Later, in 1976, while writing a disco song for a commercial, a producer suggested the idea of "updating classical music", which "nobody [has] done lately".

The response was underwhelming, but "Fifth" caught the interest of Private Stock Records owner Larry Uttal.

Murphy signed on to Private Stock and recorded the album A Fifth of Beethoven, containing the title track and first single of the same name.

However, two days following the record's release, Private Stock discovered the existence of another Big Apple Band (which promptly changed its name to Chic).

An a cappella arrangement of A Fifth of Beethoven by Tobias Hug as recorded by The Swingles, was used for the pilot episode of Glee, which was first aired on Fox in May 2009.