song is best known for appearing on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. When Tony Manero and his friends step into the club, this is the song that’s playing in the background and it fits in perfectly with Tony’s view of himself as being a God among men.
The song was composed by Walter Murphy, who had previously been a jazz musician. He played all of the instruments himself on the original recording but the song was still credited to Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band because it was apparently felt that it was better to be known as a member of a band than a solo artist.
This video is from 1976. Is that the Big Apple Band that Murphy’s performing with? I don’t know. It’s a good song, though. For the longest time, I thought it was also the theme music for Judge Judy but then I did some research at the University of Google and I discovered that Judge Judy’s theme song was actually the Fifth Symphony. I also discovered that Judge Judy was still alive so it was a productive session.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 
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