Melodic Treks is a Trek.fm podcast dedicated entirely to the music of Star Trek. Host Brandon-Shea Mutala explores the themes, orchestral scores, and incidental compositions that bring Star Trek episodes and films to life, as well as the composers, singers and musicians behind the sounds.
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1: The Beginning
Alexander Courage and the TOS Theme.
The first music ever heard in Star Trek was the theme composed by Alexander Courage. No one at the time could have imagined that the ascending minor seventh that would kick off a short-lived science fiction series would go on to be one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the world. Yet over the course of nearly fifty years Courage’s composition has spawned many others as the melodic foundation of the Star Trek franchise.
In this episode of Melodic Treks, Colin Higgins takes you through the history of the TOS theme, the career of Alexander Courage, and how the theme has been utilized throughout the evolution of the franchise. You’ll also learn about the classical inspirations from the work of Mahler and Bruckner, and the soprano behind the haunting sound of the theme, Loulie Jean Norman. Plus, you may want to throw on some bell-bottom pants as we get down with Nichelle Nichols for a disco version—complete with the original lyrics written by Gene Roddenberry.