The Walter Murphy disco instrumental based on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 was “A Fifth of Beethoven.”
The recording was made by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band and adapts the famous opening movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 into a driving disco arrangement. Its title is a pun: “Fifth” refers both to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and to a traditional liquor-bottle measure equal to roughly one-fifth of a gallon.
Released by Private Stock Records in 1976, the single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 80 and climbed to No. 1 after 19 weeks. It remained at the summit for one week. The track later gained a new audience when it was included on the 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
The recording is often confused with other classical-pop crossover projects, including “Hooked on Classics.” Those are medleys or adaptations of different material; Murphy’s hit specifically reworks Beethoven’s Fifth and became his only Top 40 single.