"Journey of the Sorcerer" is an instrumental by the American rock band

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

. It appeared on their 1975 album ''

One of These Nights ''One of These Nights'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on June 10, 1975, by Asylum Records. The album was the band's commercial breakthrough, transforming them into international superstars. In July that ye ...

'' and was later used as the theme tune to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy/science fiction franchise ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...

''. In this latter role, it has been re-recorded several times.

Composition

The song was written by group member

Bernie Leadon Bernard Matthew Leadon III ( ; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of thr ...

, and based around the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. For ''One of These Nights'', the Eagles recorded it as a six-minute instrumental piece featuring an orchestra, with brief

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

solos. The rest of the group, particularly co-founders

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

and

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

, were not keen on it being included on the album, which contributed to the friction in the band and Leadon quitting. It was later described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' as "bluegrass psychedelia".

''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''

The Eagles' version of "Journey of the Sorcerer" was used as the theme tune to the original

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' radio series in 1978. Creator

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

was looking for a particular piece of music that would distinctively represent the series, that sounded "spacey" but not serious, such as a banjo. He looked through his collection of LPs, which included ''One of These Nights'', and decided it was ideal, representing a feeling of alienation. Tim Souster recorded a new version of the piece for the LP release of the first radio series. Later adaptations featured a recording of the theme by ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' composer

Paddy Kingsland Paddy Kingsland (born 30 January 1947) is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Educated at Eggar's Grammar Schoo ...

. For the

2005 film 2005 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Highest-grossing films The top 10 films released i ...

, a new version was recorded by

Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes, with a broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dan ...

. It was used again for the continuation of the radio series in 2018.

References

{{reflist 1970s instrumentals Eagles (band) songs