Via Vh1.com:
May marks the 38th anniversary of Star Wars opening in theaters and, upon immediate impact, conquering the entire universe. No aspect of existence has gone untouched by George Lucas’s empire (and rebels) and rock music ranks high among those elements profoundly caught up in all that derring-do going down a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
In honor of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewbacca, the droids, et al initially hitting our galaxy with such apocalyptic impact, here are 38 connections—one for each year of the phenomenon (thus far)—that link Star Wars to rock-and-roll, and vice versa.
May the Force rock your Banthas off.
1. In concert, Metallica occasionally covers Darth Vader’s theme, “The Imperial March. The band even performed it in 1999 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra during the live shows that became the 1999 album S&M (Symphony and Metallica). The song didn’t make the final cut, but a gnarly thirty-second snippet though has long existed as a leak online.
2. Upping the Metallica-Star Wars connection at Rock in Rio 2013, Kirk Hammett launched into a killer guitar solo that led to him playing the “Star Wars” opening theme, followed by a shredding take on “The Imperial March.”
3. Each Yuletide season, do you toss on the heart-warming toe-tapper, “R2D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas”? If so, have you ever wondered who’s leading the children’s choir on that catchy chorus? Well… probably not. Nonetheless, it is fun to know that that song appears on 1980’s Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album and that the vocalist in question is a young Jon Bon Jovi.
Christmas in the Stars is a holiday cash-in produced by Tony Bongiovi, who owned the legendary Power Station recording studio and also happened to be Jon’s cousin. Tony offered his up-and-coming rock singer relative some nifty exposure by inviting him to sing on the record, which hit bit and continues to sell to devotees. Tony also spared Jon the relative indignity of performing on “What Do You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Has a Comb)?”
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