# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/161 "2026-08-08T22:58:29Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > 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. The kind of queens they use don’t excite me. ---
**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, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/162 "2026-08-08T23:05:44Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > 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. I know the song very well (and can sign it by heart). The singer is Freddie, one of the main characters (the American chess master), and it’s all about how he is so focused on chess that he pays little attention to (and has little care for) the exotic locales where the chess championships are held; it also reflects his cynicism, and bitterness that his lover has left him for his Russian rival. ---
**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, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/163 "2026-08-08T23:10:52Z")
There’s Iceland, or Hastings, or the Phillipines, or… this place ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/164 "2026-08-08T23:14:41Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 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. Or whether you grew up in the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/165 "2026-08-08T23:20:06Z")
That’s strange, I’ve always known that “One Night In Bangkok” was written by Björn and Benny of ABBA, and that it was part of a play. Maybe German radio casters in 1984 just were better informed. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/166 "2026-08-08T23:25:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > a revised version for Broadway in '88 was not as well-received critically, and closed after fewer than 100 performances. Mrs, Martian and I had tickets to see it on Broadway, but it closed before we saw it. We loved the London cast recording, but when we heard the Broadway cast recording we realized that they had completely rewritten (and in our opinion ruined) the story. In retrospect we were happier with the refunded tickets. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It was released as part of a “concept album” for the musical in '84 _Jesus Christ Superstar_ was similarly a concept album before it was staged as a musical. Coincidentally also featuring Murray Head in a starring role. ---
**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, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/167 "2026-08-08T23:27:57Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > _Jesus Christ Superstar_ was similarly a concept album before it was staged as a musical. Coincidentally also featuring Murray Head in a starring role. And, also coincidentally (or not), also co-written by Tim Rice. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/168 "2026-08-08T23:34:17Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That’s strange, I’ve always known that “One Night In Bangkok” was written by Björn and Benny of ABBA, and that it was part of a play. Maybe German radio casters in 1984 just were better informed. That’s likely. It’s just another KROQ induced ear worm to me. Richard Blade failed to educate me about the song’s origins. Heck, we thought “Red Red Wine” was a UB40 original. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/169 "2026-08-08T23:42:41Z")
Peter Gunn is available on Amazon Prime, and quite worth watching if you’re into detective shows. I’d suggest most of the references in Alice, even if they’re not actually music. You need a copy of The Annotated Alice to have any idea what the morality poems are that she’s mangling. Except for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Perhaps some of the more quotable bits of Ennio Morricone’s work? While Sergio Leone’s movies aren’t exactly unknown, probably more people have heard the theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly than have seen the movie. ---
**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, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/170 "2026-08-08T23:45:24Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > For what it’s worth, I think the musical _Chess_ is more popular than the song “One Night in Bangkok”. That’s not the way I remember the 80s - “Bangkok” was a huge hit (#3 on the US charts), while no one other than me (and one or two friends of mine) seemed to know it was part of an intended musical (and I had the concept album). But you and I no doubt traveled in different crowds (I was in college, and “Bangkok” was all over the radio stations I heard). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/171 "2026-08-08T23:46:13Z")
I lent my older car to my daughter to take to college for a year. I joked that her Millennial friends couldn’t borrow it because it had a stick shift.\* Not only did her friends agree that “no way could they drive that”, but one of them asked how to put the window up, and when told she had to rotate the handle on the door, squeaked “Oh my GAH… _that_ must be why they say ‘Crank up the window’!” . \*side note: just got a new used car, and I had a heck of a time finding a manual! (only 3 in our state, of the year I wanted, had a stick) I’m going to buy/make a sticker that says _“Boomer Car with Anti-Theft Device”,_ with a 6-speed manual pattern. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/172 "2026-08-08T23:49:26Z")
It’s already been done: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Omfpc+7aL._AC_SX522_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Omfpc+7aL._AC_SX522_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/173 "2026-08-08T23:51:00Z")
Thanks! That’ll be my plan B. I just thought it’d be more fun to make fun of myself than the kids. There are smart millennials out there… oh, and they’ve aged out of the main age group (14-21) of “car thieves who might smash a window before they look to see if they can drive the car.” ---
**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 9, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/174 "2026-08-09T01:14:29Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > The kind of queens they use don’t excite me. I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/175 "2026-08-09T01:22:23Z")
Used by the Pythons because it was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth’s. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/176 "2026-08-09T01:24:33Z")
God help me for knowing this but Lawrence Welk had Larry Hooper sing a great version of this song. I still enjoy listening to it now and then. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > My grandfather’s clock was too large for the shelf, > So it stood ninety years on the floor; ---
**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 9, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/177 "2026-08-09T02:07:56Z")
Allan Sherman’s version: > My grandfather’s watch was the best ever made, > By the Timex company, > Just like the one John Cameron Swayze displayed > Last night on the old TV. > Oh, it works underwater so perfectly, > And still makes a ticking sound, > Which my grandfather tried only this afternoon, > And that’s how the old man drowned. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/178 "2026-08-09T02:19:16Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Oddball example: the Andante movement from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 was featured on the soundtrack of the 1967 film _Elvira Madigan_. Decades later, that film has pretty much dropped off the radar - and yet classical music listeners young and old still refer to No. 21 as “the _Elvira Madigan_ concerto.” I must be the oddball. When I listen to that movement, I think of Neil Diamond’s _Song Sung Blue._ I even gave that movement the title of “Neil Diamond” on the copy I have on my computer 😅 . ---
**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 9, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/179 "2026-08-09T02:27:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t know if this is what the OP was looking for but the William Tell Overture has mostly lost its connection with the opera _William Tell_. Most people now associate it with the Lone Ranger. And the “Lone Ranger” part is only the overture’s finale. (The earlier “Call to the Cows” section was also made famous as the standard “morning” music in Looney Tunes shorts when they weren’t using Grieg’s “Morning Mood.”) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186/180 "2026-08-09T03:05:46Z")
Honestly I just assumed _One Night in Bangkok_ was just about a crazy night in a foreign country and the video was just some weird 80s artsy imagery and never really listened to or paid much attention to the lyrics until I heard about the _Chess_ connection this year. Not unlike _Down Under_ by _Men At Work_, _Rio_ by _Duran Duran_ or _Africa_ by _Toto_ I suppose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-outlived-what-it-was-originally-associated-with/1032186.md?page=10)