# Is \[the William Tell Overture\] the most sampled piece of music of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694 "2011-08-06T04:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OscarGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OscarGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OscarGold)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/1 "2011-08-06T04:24:08Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6y7tjxii2y4/hqdefault.jpg "Gioachino Rossini - Guglielmo Tell (Guillaume Tell) - Overture (Chailly) - No. 3 & 4. The call to the dairy cows & The Galop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y7tjxii2y4) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/2 "2011-08-06T04:31:26Z")
For those of you that don’t want to click on the link, it’s the William Tell Overture. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/3 "2011-08-06T04:34:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > For those of you that don’t want to click on the link, it’s the William Tell Overture. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/4 "2011-08-06T04:47:41Z")
Edited thread title for clarity, and moved to Cafe Society from MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/5 "2011-08-06T04:51:29Z")
And I thought it was going to be “Funky Drummer.” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/6 "2011-08-06T04:51:39Z")
For clarity: Do you mean “sampled” in the sense of 1. Sampled in a song by creating an ostinato of a short section (or part) and looping it, as in techno/hip hop/remixes. OR 1. Has small chunks used in TV, movies, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/7 "2011-08-06T10:18:56Z")
It is up there but I’d bet that Beethoven’s 9th (4th movement) is done more and nothing beats the [Canon in D by Pachelbel.](http://youtu.be/JdxkVQy7QLM) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/8 "2011-08-06T15:25:57Z")
If we’re talking the first defintion of sampling the intros to [“Apache”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY-Z6wm6TMQ) and [“Take Me To The Mardi Gras”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaoCsmFDLcY) rank right up there. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/9 "2011-08-06T15:27:48Z")
I’ve always liked [Spike Jones’s take on it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2kv-QQhIE). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/10 "2011-08-06T20:46:16Z")
Yes. And not just the finale: Carl Stalling loved the “Storm” and “Morning” sections of it and used them liberally in Warner Brothers cartoons. The “Morning” section is still used from time to time in **Two and a Half Men**. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/11 "2011-08-06T21:10:47Z")
[It has lyrics!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV2fOHsNfwA#t=5m12s) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/12 "2011-08-06T21:54:45Z")
Nope, I vote for **Yakety Sax** , which makes \*anything \*funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/13 "2011-08-06T22:03:05Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Nope, I vote for **Yakety Sax** , which makes \*anything \*funnier. Hey, what do you know? [It works.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVJMYo2aqE4) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/14 "2011-08-06T22:07:16Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Hey, what do you know? [It works.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVJMYo2aqE4) I am _so_ going to hell! 😃 EDIT: I mean… ‘That’s just wrong.’ . ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/15 "2011-08-06T23:34:44Z")
My Mother used to tell me the lyrics of the William Tell Overture could be remembered as where the Lone Ranger takes his garbage. To the Dump, To the Dump, To the Dump, Dump, Dump ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/16 "2011-08-06T23:39:13Z")
I’d put my money on “The Star Spangled Banner.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/17 "2011-08-06T23:40:14Z")
They used it in burlesque shows, too. _Titty, rump Titty, rump Titty, rump, rump rump!_ On payday people went _To the bank To the bank To the bank, bank bank!_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/18 "2011-08-07T07:15:27Z")
Whenever you see waltzing in the movies, 90% of the time, it’s Johann Strauss and around 75% of the time, it’s to “The Blue Danube” And I’d say “God Save the King/Queen” (aka “My Country Tis of Thee”) pops up in movies a lot more than our national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/19 "2011-08-07T08:23:00Z")
Interesting question. Certainly William Tell is up there… yet, there’s some damn, stung contenders. The ones I’ve noticed more than anything in films are: [Also Sprach Zarathustra](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLuW-GBaJ8k) (probably my all time favorite) [1812 Overture](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKzEaLmjyM&feature=fvst) [Blue Danube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CTYymbbEL4) [Midsummer Night’s Dream: Wedding March](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tDYMayp6Dk) [Beethoven’s 9th](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A) (I was going to say his [5th,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI) but this really does’t seem to appear in many films) [Ride Of The Valkyries](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU) [Flight of the Bumblebee](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QV1RGMLUKE) [Dance Of The Hours](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=W3ILbnHhAzk#t=125s) [Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: Allegro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QHzI5HmXl4) [Toccata](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o&feature=player_detailpage#t=7s) [Handel’s Messiah (Hallelujah Chorus)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfiAsWR4qU) Nutcracker: [Russian Dance Trepak](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ISRMSIyX8) & the [March](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KsgdgDIEJs&feature=player_detailpage#t=11s) [Romeo And Juliet Fantasy Overture](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmLsvQaxw3g&feature=player_detailpage#t=532s) [Barber Of Seville Overture](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloXRhesab0&feature=player_detailpage#t=129s) [Pizzicato](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkjzH7hBn8&feature=player_detailpage#t=14s) [Funeral March](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEX1dYyvmig) (and so much more! Perhaps I notice these more, because they’re among my favorites of the more popular classical pieces) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694/20 "2011-08-07T08:36:00Z")
And for more modern fare, there’s… [Powerhouse](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9-7uLg-DZU) (Looney Toons, anyone?) and [Take Five](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNrmYRiX_o) ETA: [Here’s a great list of top 100s…](http://www.kickassclassical.com/classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-william-tell-overture-the-most-sampled-piece-of-music-of-all-time/591694.md?page=2)