# Music That Outlived What It Was Originally Associated With **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 6, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186 "2026-08-06T16:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/141 "2026-08-08T13:40:07Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > podcasts, which have continued after the end of the iPod in 2022 Excellent! I had failed to note the connection between “iPod” and “podcast.” This is rather like how we still “turn on” a light, even though most lights haven’t required turning anything since about 1920. > [@iamatractorboy](#): > > The James Bond theme (tune) wasn’t written for James Bond Sort of (i just looked it up). From Wikipedia: > Norman describes the distinctive [rhythm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm "Rhythm") of the guitar in the first few bars of the “James Bond Theme” as “Dum di-di dum dum”. He said that it was inspired by “Bad Sign, Good Sign”, a song he composed for a musical adaptation of [V. S. Naipaul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul "V. S. Naipaul")’s novel _[A House for Mr Biswas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_House_for_Mr_Biswas "A House for Mr Biswas")_, set in the Indian community in [Trinidad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad "Trinidad"). So, Monty Norman did compose it for Dr, No, but adapted from something he had composed earlier. You make the call: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6EuzGhIyRQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBIqRRn8-LhA-zDM2zwtyVxoFWqFA "Good Sign, Bad Sign - Monty Norman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EuzGhIyRQ) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/142 "2026-08-08T13:51:50Z")
Anyway, @iamatractorboy , I think it’s a fascinating example for this thread, and I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/143 "2026-08-08T14:12:02Z")
“Hey Look Me Over” was written for the now-obscure musical **Wildcat**. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/144 "2026-08-08T15:17:14Z")
The character Rudoph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created for a Monkey Ward ad campaign, then a song was written for it, Gene Autry sang it, now it’s here to stay. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/145 "2026-08-08T15:34:56Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “Rock and Roll Part 2” is an instrumental song (except for the "Hey!"s), by English vocalist Gary Glitter. In the '80s and '90s, the song became ubiquitous at U.S. sporting events, as well as in movies and TV. Also ubiquitous at U.S. sporting events was (is?) a ten-second snippet with the lyrics “Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oah, whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oah, whoa-oa-oa-oah.” After years of frustration at having no good way to look up the title, I found out it was from “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/146 "2026-08-08T16:12:02Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > we still “turn on” a light, even though most lights haven’t required turning anything since about 1920 Similarly, we talk about dialing a telephone number and about rolling up a car window even though telephones don’t have dials anymore and car windows are not controlled by something that is rotated anymore. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/147 "2026-08-08T20:33:55Z")
Although The Bangles had been performing the song at live shows for a while, they recorded their version of “Hazy Shade of Winter” for the soundtrack of the now pretty much forgotten movie _Less Than Zero_. I assume those are clips from the movie we see in the music video. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/148 "2026-08-08T21:25:00Z")
Similarly… _Iris_ by The _Goo Goo Dolls_ was written for the largely forgotten Nicholas Cage / Meg Ryan film _City of Angels_. Possibly because Nicholas Cage as an angel falling in love with a human is arguably one the least absurd and outlandish character he has ever played Few people seem to know that the 80s classic O_ne Night in Bangkok_ by _Murray Head_ is actually from the soundtrack of a musical _Chess_. Although _Chess_ has apparently had a revival on Broadway starring Lea Michelle of _Glee_ fame, but is now closing. So hard to say who outlived who here. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/149 "2026-08-08T21:30:17Z")
Not quite the same thing, but notable trivia: the term “Grandfather Clock” comes from the 1875 song, and was previously simply called a hall clock or long-case clock. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/150 "2026-08-08T21:33:57Z")
And the song was _about_ the clock belonging to the narrator’s grandfather. > My grandfather’s clock was too large for the shelf, > So it stood ninety years on the floor; > It was taller by half than the old man himself, > Though it weighed not a pennyweight more. > It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born, > And was always his treasure and pride; > But it stopp’d short—never to go again— > When the old man died. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/151 "2026-08-08T21:35:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Few people seem to know that the 80s classic O_ne Night in Bangkok_ by _Murray Head_ is actually from the soundtrack of a musical _Chess_. Although _Chess_ has apparently had a revival on Broadway starring Lea Michelle of _Glee_ fame, but is now closing. So hard to say who outlived who here. For what it’s worth, I think the musical _Chess_ is more popular than the song “One Night in Bangkok”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/152 "2026-08-08T21:45:30Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I think the musical _Chess_ is more popular than the song “One Night in Bangkok”. FWIW, I don’t know a single person that’s even heard of the play, let alone seen it. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/153 "2026-08-08T21:51:54Z")
That surprises me. I would have thought that a lot of people would have, like me, on hearing the song for the first time, thought _why the hell is there a song about a chess player?_, did a little research, and learned about the play. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/154 "2026-08-08T21:55:48Z")
I mean, I know it’s from a play…now. Not in 1986, no, but somewhere between. And there wasn’t a lot of easy ways to look it up back then. I thought it was about Thai sex shops. Later I listened and figured the chess part out myself. Didn’t know it was a play about (called) chess until Wikipedia. Still never been anywhere the play was running. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/155 "2026-08-08T21:56:53Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > “Dance of the Hours” Which itself had a longer pop-culture afterlife than the opera it originated in (Ponchielli’s _La Gioconda_). Others from the world of opera: The “Anvil Chorus” from Verdi’s _Il Trovatore_ “Va, Pensiero” from Verdi’s _Nabucco_ The “Gold and Silver Waltz” from Lehar’s _The Merry Widow_ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/156 "2026-08-08T21:59:59Z")
The opening horn fanfare from Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle” is probably better known today from its use as a sample in House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/157 "2026-08-08T22:23:01Z")
I’ve seen it (the musical _Chess_) three times, so it does come around occasionally. Twice by local amateur groups and once the recent revival on Broadway. The music is fantastic from start to finish, but the story has major problems — they’re constantly tinkering with it, never fully successfully. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/158 "2026-08-08T22:26:53Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > FWIW, I don’t know a single person that’s even heard of the play, let alone seen it. I’ve seen the play, but long after hearing the song. K-ROQ in LA had it their rotation in the mid-'80s. In-laws took my wife and me to see the musical at The Pantages in LA several years later. My wife was surprised when I sang along, because she’d never heard of the play NOR the song. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/159 "2026-08-08T22:43:04Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I mean, I know it’s from a play…now. Not in 1986, no, but somewhere between. And there wasn’t a lot of easy ways to look it up back then. And, when it was a hit song, in 1984, _the play had not yet ever been performed_. It was released as part of a “concept album” for the musical in '84, and the idea that the writers (Tim Rice, along with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA) had was that the album and its singles would create interest among the public before the premiere of the musical; I remember reading, at the time, one of them being quoted as that, unlike other musicals, they wanted their audience to come _into_ the theater humming the songs, rather than humming them while leaving. The musical didn’t premiere until May of 1986, on London’s West End. It did reasonably well in London (played for three years), but a revised version for Broadway in '88 was not as well-received critically, and closed after fewer than 100 performances. It failed to win any Oliver Awards in London, or any Tonys on Broadway. In the years since then, it’s been mostly performed in Europe, and not often in the U.S.; the Broadway revival in 2025 lasted less than a year. As far as whether the musical was better known that “One Night in Bangkok,” I suspect that depends on whether you are a musical fan, or just a pop music fan; I also suspect that the musical wound up being better-known in England than it was in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/160 "2026-08-08T22:51:38Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I thought it was about Thai sex shops. Later I listened and figured the chess part out myself. Didn’t know it was a play about (called) chess until Wikipedia. I’ve known for quite some time that it was from a musical. But despite being able to sing part of the chorus, I don’t think I can recall any other lyrics to it. But from what I’ve read of the other lyrics, they do reference Bangkok nightlife - only to have the singer denounce it as inferior to chess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=9)