Max Rebo Band

The Max Rebo Band is a fictional alien swing music band in the Star Wars franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi as a trio performing the song "Lapti Nek" for crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The original lineup consisted of the blue-skinned Ortolan organist Max Rebo, the plump Kitonak woodwind player Droopy McCool, and Pa'lowick lead singer Sy Snootles, while additional members were inserted into the later-edited Special Edition of the film. A great deal of further information about the band and the personal histories of its members is found in various literature of the now non-canonical Star Wars Legends universe.

The group is classified as "jizz-wailers", which, according to the Star Wars Encyclopedia, refers to a "musician who plays a fast, contemporary, and upbeat style of music."

Max and Droopy were portrayed by actors in bodysuits, while Snootles was operated by two puppeteers stationed above and beneath the set. For the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, the original Snootles puppet was replaced with a computer-generated version, and nine new band members were added with live actors and computer animation digitally composited into new and existing footage. "Lapti Nek" was additionally replaced with a new track titled "Jedi Rocks".

Appearances

Film

The Max Rebo Band made their debut in Return of the Jedi during the scenes set in Jabba's palace on Tatooine. In the original version, the trio performs a pop song in Huttese titled "Lapti Nek" (Huttese for "Fancy Man"); the English lyrics (by composer John Williams's son Joseph Williams) are about dancing; Hardware Wars creator Ernie Fosselius helped arrange the song. The track was replaced in the Special Edition with "Jedi Rocks", written by jazz musician Jerry Hey and described in the Star Wars Databank as a "less-dated piece of music".

In both versions of the film, the group follows the singing number with festive instrumental tunes, during which only Max is shown up close.