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Hocus Pocus (song)

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Wikipedia article




"'Hocus Pocus'" is a song by the Dutch rock band Focus, written by keyboardist, flautist, and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio album 'Moving Waves'. An edited version was released as a single (with "Janis" as the B-side) on the Imperial, Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971, but failed to chart outside of the Netherlands(NL#09).

A faster re-recording of the song (titled "Hocus Pocus 2" or "Hocus Pocus II" in some markets) was released in Europe in 1972. Buoyed by a live performance on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' in December 1972 and a subsequent barnstorming British club tour, this version rose to No. 20 on the UK charts in late January 1973. "Hocus Pocus" was also released as a single on the Sire Records label in the United States and Canada in 1973. It peaked at No. 9 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 the weeks of June 2 and 9 in the US and No. 18 in Canada during the spring and summer of that year.[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1973-06-02 The Hot 100, Week of June 2, 1973 – 'Billboard'.] Retrieved 26 December 2020[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1973-06-09 The Hot 100, Week of June 9, 1973 – 'Billboard'.] Retrieved 26 December 2020

The song was given new life when it became the musical signature of the Nike 'Write the Future' advertising campaign, shown during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That year the single re-entered the UK charts at No. 57 on and the Dutch charts at No. 48.

Description



"Hocus Pocus" takes the form of a rondo, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff with short drum solos and then varied solo "verses" (in the original all performed by Thijs van Leer) which include yodeling, eefing, organ playing, accordion, scat singing, flute riffs, and whistling. The single version is significantly edited from the album version.

"Hocus Pocus 2" is a slightly faster version with some funk elements and rhythms added. It was released as a single in its own right in Europe and was the B-side to the North American release of "Hocus Pocus". When performing live, Focus would play "Hocus Pocus" even faster.

Chart performance



Weekly charts



Year-end charts



Cover versions



"Hocus Pocus" has been covered by several bands:

*the Vandals, on their debut LP, 'When in Rome Do as The Vandals', in 1984

*By Helloween on their album 'Metal Jukebox' in 1999

*Iron Maiden for the European version of their DVD single "Different World" in 2006.

Use in media



*TNT used the song as an introduction to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons as well as Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics during the 1997 NBA Playoffs.

*The song has also been used in the British motoring show 'Top Gear' during one of The Stig's power laps, on series 6 episode 1, testing a Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG; as the exit music on the second series of the BBC TV sitcom 'Saxondale'; in the film 'The Stoned Age'; in a 2008 McDonald's commercial featuring the website Line Rider; in a 2010 Nike football World Cup advertisement titled "Write the Future"; in the third season episode of 'My Name is Earl' entitled "Early Release", when Earl is locked in solitary confinement; and in the 2008 'Supernatural' episode "Ghostfacers".

*The song was used in the episode "Chris" in the Channel 4 teen drama 'Skins'.

*The song was sampled for J. Cole's 2010 single "Blow Up".

*"Hocus Pocus 2" was included in GuitarFreaks & DrumMania V5 'Rock to Infinity' and was also used in the 2014 remake of 'Robocop'

*The Cincinnati Reds used a sample of the song as the opening television credits during the 1973 season which displayed clips of the 1972 National League Championship Series.

*The song has also been featured on HBO's 'Vinyl', and on season 7 of Showtime's 'Shameless'.

*The song was used in the 2013 Formula One documentary '1'.

*The tune was used in 'Dave' TV's 2016 fantasy comedy 'Zapped', in Series 3 Episode 5, "Book".

*The song was prominently featured in a scene in Edgar Wrights 2017 film 'Baby Driver'. Elements were also used in Wright's 2007 film 'Hot Fuzz' by composer David Arnold.

*The song was used in the trailers for Pixar's 2020 film 'Onward' and DreamWorks' 2020 film 'Trolls World Tour'.

*It plays over the end credits of the 2020 Netflix film 'The Babysitter: Killer Queen.'

*On the '7th-Inning Stretch' livestream, organist Josh Kantor performs the song to celebrate viewers' birthdays.

References




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