Charting the music of Kubrick’s ‘2001’ and its impact on pop culture

After Stanley Kubrick used the opening of Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra to launch his epic film “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), the Strauss work became ingrained in pop-culture consciousness.

Christine Gengaro, author of Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films (2015), notes that people born in the last 20 years "may know the piece and see the parodies to it in popular culture and not realize where it has come from. It’s the kind of thing that, with a little boost from a film, [the ’2001’ theme] certainly has become something of a touchstone." 

Since the film’s release, Also sprach Zarathustra has been heard in many other pop-culture contexts. For instance, the BBC and CTV in Canada used it as the introductory theme music for coverage of the Apollo space missions. Here are some other prominent examples:

Elvis Presley: During his white jumpsuit period (its heyday was roughly 1970 to 1975), the King of Rock and Roll became indelibly associated with Also sprach Zarathustra, which he used as the entrance music for his concerts. Starting with a performance on Feb. 20, 1971, at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Elvis began entering the stage to the brilliant fanfare of Also sprach Zarathustra. Presley and musical director Joe Guercio had experimented with using the Strauss work mid-way through the concert as a break, but it was on Feb. 20, 1971, that it was moved to the opening.

The “2001” theme also launches Presley’s 1973 concert special "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite," the first live satellite broadcast to feature a single performer. In addition, it opened his June 1972 concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which were recorded and released as a double-album set. In a headline over a review of the MSG concerts, the New York Times called Elvis “A Prince from Another Planet” to describe his electrifying performance and his otherworldly stage presence and talent. 

David Bowie: For what would become one of his signature songs, the British rock icon teamed up with producer Gus Dudgeon for “Space Oddity.” The folk-tinged ballad, about an astronaut named Major Tom who’s stranded in space, was rushed out by Bowie’s label RCA to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Then the BBC played the song during its coverage of the event. “In England, it was always presumed that it was written about the space landing, because it kind of came to prominence around the same time,“ Bowie told the site Performing Songwriter. in 2003. ”But it actually wasn’t.

"It was written because of my going to see the film ’2001,’ which I found amazing. I was out of my gourd, anyway. I was very stoned when I went to see it, several times, and it was really a revelation to me. It got the song flowing. It was picked up by the British television and used as the background music for the landing itself. I’m sure they really weren’t listening to the lyric at all. Of course, I was overjoyed that they did.”

Eumir Deodato: Jazz and rock versions of the “2001” theme also have been recorded, with one of the best-known being the 1972 arrangement by Brazilian jazz-funk keyboardist and producer Eumir Deodato for his 1973 album “Prelude.” (It’s this version that’s heard in the 1979 film “Being There.”) Backed by an all-star band including Billy Cobham on drums, Stanley Clarke on electric bass and Ray Barretto on congas, Deodato’s version “seethes and broods with syncopated horns and a vamping electric piano.” Deodato’s track rose to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. The track also won a Grammy Award in 1974 in the category of best pop instrumental performance.

Phish: The American jam band first used the “2001” theme as a catalytic second-set opener, and a showcase for Phish lighting director Chris Kuroda’s dramatic fog-machine effects. Although Phish didn’t jam on the work in its early years, “2001” often served as a springboard for centerpiece jams such as “Mike’s,” “Maze,” “Bowie" and “Antelope.” According to phish.net, “2001” even found itself sandwiched into the July 7, 1994, Sugarbush performance of fan-favorite track “Harpua” on the first anniversary of its debut.

“Barbie the Movie”: Director Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster 2023 film parodies the opening of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” translating Kubrick’s “Dawn of Man” introductory scene into a “Dawn of the Doll” tableau. Kubrick’s film begins with just music, no words, and an image of the sun rising above the Earth. This is followed by a depiction of the “Dawn of Man,” the story of mankind and its transition from ape to human. As one critic wrote: "Strauss’ music is the perfect choice of musical momentum for the audience’s accelerated ascension to Barbieland. As Strauss’ rumbling bass line booms, there is no pink in sight. What was promised to be a bright and vibrant, feel-good film instead opens on a dusty yellow-tinged rugged landscape."