The Theme Tune

[Ssosmcin]

I didn't mind the sining in the original, but don't like it much in the re-do for TOS-R. The original was more "spacey" and not as up front and "woman singing" as the re-recording.

I did prefer the Fred Steiner arrangement of the first season theme, but Alexander Courage's is still really eerie. I always liked hearing it on the first batch of episodes in the old days before Paramount standardized them for syndication, making every first season episode (other than Where No Man Has Gone Before) have the same Steiner arrangement. The themes were put back for the first DVDs releases (and the season sets), but are mostly not there in the Blu-Ray (the theme was screwed up a number of times actually).

 

[Doug Otte]

Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand'ring in star-flight
I know
He'll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His star trek
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me.

I'm no poetry expert, and I know those lines are a bit maudlin, and I'm glad they never used them in the series them, but...for some reason, whenever I read them, I get this twinge of nostalgia for the spirit of early Season 1, where space is depicted as more dangerous, eerie, and mysterious.

Doug

 

[plynch]

1. It is indeed a beguine.

2. "High voice singers" (yes, I am aware they're often called soprani in other styles) vocalizing (oo-ing) were definitely an "in" thing in pop music, mid-late 60s. Elvis kept a high voice singer, Kathy Westmoreland, on his payroll, when he returned to live performing after his '68 comeback special. You can hear her oo-ing on live recordings (of which there are legion). A prominent studio recording with a high voice singer I can think of is "Mama Liked the Roses" from his great American Studio recordings of 1969. I believe at that point it was not yet Ms. Westmoreland.

3. Run, do not walk, to a recording of John Stetch doing the theme with a straight ahead jazz trio. Got good airplay on XM Radio a few months ago. The whole album "TV TRIO" is good by the way. The playlist looks silly, but they pull them off really wel!

4. MY problem with season 2 version of the theme is that the congas are different. I traditionally drum on my little Trekkies' heads when the congas play. (You'd have to be there, but it's cute.) Season 1, each conga volley is 6 in a row: badadadadada. Easy to time, with room for error. Season 2: only 2 at a time and really hard to time: . . . bada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .bada. I do like the voice, though version 1 of season 1 is creepier, and appropriate to the ethos of the series then. Season 2's theme is more . . . "produced," like the series was by then.

5. I am a trombonist and I love the big trombone blat near the end of the season 1 version. Season 2, they lengthened the ending to get in De Kelley, I guess, and took out the blat. So it goes.

Be well.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand'ring in star-flight
I know
He'll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His star trek
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me.

I'm no poetry expert, and I know those lines are a bit maudlin, and I'm glad they never used them in the series them, but...for some reason, whenever I read them, I get this twinge of nostalgia for the spirit of early Season 1, where space is depicted as more dangerous, eerie, and mysterious.

Doug

I picture Vina as the green Orion slave girl with "love, strange love a star woman teaches."

 

[scotpens]

“High voice singers” (yes, I am aware they’re often called soprani in other styles) vocalizing (oo-ing) were definitely an “in” thing in pop music, mid-late 60s.

Especially in Europe. Listen to the soundtrack of just about any Italian action-adventure or spy spoof flick from the Sixties and you’ll hear reverb-enhanced high female voices doing that sort of wordless “ooh-ing” and scatting (e.g. the Spiral Waltz from “The Tenth Victim”).

 

[Hambone]

5. I am a trombonist and I love the big trombone blat near the end of the season 1 version.

Me too, on both counts!

 

[Green Shirt]

It's called singing.

Thank you.

Is that like Writing with sound?

 

[plynch]

I am a jazz pianist and the theme from TOS is in our "book." I use a photocopy of the actual sheet music for my lead sheet and the tempo is marked "Bright Galactic Beguine"! Hilarious! Probably not Courage's original marking, I'm a-guessin'.

Earlier post-ers have referred to Steiner being the arranger for season 1 and someobody else doing season 2. Is that documented, or just a good guess? I have a specific reason for asking, that would take a while to explain. Thanks.

(My condolences to all you blu-ray/remastered buyers who apparently get one standardized version of the theme for all three seasons!? Can it be? I'm sticking with my stupidly-packaged regular DVDs if TOS-R loses me my beloved congas and trombone blat of season 1.)

 

[Christopher]

I am a jazz pianist and the theme from TOS is in our "book." I use a photocopy of the actual sheet music for my lead sheet and the tempo is marked "Bright Galactic Beguine"! Hilarious! Probably not Courage's original marking, I'm a-guessin'.

Sounds to me like it could've been.

 

[plynch]

I am a jazz pianist and the theme from TOS is in our "book." I use a photocopy of the actual sheet music for my lead sheet and the tempo is marked "Bright Galactic Beguine"! Hilarious! Probably not Courage's original marking, I'm a-guessin'.

Sounds to me like it could've been.

To clarify: the sheet music comes from a '90s-era glossy book of all the Trek themes, all typeset in a similar modern look, not a facsimile of the original sheet music -- was it ever even published? That's why the guess that the tempo indication was inserted by a recent editor.

BUT -- still, anybody know who arranged the theme? It could answer an question sort of buggin' me for years.

 

[Christopher]

I once read a claim that Joseph Mullendore (who scored "The Conscience of the King") arranged the main title theme, and actually created the famous fanfare under Kirk's narration as a variation on the "song" portion that Courage composed. However, it was a single uncorroborated source, so I'm not sure if it's true.

 

[Captain Robert April]

I've always been rather fond of Tenacious D's rendition...

 

[Maurice]

According to Herb Solow in Inside Star Trek, the soprano was Loulie Jean Norman, and was hired by Sandy Courage (p.56). He also claims that she was dropped in the second season because she'd been hired under a SAG agreement and would receive rerun fees if voice appeared in the titles (p.351-2), and was cut to try to help Desilu recoup pennies if the show went into syndication.

 

[Captain Robert April]

It's the same voice in both the second and third season openings, and I never heard of anybody else being used for the soprano part. In the first season, the voice is mixed in with other stuff and rendered completely unrecognizable.

 

[plynch]

It's the same voice in both the second and third season openings, and I never heard of anybody else being used for the soprano part. In the first season, the voice is mixed in with other stuff and rendered completely unrecognizable.

Yeah, last night I listened to some DVD's. I hear no voice UNTIL season 2, contrary to Solow.

Season 1 (I did NOT get all anal and listen to EVERY episode, but) the theme changes at some point in season 1. The electric fiddle is replaced by several standard violins and the whole sound is less dry and studio sounding, a bit more live-er room. Also at the end of season 1, the chime/glock is added to the first two (? can't remember sitting here at 5:05 am) notes of the four famous notes that precede the fanfare.

 

[Green Shirt]

Yeah, last night I listened to some DVD's. I hear no voice UNTIL season 2, contrary to Solow.

Its likely that Solow mispoke, (or is it miswrote? - I don't want to be corrected by you know whom ) in stating that. Wasn't the voice used in The Cage, then dropped for the 1st season?

 

[plynch]

Yeah, last night I listened to some DVD's. I hear no voice UNTIL season 2, contrary to Solow.

Its likely that Solow mispoke, (or is it miswrote? - I don't want to be corrected by you know whom ) in stating that. Wasn't the voice used in The Cage, then dropped for the 1st season?

Doh! I forgot to listen to cage. I shall. I was actually proud of myself for not listening to every 1st season ep. to find out at which point they re-recorded it.

 

[Captain Robert April]

For the first half of the first season, it's a mashup of an electric violin, an early synth, and Ms. Norman. The comment/complaint from Solow about that early mix is that you can't hear her at all.

Starting with, I think, "The Galileo Seven" they went with a straight orchestral arrangement, which to that point had previously been used over the closing credits. Then, with the second season, a new arrangement, a clearly identifiable vocal (previously assumed to be Ms. Norman, but now, who the hell knows), and for the third season, blue credits instead of yellow and a little more reverb under Shatner's voice over.

I think that's it.

I'll check out "The Cage" and see if something different was done there...