"Star Wars (Main Title)" is a

musical theme In music, a subject is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. In forms other than the fugue, this may be known as the theme. Characteristics A subject may be perceivable as a complete mus ...

composed and conducted by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. The 1977

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

recording peaked at number ten on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number thirteen in Canada ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles. Meco's disco version of "

Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" is a song recorded by Meco, taken from the album '' Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk''. It hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 1, 1977, holding on to the spot for two weeks and peaked at no. 7 on ...

" was a global hit in the same year.

History

It is the main musical theme of ''Star Wars'' and is also considered the primary

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

for Luke Skywalker, the protagonist of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. The original 1977 recording was performed by the