''Exodus'' is a soundtrack album by

Ernest Gold Ernst Sigmund Goldner (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999), known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-born American composer. He is most noted for his work on the film ''Exodus'' produced in 1960. Early life Gold was born in 1921 in Vie ...

with the

Sinfonia of London Sinfonia of London is a symphony orchestra based in London, England, conducted by John Wilson. The present orchestra, re-established by Wilson in 2018, is the third of three distinct ensembles to bear this name. Building on Sinfonia of London ...

from the 1960 film ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'' directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

. The main theme from the film (" Theme of ''Exodus''") has been widely remixed and covered by many artists. The most popular version was an instrumental by

Ferrante and Teicher Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American pianists known for their clever arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes, as well as their signature style of florid, intricate, and fast-paced piano playing performance ...

, which reached number two on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in 1960. It was kept of out the number one spot by

Wonderland by Night "Wonderland by Night" (German title ''"Wunderland bei Nacht"'') is a popular song by Bert Kaempfert that was a ''Billboard'' number one hit for three weeks, starting January 9, 1961. Written by Klaus Günter Neumann with English lyrics by Lincol ...

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born ; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-kno ...

. This version became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Cover versions and sampling

Versions of "Theme of ''Exodus''" were recorded by

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 30 March 1980) was an Italian British conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book '' British Hit Singles & Albums'' ...

Peter Nero Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow; May 22, 1934 – July 6, 2023) was an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and earned two Grammy Awards, including the award for Best New Artist in 1962, as well ...

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

, Tova Porat, the 1960s British instrumental band

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

, and

The Duprees The Duprees are an United States, American musical group of doo-wop style who had a series of top-ten singles in the early 1960s. Their highest-charting single, "You Belong to Me (1952 song), You Belong to Me" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 1 ...

, who sang the theme with lyrics written by

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

. Hard rock guitarist

Leslie West Leslie Abel West (born Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. West was named the 245th greatest guit ...

performed the song with his earliest band

The Vagrants The Vagrants were an American, Long Island-based rock and blue-eyed soul group from the 1960s. The group was composed of Peter Sabatino on vocals, harmonica, and tambourine, Leslie West on vocals and guitar, Larry West (Leslie's brother) on ...

and also in subsequent bands. The band

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

recorded a

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

-version of the theme, which was covered by

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...

on the 1982 album Forging Ahead. Pianist

George Greeley George Greeley (born Georgio Guariglia; July 23, 1917 – May 26, 2007) was an Italian-American pianist, conductor, composer, arranger, recording artist and record producer who is known for his extensive work across the spectrum of the entertain ...

recorded a 10 1/2 minute concert version on his 1961

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

album ''Popular Piano Concertos of Famous Film Themes.'' Other artists included piano player Anthony Burger for the Homecoming titled "I Do Believe", a disco version titled "Exo-Disco" by

Huey Lewis Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American actor and former singer-songwriter. Lewis sang lead and played harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, until being forced into retirement due ...

& the American Express, a remix by techno-crossover pianist

Maksim Mrvica Maksim Mrvica (; born 3 May 1975) is a Croatian pianist. He plays classical crossover music. Biography Mrvica was born in Šibenik, Croatia. He took piano lessons at the age of nine.T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

song "Bankhead". The original version was used as a theme song for professional wrestler Mr. Perfect, and later a takeoff of the original version would become his longtime theme song.

Trey Spruance Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III (born August 14, 1969) is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist an ...

of the

Secret Chiefs 3 Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American experimental rock group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide ...

rescored the theme for "surf band and orchestra" on the album 2004 ''

Book of Horizons ''Book of Horizons'' is the fourth studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released May 25, 2004.Web of Mimicry: SC3
ac ...

''. The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of

Sandra Lang Sandra Lang ( zh, c=仙杜拉, cy=Sīndouhlā, born zh, labels=no, c=梁玉姬 , cy=Lèuhng Yuhkgēi) is a former Chinese Cantopop singer who was active in the 1970s and actress in Hong Kong. Lang is credited with over 25 films. Early life In 1 ...

(仙杜拉) and Amina (亞美娜)), covered this as a medley song with "

Hava Nagila "Hava Nagila" (, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly ...

" on their 1971 album ''All of a Sudden''. The artist

Nina Paley Nina Carolyn Paley (born May 3, 1968) is an American cartoonist, animator, and free culture movement, free culture activist. She was the artist and often the writer of the comic strips ''Nina's Adventures'' and ''Fluff'', after which she worked ...

used the entire theme song to satirical effect in her animated short, titled after the lyrics, "This Land is Mine" in 2012, which was worked into her 2018 film ''

Seder-Masochism ''Seder-Masochism'' is a 2018 American animated musical biblical comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. The film reinterprets the Book of Exodus, especially stories associated with the Passover S ...

''. Furthermore,

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

tends to use it for comedic effect when discussing aspects of Jewish life. American electronic musician

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

sampled, reversed, and looped a 4-bar string section from the track "Fight For Survival" on his 2000 song “

Porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

”.

Track listing

;Side 1 #" Theme of ''Exodus''" #"Summer in Cyprus" #"Escape" #"Ari" #"Karen" #"Valley of Jezreel" #"Fight For Survival" ;Side 2 #"In Jerusalem" #"The Brothers" #"Conspiracy" #"Prison Break" #"Dawn" #"Fight for Peace"

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

*The music score, written by

, won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Original Score at the 1960 Oscars.

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

* Ernest Gold won Best Soundtrack Album and Song of the Year at the 1961 Grammy Awards for the soundtrack and theme to Exodus respectively. It is the only instrumental song to ever receive that award to date. Oddly, the first notes of the great dramatic theme are identical to the opening theme of a somewhat obscure orchestral piece by Quincy Porter, New England Episodes, premiered in 1958 in Washington, DC. * The world premiere of the complete film score with the

Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra () was established in 1995, under the German conductor Friedemann Riehle. The orchestra has since produced many classical and film music recordings, working with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and various ...

conducted by Nic Raine from Tadlow Music received a Sammy Award for Best Newly Recorded Vintage Film Score of 2009.
Sammy Awards for 2009

Soundtrack chart positions

References

{{Authority control Film scores 1961 soundtrack albums RCA Victor soundtracks Ernest Gold (composer) albums Scores that won the Best Original Score Academy Award Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media