| Apollo 100 | |
| Genre: | Instrumental rock |
| Years Active: | – |
| Past Members: | Tom Parker Clem Cattini Vic Flick Zed Jenkins Jim Lawless Brian Odgers |
Apollo 100 was a British instrumental group that had a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit with the Bach–inspired single "Joy" in 1972.[1]
Apollo 100 was founded by arranger and multi-instrumentalist Tom Parker, who was known for his arrangements from the Young Blood catalogue, such as the Top 20 American hit "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and a number of Don Fardon's recordings. Parker had played keyboards, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and a number of other instruments from an early age, and entered the music industry as a session musician by the 1960s.[2] In the intervening time, he associated with a number of groups, including The Mark Leeman 5, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds and Eric Burdon with the New Animals.[3] [1]
Parker formed Apollo 100 in the latter part of 1971 with fellow session musicians drummer Clem Cattini, guitarist Vic Flick, guitarist Zed Jenkins, percussionist Jim Lawless, and bassist Brian Odgers.[1] In December 1971, they released their first single, "Joy", an electrified arrangement by Clive Scott of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring".[1] The single rose to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. None of their subsequent efforts was as successful, and they broke up in 1973.[1]
Parker went on to form the New London Chorale.
"Joy" has been featured on the soundtracks of the films Boogie Nights,[4] One Day in September[5] and The 40-Year-Old Virgin,[6] as well as the television series The Man Who Fell to Earth.[7] While not featured on the Battle of the Sexes soundtrack, the song is heard during a scene in the film and is cited in the end credits.[8]
| Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [9] | US | |||
| Joy |
| - | 47 | |
| Master Pieces |
| 62 | - | |
| Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | |||
| Reach for the Sky |
| 37 |
| Title | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | CAN | RSA | US 100[11] | |||
| 1971 | "Joy" | 3 | 24 | 18 | 6 | |
| 1972 | "Mendelssohn's 4th (Second Movement)" | - | - | - | 94 | |
. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 19.