But the best version of the song comes courtesy of the Ramones. Aerosmith re-recorded the theme for Sam Raimi’s first film, back in 2002, and Raimi also included a scene of a street performer singing it. It was recorded in Toronto, with vocalists from the Canadian Broadcasting Company, and Michael Bublé recorded a version of it for his début. The original Spider-Man theme song-which for your convenience will not be linked, since it is certainly already playing in your head-is unquestionably the most famous Canadian superhero theme. (His songs are mostly love songs, and include “Secret Love” and “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.”) The song originally appeared in the 1967 ABC-TV cartoon, and it has quite a pedigree: the music was written by Bob Harris, who also wrote the music for Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita,” and the lyrics were by Paul Francis Webster, who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song and was nominated sixteen times between 19. At any rate, it’s highly famous, as much a part of the character’s identity as his suit or his backstory. The Spider-Man theme song is the most famous superhero song in American history, unless the Batman song is. “We’re very nice here,” Jimmy Fallon said, encouragingly. This week, the “Tonight Show” went back to the Spider-Man franchise when the film’s star, Andrew Garfield, shyly confessed that he’s been learning to play guitar. Here’s a live version, from the “Tonight Show.” Oh, and the studio version was produced by Pharrell.
It’s as disjointed as it sounds, with a verse rapper by Lamar, a verse sung by Keys, and Marr and Zimmer lurking around the edges. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” comes complete with a pre-fab hit single, “It’s On Again,” performed by Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Johnny Marr, and Hans Zimmer. This is all subject to debate, but there’s one thing that’s certain, which is that superhero movies bring their own soundtracks with them.