Super Mario Bros. theme

The theme was included in the American National Recording Registry in 2023 for its cultural significance, becoming the first piece of music from a video game to do so.

Of the six tracks of the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, this theme took the most time to develop, according to its composer Koji Kondo.

If it did not accentuate the action, did not time up with Mario running and jumping, or did not harmonize with the sound effects well enough, he would scrap it.

3, Kondo affirms that "the overworld theme in Mario might show some influence from the Japanese fusion band T-Square, too.

[7] Kondo was given complete creative freedom over the soundtrack of Super Mario Bros., and would collaborate with Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's director, through their daily interactions.

[9] At the Game Developers Conference in 2007, Kondo commented that the theme features rhythm, balance, and interactivity.

He demonstrated this with a short clip of Super Mario Bros., showing the character's movements and players' button presses syncing with the beat of the music.

Chicago",[20] the Columbus Symphony,[21] the Mario & Zelda Big Band Live,[citation needed] Play!

[6] The song has been performed twice with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, once in 2016 as a guitar performance with Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, and once in 2023 as an acapella cover along with other themes from the game with the cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri.

In an article about Kondo, Wired.com editor Chris Kohler described the theme as one of the most famous in the world, and that "it gets into your head quickly and won't leave".

[9] Netjak editor Rick Healey commented that though MTV tried to make the quintessential song of the '80s, Nintendo beat them to the punch with the Super Mario Bros.

[25] Editors Jeff Dickerson and Luke Smith of The Michigan Daily newspaper commented that if you were to ask a random student to hum the theme, they would likely know every note.