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Peter Jackson's newest film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, debuts today. However, Tolkien's literary masterpieces have influenced more than just cinema. Let's explore some remarkable musical tributes inspired by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
1. The Counterculture's Love Affair with Hobbits
Originally limited to costly hardcovers, the mid-1960s release of the first paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings catapulted the series into widespread fame. The counterculture movement, in particular, embraced the books, with the slogan “Frodo Lives!” becoming a popular phrase seen on buttons, bumper stickers, and t-shirts of the time.
The series' impact quickly seeped into the realm of psychedelic music, with Tolkien-inspired songs and bands emerging throughout the following decade. Jimmy Curtiss, a seasoned singer-songwriter, created a sunshine pop band named The Hobbits, which dropped their first album, Down to Middle Earth, in 1967. That same year, the psychedelic ensemble Gandalf was established in New York City.
Armageddon, a fuzz-driven rock band, depicted Gandalf and Bilbo’s initial encounter in their song “Bilbo Baggins,” featured on their 1969 debut album. The oddly-named Neighb’rhood Childr’n from San Francisco concluded their only album with a track titled “Hobbit’s Dream.” Tom Rapp, the creative force behind psych-folk group Pearls Before Swine, was so moved by Tolkien’s writings that he credited him as a co-writer on their 1968 song “Ring Thing,” which adapts Tolkien’s “The One Ring” poem into a trippy psychedelic arrangement.
In 1972, folk artist Chris Wilson, performing as Gandalf the Grey, released an album titled The Grey Wizard Am I. The lyrics were rich with Tolkien allusions—the title track loosely recounts the plots of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—but the album’s standout feature is its stunning cover photo, showcasing Wilson dressed as a wizard.
2. The Beatles’ Unrealized Tolkien Film Project
John Lennon was known to be an ardent admirer of
While it’s difficult to picture how their adaptation might have looked, the casting decisions were undeniably brilliant: Paul was set to portray Frodo, George would take on the role of Gandalf, Ringo was cast as Samwise, and John? He was slated to play Gollum.
3. Leonard Nimoy Brings The Hobbit to Life on an ABC Variety Show
While the original Star Trek series aired in the late 1960s, Leonard Nimoy released two novelty albums with Dot Records. (These albums included songs where Nimoy performed in character as the iconic Mister Spock.) His second album, Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy, featured a track called “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,” written by Charles Grean and inspired by Tolkien’s timeless tale. Nimoy performed the song with a group of lively, pointy-eared dancers on a 1967 episode of Malibu U, and the performance remains one of the most entertaining finds on YouTube.
4. Led Zeppelin Brings Tolkien’s World to the Music Charts
Led Zeppelin is perhaps the most famous band to draw inspiration from Tolkien’s works, and they are also the most commercially successful. Many of their hit albums included nods to Middle-earth. For instance, “Ramble On” mentions Mordor and Gollum, “Misty Mountain Hop” takes its title from a location in The Hobbit, and “The Battle of Evermore” features references to a dark lord, ring wraiths, and golden magic runes.
Led Zeppelin’s fascination with Lord of the Rings extended beyond their songs: Robert Plant named his dog Strider, after Aragorn’s alias, and even celebrated him in the track “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.”
5. A Swedish Musician’s Conceptual Masterpiece
By 1970, Swedish keyboardist Bo Hansson found himself at a career crossroads. Despite having toured with The Rolling Stones and collaborated with Jimi Hendrix—who famously covered Hansson’s song “Tax Free”—his latest band had disbanded, leaving him searching for a fresh creative path.
Motivated by his girlfriend’s copy of The Lord of the Rings, Hansson retreated to a summer cottage on a Stockholm island. With the assistance of friends, he crafted an entire instrumental concept album inspired by Tolkien’s trilogy. Initially released in Sweden in 1970 as Sagan om ringen—the Swedish title of the series—and internationally in 1972 as Music Inspired By Lord of the Rings, the album became a massive success, even achieving gold status in the U.K. and Australia. Hansson attempted to replicate this literary approach in 1977 with Music Inspired by Watership Down, but it failed to achieve similar acclaim.
6. Progressive Rock Artists Carry On the Tolkien Legacy
Progressive rockers outside Sweden also paid homage to Tolkien. By the early 1970s, The Lord of the Rings had captivated a new generation of music enthusiasts, including some of the genre’s most renowned bands in the U.S. and the U.K.
Rush crafted the soothing track “Rivendell” for their 1975 album, Fly By Night. Styx featured “Lords of the Ring” on their 1978 record, Pieces of Eight, and Genesis, before Phil Collins joined, wrote about Gollum in “Stagnation” for their 1970 album Trespass. Camel’s second release included a nine-minute piece titled “Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider,” and Argent composed the nearly eight-minute “Lothlorien” for their 1971 album Ring of Hands.
7. Heavy Metal Bands Find Inspiration in Mordor
As the ‘70s transitioned into the ‘80s, heavy metal bands became the next wave of musicians to draw heavily from Tolkien’s universe of elves and orcs. California’s Cirith Ungol named themselves after Shelob’s lair, while Germany’s Attacker titled their debut album Battle At Helm’s Deep. In more recent years, bands like Summoning (Austria) and Battlelore (Finland) have emerged, dedicating their discographies to Tolkien-inspired themes.
Scandinavian metal bands, in particular, have been deeply influenced by The Lord of the Rings. Sweden’s Amon Amarth derived their name from the Elvish term for Mount Doom, while Norway’s Gorgoroth is named after a region in Mordor. The lead vocalist of Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir adopted the stage name Shagrath, inspired by an orc commander, and Burzum—a controversial project from Norway’s early black metal scene—takes its name from the Black Speech word for “darkness,” the language of Sauron’s minions.
The most elaborate metal homage to Tolkien comes from Germany’s Blind Guardian. Their 1998 concept album, Nightfall in Middle-Earth, is a power-metal interpretation of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
8. New Zealand Delivers the Ultimate Film Adaptation (And a Brilliant Musical Parody)
A New Zealand filmmaker ultimately brought The Lord of the Rings to life in a comprehensive and largely faithful movie adaptation. Meanwhile, a duo from the same country created its most iconic musical spoof.
Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie—the minds behind the Grammy-winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords—debuted their song “Frodo” during live performances, claiming it was a rejected theme for Peter Jackson’s film trilogy. The parody cleverly blended Tolkien’s influence on psychedelic folk and metal, even incorporating hip-hop elements. The track later appeared in an episode of their HBO series.
This wasn’t Flight of the Conchords’ first foray into Middle-earth; McKenzie portrayed an elf in the first and third films of Jackson’s trilogy.
Main image provided by Rockasteria
