Hocus Pocus (song)
"Hocus Pocus" is a song by the Dutch rock band Focus, written by keyboardist, flautist, and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio album "Moving Waves". An edited version was released as a single (with "Janis" as the B-side) on the Imperial, Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971, but failed to chart outside of the Netherlands(NL#09). A faster re-recording of the song (titled "Hocus Pocus 2" or "Hocus Pocus II" in some markets) was released in  Europe in 1972. Buoyed by a live performance on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" in December 1972 and a subsequent barnstorming British club tour, this version rose to No. 20 on the UK charts in late January 1973. "Hocus Pocus" was also released as a single on the Sire Records label in the United States and Canada in 1973. It peaked at No. 9 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 the weeks of June 2 and 9 in the US and No. 18 in Canada during the spring and summer of that year. The song was given new life when it  became the musical signature of the Nike "Write the Future" advertising campaign, shown during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That year the single re-entered the UK charts at No. 57 on and the Dutch charts at No. 48. In 2017, the song was used in the film "Baby Driver". "Hocus Pocus" has been covered by the Vandals, on their debut LP, "When in Rome Do as The Vandals", in 1984; by Helloween on their album "Metal Jukebox" in 1999; and by Iron Maiden for the European version of their DVD single "Different World" in 2006. Description. "Hocus Pocus" takes  the form of a rondo, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff with short drum solos and then varied solo "verses" (in the original all performed by Thijs van Leer) which include yodeling, eefing, organ playing, accordion, scat singing, flute riffs, and whistling. The single version is significantly edited from the album version. "Hocus Pocus 2" is a slightly faster version with some funk elements and rhythms added. It was released as a single in its own right in Europe and was the B-side to the North American release of "Hocus Pocus". When performing live, Focus would  play "Hocus Pocus" even faster. Use in media. TNT used the song as an introduction to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons as well as Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics during the 1997 NBA Playoffs. The song has also been used in the British motoring show "Top Gear" during one of The Stig's power laps, on series 6 episode 1, testing a Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG; as the exit music on the second series of the BBC TV sitcom "Saxondale"; in the  film "The Stoned Age"; in a 2008 McDonald's commercial featuring the website Line Rider; in a 2010 Nike football World Cup advertisement titled "Write the Future"; in the third season episode of "My Name is Earl" entitled "Early Release", when Earl is locked in solitary confinement; and in the 2008 "Supernatural" episode "Ghostfacers". The song was used in the episode "Chris" in the Channel 4 teen drama "Skins". During a scene where Chris tries to sell a CD player for pizza, the song can be heard playing in the background while Chris and Sid are about to get kicked  out of a music shop, the music plays as they end up making their way to a tip where they end up selling the CD player The song was sampled for J. Cole's 2010 single "Blow Up". "Hocus Pocus 2" was included in GuitarFreaks & DrumMania V5 "Rock to Infinity" and was also used in the 2014 remake of "Robocop" during a live-fire test with Robocop against a large number of robot drones and the character Mattox. The Cincinnati Reds used a sample of the song as the opening television credits during the 1973 season which displayed clips of  the 1972 National League Championship Series in which Johnny Bench hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the fifth and final game as well as George Foster scoring the pennant-winning run on a wild pitch. The song has also been featured on HBO's "Vinyl", and on season 7 of Showtime's "Shameless". The song was also used in the 2013 documentary "1". In this film about Formula 1 racing, the pulsing song was the backdrop for in-car footage of Ayrton Senna's qualifying lap at the Monaco Grand Prix. Hocus  Pocus accompanied the chase scenes of "Dave" TV's 2016 fantasy comedy "Zapped", in Series 3 Episode 5 called "Book". The song was prominently featured in a scene in Edgar Wright’s 2017 film "Baby Driver", elements of the track having been used in Wright's 2007 film "Hot Fuzz" by composer David Arnold. The song was used in the trailer for Pixar's 2020 film "Onward". It was also used in DreamWorks' 2020 film "Trolls World Tour" as well as in the end credits of the 2020 Netflix film "." On the "7th-Inning Stretch" livestream, organist Josh Kantor performs  the song to celebrate viewers' birthdays.