Spider-Man In Song

Spider-Man was created in 1963 by (depending on who you ask) Steve Ditko, Stan Lee and/or Jack Kirby. I won't get into that. But in 1967, the character was picked up for a cartoon series for ABC. That led to the original Spider-Man anthem that everyone knows so well.

Spider-Man! Spider-Man!
Does whatever a spider can!
Spins a web! Any size!
Catches thieves just like flies!
Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!

It was originally written by Paul Francis Webster and Bob Harris, and has been covered by the likes of Aerosmith, Apollo 440, Michael Bublé, The Flaming Lips and The Ramones among others.

There have been other Spider-Man songs since 1967, not surprisingly. Offhand, I know of...

• "Spider-Man" by Icarus, 1972
• "Spider-Man Theme Song" by Gary William Friedman, 1974
• "The Amazing Spider-Man Theme Song" by Dana Kaproff and Stu Phillips, 1977
• "Spider-Man Theme Song" by Joe Perry, 1994

There are others, I'm sure. More recently, you've also got all the music by Danny Elfman from the movies, Nickelback's "Hero", the Turn Off the Dark pieces by Bono and The Edge...

To date, none have really topped the original theme song in terms of memorability. That doesn't stop folks from trying, though. With the new movie opening this week, naturally, it comes with a new score by James Horner. But perhaps to less fanfare, comic rock pioneer Ray Wall has also released his latest effort: "Spider-Man Song".

I've been listening to Wall's comic rock music for several years now, since he released "The Fantastic Four Song" back in 2005 in fact. I've been impressed at the musical improvements Wall has made since then; his newer work definitely sounds more nuanced and his recordings are more polished. Topping the Webster/Harris theme, though, is a tall order. I'll let you take a listen and judge for yourself how Wall stacks up...I talked to Wall a week or two back, and he's currently working on putting together a full album of comic rock tunes. Hopefully, he'll have those recorded and available later this year but, hey, this is what he does in his spare time!

I've read a fair amount about science fiction fandom, and have seen/heard of a number of filking groups over the years. I've long been surprised that the same phenomenon hasn't really taken off in comicdom, but maybe once Wall's album is out, that will change things.

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