(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether

For the Edgar Allan Poe short story, see The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.

"(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" is a song by the Alan Parsons Project.^[1] It first appeared on their debut album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe. The single reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100^[2] and number 62 in Canada.^[3]

"(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether"
Single by the Alan Parsons Project
from the album Tales of Mystery and Imagination
B-side	"A Dream Within a Dream"
Released	July 1976
Recorded	September 1975
Studio	Abbey Road Studios
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:12 (LP) 3:20 (single)
Label	20th Century (US) Charisma (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Alan Parsons Eric Woolfson
Producer(s)	Alan Parsons Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project singles chronology
"(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether" (1976) "The Raven" (1976)

As with the other songs on the album, it is based on a story by American author Edgar Allan Poe,^[4] in this case "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1845). The song was written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, and was originally recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London in September 1975.^[5] The 1987 reissue adds a "cathedral organ", played by Parsons.^[4]

It does not appear on either The Best of the Alan Parsons Project or The Best of the Alan Parsons Project, Volume 2, as the band moved from 20th Century Records to Arista after the release of Tales of Mystery and Imagination. It appears on the American version of the 1997 2 CD Definitive Collection^[6] and the 2007 collection, The Essential Alan Parsons Project.^[7]

Personnel

• John Miles — lead vocals, guitars
• Jack Harris — backing vocals
• Ian Bairnson — guitars
• David Paton — bass guitar
• Eric Woolfson — keyboards
• Billy Lyall — piano
• Alan Parsons — cathedral organ (1987 reissue version), recorders
• Stuart Tosh — drums, percussion
• Abbey Road Effects Library – crowd noises^[4]