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Hocus Pocus (song)
 
 
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"Hocus Pocus" is a 1971 song from Moving Waves
Moving Waves

Moving Waves is the 1971 second album by the Dutch band Focus . It includes the hit "Hocus Pocus " which features yodelling and operatic falsetto from Thijs van Leer combined with Jan Akkerman's Heavy metal music guitar....
, the second album by Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 rock group Focus
Focus (band)

Focus is a Netherlands progressive rock band. It was founded by classically trained organ /flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969. It is most famous for the songs "Hocus Pocus " and "Sylvia"....
. It was written by guitarist Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman

Jan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. Jan Akkerman is a distinctive guitarist, constantly experimenting with new equipment and guitars. Akkerman's distinctive guitar sound is characterised by his pioneering use of volume swells which produce a smooth, fluty, sustained note, although he is also capable of astonishing high-speed pyrotechnics....
 and flautist/keyboardist Thijs van Leer
Thijs van Leer

Thijs Van Leer is a Netherlands musician, singer and composer, best known for heading Dutch progressive rock band , Focus , as primary vocalist, Hammond organ virtuoso, and flautist....
. It was also released as a single with Janis as a B-side for the UK and Hocus Pocus II for the US.

There are no lyrics
Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, either by speaking or singing. The word 'lyric' comes from the Greek word ,lyricos, meaning "singing to the lyre"....
 to the song. It takes the form of a rondo
Rondo

Rondo, and its French language equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also in reference to a character-type that is distinct from the form....
, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff
RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic meta-format for storing data in tagged chunks.It was introduced in 1991 by Microsoft and International Business Machines, and was presented by Microsoft as the default format for Windows 3.1x multimedia files....
 and varied solo "verses" (in the original all performed by Thijs van Leer
Thijs van Leer

Thijs Van Leer is a Netherlands musician, singer and composer, best known for heading Dutch progressive rock band , Focus , as primary vocalist, Hammond organ virtuoso, and flautist....
) which include yodeling
Yodeling

Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto voice, making a high-low-high-low sound....
, organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
 playing, accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
, gibberish
Gibberish

Gibberish is a generic term in English language for talking that sounds like Speech communication, but has no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook....
 lyrics, flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
 riffs and whistling
Whistling

Human whistling is the production of sound by means of expelling, and sometimes inhaling, a stream of air through the mouth. The air is moderated by the tongue, lips, teeth, or fingers to create turbulence, and the mouth acts as a resonance chamber to enhance the resulting sound, thus acting as a type of Helmholtz resonance....
.






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Encyclopedia


"Hocus Pocus" is a 1971 song from Moving Waves
Moving Waves

Moving Waves is the 1971 second album by the Dutch band Focus . It includes the hit "Hocus Pocus " which features yodelling and operatic falsetto from Thijs van Leer combined with Jan Akkerman's Heavy metal music guitar....
, the second album by Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 rock group Focus
Focus (band)

Focus is a Netherlands progressive rock band. It was founded by classically trained organ /flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969. It is most famous for the songs "Hocus Pocus " and "Sylvia"....
. It was written by guitarist Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman

Jan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. Jan Akkerman is a distinctive guitarist, constantly experimenting with new equipment and guitars. Akkerman's distinctive guitar sound is characterised by his pioneering use of volume swells which produce a smooth, fluty, sustained note, although he is also capable of astonishing high-speed pyrotechnics....
 and flautist/keyboardist Thijs van Leer
Thijs van Leer

Thijs Van Leer is a Netherlands musician, singer and composer, best known for heading Dutch progressive rock band , Focus , as primary vocalist, Hammond organ virtuoso, and flautist....
. It was also released as a single with Janis as a B-side for the UK and Hocus Pocus II for the US.

There are no lyrics
Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, either by speaking or singing. The word 'lyric' comes from the Greek word ,lyricos, meaning "singing to the lyre"....
 to the song. It takes the form of a rondo
Rondo

Rondo, and its French language equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also in reference to a character-type that is distinct from the form....
, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff
RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic meta-format for storing data in tagged chunks.It was introduced in 1991 by Microsoft and International Business Machines, and was presented by Microsoft as the default format for Windows 3.1x multimedia files....
 and varied solo "verses" (in the original all performed by Thijs van Leer
Thijs van Leer

Thijs Van Leer is a Netherlands musician, singer and composer, best known for heading Dutch progressive rock band , Focus , as primary vocalist, Hammond organ virtuoso, and flautist....
) which include yodeling
Yodeling

Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto voice, making a high-low-high-low sound....
, organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
 playing, accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
, gibberish
Gibberish

Gibberish is a generic term in English language for talking that sounds like Speech communication, but has no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook....
 lyrics, flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
 riffs and whistling
Whistling

Human whistling is the production of sound by means of expelling, and sometimes inhaling, a stream of air through the mouth. The air is moderated by the tongue, lips, teeth, or fingers to create turbulence, and the mouth acts as a resonance chamber to enhance the resulting sound, thus acting as a type of Helmholtz resonance....
. Focus recorded a special, faster radio version, which became a hit song. When performing live, the group would play the song even faster.

Hocus Pocus reached #20 in the UK and #9 in the US during the spring of 1973.

The final bars of the song are used as the outro music on the second series of the BBC TV sitcom Saxondale
Saxondale

Saxondale is a United Kingdom television situation comedy programme, starring and co-written by Steve Coogan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd....
.

Cover versions


  • Power metal
    Power metal

    Power metal is a style of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with thrash metal or speed metal, often within symphonic context....
     band Helloween
    Helloween

    Helloween are a Germany power metal/speed metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band is known as one of the pioneering power metal bands, being part of the German Heavy metal music/speed/power metal scene that included Accept, Running Wild , Blind Guardian, Grave Digger , Sinner , and Rage ....
     included a cover of the song in their 1999 album Metal Jukebox
    Metal Jukebox

    Metal Jukebox is a cover album by Germany power metal band Helloween, released in 1999. It is described as their ninth studio album....
    .
  • Iron Maiden
    Iron Maiden

    Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music band from Leyton, East London, England, formed in 1975. The band is led by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris ....
     covered it for the European DVD version 2006 single "Different World"
    Different World (song)

    "Different World" is the first track from English Heavy metal music band Iron Maiden's 2006 album A Matter of Life and Death . The song is the band's thirty-fifth Single , and is also the second single from the album, released on November 14 2006 in the United States, and December 26 2006 in Europe....
    .
  • Rock guitarist Gary Hoey
    Gary Hoey

    Gary Hoey is a surfer-Rock music musician....
     released several instrumental renditions of this song on various albums, such as his 1993 release, Animal Instinct
    Animal instinct

    Animal instinct may refer to:* Instinct, the inherent disposition of a living organism toward a particular behavior* The Cranberries#Singles, a song by The Cranberries...
    .
  • The pop/classical artist Vanessa-Mae
    Vanessa-Mae

    Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson , known professionally as Vanessa-Mae , is an internationally known British pop music and classical music musician, especially noted for her violin skills....
     did a cover with violin on her 1997 album Storm
    Storm (Vanessa-Mae album)

    Storm is a 1998 album by the violinist Vanessa-Mae....
    .
  • Punk band The Vandals
    The Vandals

    The Vandals are an United States rock music rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. Forming as part of the List of musicians in the second wave of punk music of American punk rock, the band has released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the...
     also covered it on their second album, When in Rome Do as the Vandals
    When in Rome Do as the Vandals

    When in Rome Do as the Vandals is the debut album by the Huntington Beach, California punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1984 by National Trust Records....
    .
  • British band Marillion
    Marillion

    Marillion are a United Kingdom Rock group. Formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in 1979, their recorded studio output comprises fifteen albums and is generally regarded as comprising two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988 after their first four albums, and the subsequent arr...
     covered it on their live album Friends, released in 2007.
  • British heavy metal
    Heavy metal music

    Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified Distortion , extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall...
     band Diamond Head
    Diamond Head (band)

    Diamond Head are a United Kingdom heavy metal music band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. They were one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and are acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence....
     included a cover of this song in a medley at the end of their set from their 2000 live album Live - In the Heat of the Night
    Live - In the Heat of the Night

    Live - In The Heat Of The Night is a live album by heavy metal music band Diamond Head recorded at the Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall during their 1991 comeback tour....
    .
  • During the Foo Fighters
    Foo Fighters

    Foo Fighters is an American Rock music band formed by singer/guitarist/drummer Dave Grohl in 1995. Grohl formed the group as a one-man project after the dissolution of his previous band Nirvana in 1994....
    , Echos Silence Patience and Grace Tour in 2008 they performed a small cover during their performance of Stacked Actors
  • TR3
    TR3

    TR3 is the Tim Reynolds Trio. Founded by Tim in 1984, there have been numerous members to come and go during its history....
     featuring Tim Reynolds
    Tim Reynolds

    Tim Reynolds is a multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist. Founding member of the band TR3, he has frequently performed with the Dave Matthews Band and has played several tours with Dave Matthews as an acoustic duo, and also as a member of Dave Matthews & Friends....
     covered this song during their performance on July 24, 2008 at the 10,000 Lakes Festival
    10,000 Lakes Festival

    The 10,000 Lakes Festival is an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch. The festival has been held since 2003....
     at the Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
    Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

    Detroit Lakes is the largest city in and the county seat of Becker County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The city's official population was estimated at 8,030 in 2007 by the United States Census Bureau....
    .
  • Chad Smith
    Chad Smith

    Chadwick "Chad" Smith is the drummer of the rock bands Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chickenfoot ....
     of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Red Hot Chili Peppers

    Red Hot Chili Peppers are a Grammy Award-winning American Rock music band formed in Los Angeles, California, California, in 1983. For most of the band's existence, the members are vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Flea , and drummer Chad Smith....
     covered this song in the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert for Drum Channel.