The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Theme Song

1966

Dare I say that in this time, this movie’s theme song has probably surpassed the popularity of the film. I mean it only takes a few seconds to be accustomed to the super-catchy tune, which is played virtually everywhere and is used in all sorts of application—ads, shows, and background music for anything Western.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly movie was a Sergio Leone-directed Italian/Spanish Spaghetti Western that starred Clint Eastwood. Yes, in the 1960s, a bunch of Western films were directed by Italians, which resulted in the sub-genre Spaghetti Western.

The theme song, the one that goes “tana-nana-nan ta-nanan,” is also entitled “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. It was composed by legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone. And yes, this theme song is one of the greatest themes in film history.

In 1966, when the movie came out, a supplementary original motion picture soundtrack was also released. That time was a time of no CDs but it continued on to reach the CD era. Also, in 2004, the album was re-mastered, re-released and expanded by Capitol Records.

Additional stuff

The album reached #4 on the Billboard pop album chart in 1968. American musician Hugo Montenegro also benefited from the song, as his Moog synthesizer-rendition of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” reached #2 in the Billboard pop chart (1968).

So without further ado, here is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly theme song.

And below, Hugo Montenegro’s Moog synthesizer rendition.