Despite a productive career, Deodato will always be best-known for a 1972 hit record, his catchy adaptation of "Also Sprach Zarathurstra (Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey)." He began his career playing in a popular local rock group as a teenager. At 17, he was asked to arrange for a recording session orchestra and, despite never having written a score before, the teenager succeeded at quickly learning what was necessary. Although Deodato spent time studying engineering, he eventually decided to make a career in music due to the popularity of his writing. After working in Brazil's studios, he moved to the United States in 1967. Deodato wrote for the American studios and was involved in the still fertile bossa nova movement. He wrote arrangements for Astrud Gilberto, contributed three charts to Wes Montgomery's Down Here on the Ground, and was soon working for major names in several fields including Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stanley Turrentine, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, among others. With the release of Prelude in 1973 (his first solo album and the one that included the "Theme From 2001"), Deodato became a major name for a time. He recorded sets for CTI, MCA, and Warner Bros. through 1979, although the efforts tended to be over-arranged and none caught on as well as Prelude. Since that time, Deodato was mostly outside of jazz, working as a producer and arranger behind the scenes, including for Kool & the Gang during 1979-1983.