TODAY'S TWD: "JOURNEY OF THE SORCEROR"

My Little Buddy contacted me from Taiwan the other day, insisting I accept a file he wanted to send me. "It's the Eagles," said Sean. "You'll like it."

Well, I'm a take-or-leave-it kind of guy when it comes to the Eagles music, but I figured I'd amuse the kid and so I accepted the file. As it was downloading, he IM'd that the name of the song was "Journey Of The Sorceror". Sounded more like a Rick Wakeman number to my mind.

When the file finished, I played it. And the smile stretched from ear to ear.

I don't mind if someone knows something about TV before me, so long as I get clued in as well. And this was the first time I ever found out that the theme music for the radio and TV versions of 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' was in fact, a song by the Eagles!

Here's what I found out in a FAQ about Douglas Adams:

The title music (the Eagles' Journey of the Sorceror)

The theme music to the radio series is the opening to a song called "Journey of the Sorceror", written by Bernie Leadon, and originally performed by the Eagles on their album "One Of These Nights". When Original Records re-recorded the show for the LP release, they used a new version arranged and performed by Tim Souster, in order to avoid paying the Eagles significant wodges of cash. The TV series also used a Tim Souster arrangement, which was released as a 7" single by Original Records, backed with "Only the End of the World Again" (a section of The Book narration) and Max Quordlepleen warblng. This is a very rare record.

Here are notes from Simon Brett, original producer of the Hitchhiker's radio series, as recorded in footnotes at the end of episode 1 ("Fit the First") in The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts:

Simon remembers that right from the start Douglas knew exactly what he wanted. For instance, he spent some time looking for a signature tune which had to be electronic but which also had a banjo in it. Quite why he was so keen on a banjo is a bit of a mystery (he says he thought it would help give an "on the road, hitch-hiking feel" to the whole thing), but there is no doubt that the choice "Journey of the Sorcerer" from the Eagles album "One of These Nights" was inspired.

Interestingly, many of the people who wrote in asking what it was were surprised to find that they already had it. It just seemed to be one of those album tracks that nobody had noticed until it was taken out of context.

If you want to hear this song, try this link for a YouTube "video" hosted by CrocMusic.

(As much as I love its use in the theme music, I'm really enjoying how "Journey Of The Sorceror" wraps up, beginning at about the 5:30 mark in the song. Them's good walkin'-about music, as I used to call the songs I'd have in my old Walkman.)

Thanks, Shoe Hand!

BCnU!
Toby OB