A Fifth of Beethoven

"A Fifth of Beethoven"
Single by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
from the album A Fifth of Beethoven and Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track
B-side	"California Strut"
Released	1976
Genre	Disco
Length	3:02
Label
Writer(s)	Ludwig van Beethoven Walter Murphy
Producer(s)	Thomas J. Valentino
Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band singles chronology
"Disco Bells" (1975) "A Fifth of Beethoven" (1976) "Flight '76" (1976)
Saturday Night Fever track listing 17 tracks Side one "Stayin' Alive" "How Deep Is Your Love" "Night Fever" "More Than a Woman" "If I Can't Have You" Side two "A Fifth of Beethoven" "More Than a Woman" "Manhattan Skyline" "Calypso Breakdown" Side three "Night on Disco Mountain" "Open Sesame" "Jive Talkin'" "You Should Be Dancing" "Boogie Shoes" Side four "Salsation" "K-Jee" "Disco Inferno"

17 tracks
Side one "Stayin' Alive" "How Deep Is Your Love" "Night Fever" "More Than a Woman" "If I Can't Have You" Side two "A Fifth of Beethoven" "More Than a Woman" "Manhattan Skyline" "Calypso Breakdown" Side three "Night on Disco Mountain" "Open Sesame" "Jive Talkin'" "You Should Be Dancing" "Boogie Shoes" Side four "Salsation" "K-Jee" "Disco Inferno"

"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. The "Fifth" in the song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from which the song was adapted.

Released as a single by in 1976, the song debuted at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbed to number 1 within 19 weeks, remaining there for one week. In 1977, it was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the best-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The song is one of Murphy's few Top 40 hits, and is considered one of the most popular pieces of music from the disco era.

In college, Murphy's interests included rock music, particularly that which was adapted from classical music, such as "Joy" by Apollo 100 and "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys. Later, in 1976, he was writing a disco song for a commercial, when a producer gave him the idea of "updating classical music", which "nobody had done lately". He then recorded a demo tape of five songs—three were ordinary pop songs, while the fourth was a disco rendition of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony titled "A Fifth of Beethoven"—and mailed it to various record labels in New York City.

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Wikipedia