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Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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1977 single by John Williams
"Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
Single by John Williams
from the album Close Encounters of the Third Kind
B-side"Nocturnal Pursuit"
ReleasedDecember 1977
Recorded1977
GenrePop
Length3:13
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)John Williams
Producer(s)John Williams, Rick Chertoff
John Williams singles chronology
"Star Wars (Main Title)"
(1977) 		"Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
(1977) 		"Theme from Superman (Main Title)"
(1979)

"Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a 1978 instrumental hit single by composer John Williams. It is the main theme of the soundtrack of the movie of the same name. The song became a hit in the United States (#13) and Canada (#12) during the winter of that year.

A few months before the release of the song, Williams had released a competing version of Star Wars theme music, "Star Wars (Main Title)," which reached number 10 on the US Billboard chart, while "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" was a number one hit for Meco. Both artists simultaneously again issued competing versions of scores from the Close Encounters movie. This time Williams' original score came out on top, peaking at number 13, while Meco's version reached number 25.

In 1979, "Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind" won a Grammy award for best instrumental composition.

{bes' c'' aes' aes ees'2}Five-note phrase featured in the story

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–78) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 47
Canadian RPM Top Singles 12
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary 19
Italy (FIMI) 21
US Billboard Hot 100 13
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 13
US Cash Box Top 100 13

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles 97
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual) 97

Gene Page cover

In 1977, Gene Page recorded a disco version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." His version peaked on the R&B chart at #30 in 1978.

References

  1. "Image : RPM Weekly – 100 Singles". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  2. "Image : RPM Weekly – Adult Oriented Playlist". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  3. Hit Parade Italia, 1978
  4. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard. 1978-02-04. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  6. "Cash Box Top 100 3/11/78". Tropicalglen.com. 1978-03-11. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  7. Bac-lac.gc.ca
  8. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.

External links

John Williams
Soundtracks
Compilations
Compositions
Songs
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