The real songs behind the classic 'Super Mario Bros' theme tunes

Since Nintendo released Super Mario Bros in 1985, it has become one of the biggest-selling video games of all time. It followed the successful 1983 arcade game Mario Bros and spawned a multimedia franchise of films, television series and games, making Mario, Luigi and their friends universally recognisable characters. 

The game also features a memorable soundtrack composed by Koji Kondo, which helped to popularise the use of music in game design. Until this point, music was not an integral part of the average video game. Yet Kondo created the soundtrack for Super Mario Bros with two objectives: "to convey an unambiguous sonic image of the game world" and "to enhance the emotional and physical experience of the gamer".

The theme song, created on a small keyboard, has been used prominently in other Nintendo games from Super Smash Bros to Nintendogs. According to Kondo, the theme was difficult to create, with the final result being one of six he made. To test out each theme's suitability for the game, the creators would insert Kondo's creations over the action to see if they synced up with the characters' movements, scrapping them until they found the perfect fit.

Contrary to how many video game companies worked at the time, which would recruit composers once the game had been completed, Kondo worked on Super Mario Bros while it was in the early stages of production. Thus, he was able to make the soundtrack from an early prototype of the game, adjusting the music to fit Mario's world as it was being created. Initially, the theme song was slower, but Kondo ultimately increased its tempo to better suit the game's atmosphere.

Eventually, Kondo settled with the iconic piece we know today, 'Overworld Theme'. However, his finished result took significant inspiration from a preexisting song. The composer was inspired by 'Sister Marian' by the Japanese jazz fusion band T-Square, released in 1984. According to Kondo, "the overworld theme in Mario might show some influence from the Japanese fusion band T-Square. The rhythms in their music were easy for Japanese listeners to follow". Ironically, T-Square co-founder and guitarist Masahiro Andoh went on to become a video game composer himself, and percussionist Satoshi Bandoh played the drums on the soundtrack for Mario Kart 8. The band also influenced several other video game soundtracks, such as their song 'Travelers', which inspired 'Guile's Theme' from Street Fighter 2. 

Kondo looked to even more preexisting songs for inspiration for the rest of the Super Mario Bros soundtrack. The 'Underground Theme', which – you guessed it – plays during every underground level of the game, was heavily influenced by the 1979 track 'Let's Not Talk About It' by Friendship. Kondo said of composing the piece: "It was really concentrated on the space between the notes, and using a few notes to create that feeling of being underground — that sort of creepy atmosphere is something I really focused on". The 1970s jazz track features the same bassline melody that can be heard as Mario ventures deep underground. 

Finally, the 'Super Star Theme' or 'Starman Theme' takes inspiration from 'Summer Breeze' by Piper. Released in 1983, the song appears on the album of the same name, helmed by guitarist/vocalist Keisuke Yamamoto. Kondo transformed the sun-drenched Japanese track into a short electronic piece that signals a character's invincibility, closely associated with the Super Star power-up mode. 

The latest addition to the Super Mario Bros. franchise is an animated film starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jack Black, which will be released in 2023.

Listen to Kondo's inspirations below.