The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - "Hooked on Classics"

(Debuted October 31, 1981, Peaked #10, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

When Stars on 45 took a medley of Beatles songs to #1, it began a short-lived craze of merging a number of songs together into a single track united by an electronic drum beat. Stars on 45 released followup singles honoring Stevie Wonder and ABBA, and medleys of Elvis, the Beach Boys and one featuring the real Beatles (a mash-up of songs from their movies) appeared from those artists' record companies.

And then there was a series of "Hooked On..." records that saluted different styles. Swing had an album, as did country, but the first of them was called Hooked on Classics. It was essentially a medley of classical music set to a disco beat and was arranged by Louis Clark, who once directed the backing musicians for The Electric Light Orchestra. This time, he directed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. The album and single were so successful they spawned four more sequel LPs.

Surprising those who may have guessed there would be a limited interest in classical music by casual fans, the single made the Top 10 on the pop chart. In the case of younger listeners like me, it helped me to realize that some of it was already familiar from cartoons and movies. If anything, it gave me another musical outlet to look into, even if I didn't bother looking too deep into it.