"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It was adapted by Murphy from the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.
The song when released entered the Hot 100 at number 80 on May 29, 1976, and took 19 weeks to reach number 1, where it stayed for one week. Early in 1977, it was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie, Saturday Night Fever. "Fifth" was released in 1976 becoming Murphy's best known work and his only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached the #1 position for one week. It also went to number 10 on Billboard's Black Singles chart in the same year.
