Mikey’s Ultimate Jukebox: Why John Williams Matters To Me
Star Wars. Jaws. E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone. Superman. Home Alone. Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Saving Private Ryan. Jurassic Park. Empire Of The Sun. Born On The Fourth Of July. Schindler’s List. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. There is only one musical genius who has composed the scores for these films. The greatest movie composer of all time without question. Ladies and gentlemen… The only movie composer currently in my personal music hall of fame… John Williams. And why he matters so much to me.
Band Members: N/A
Year Inducted: 2013
Years As A Fan: 35 Years (*1983)
Intro Song: Star Wars (Theme)
Top 500 Songs: Cadillac Of The Skies (Empire Of The Sun), Superman, Star Wars (Medal Ceremony), Star Wars, E.T. (Flying Theme)
Addl. Key Songs: The Empire Strikes Back (Imperial March), Saving Private Ryan, Home Alone, Revenge Of The Sith (Battle Of The Heroes), Attack Of The Clones (Across The Stars), The Phantom Menace (Duel Of The Fates), Born On The Fourth Of July, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Jaws, Jaws 2, Harry Potter, Schindler’s List, Hook, Jurassic Park, Superman (Krypton’s Theme), The Force Awakens (Jedi Steps & Finale)
Key Albums: Star Wars Soundtrack, Superman Soundtrack
Personal Music Awards: N/A
Seen Live: N/A
Photo Opp: N/A
Even as a little boy, I understood that music had the power to enhance the greatness of movies. Watching blockbuster movies like Star Wars, ET, Superman, and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, I noticed a recurring theme. The music over the beginning and end credits as well as key scenes in these movies were something special. And how ironic that all of this great music came from the mind of one man with a simple name, John Williams. He was my introduction to classical and symphonic melodies, and there has been or might never be another film composer like him. His music has transcended film and into everyday pop culture. When you go into the ocean and mess with your friends, you might hum the Jaws Theme? When you are having an amazing day or did something great for somebody, you might hum the Superman theme? And beyond the classic scores he collaborated on with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas in the 70’s and 80’s, he continued to shine composing more amazing scores up until the current day. At 93 years old, he is close to wrapping up an amazing career with the score for the next Star Wars film. John Williams is somebody that I consider a genius and many years from now when people study classical music, he will be regarded in the same breath as Beethoven and Bach.
Up until 1994, although I would hum the scores of John Williams, I had no clue to actually purchase soundtrack albums of the movies I loved. There were no John Williams compilation albums up to that point. As I continued to build my music collection, I eventually found an album only featuring the music John Williams composed for Spielberg movies from the 70’s and 80’s. But it was missing other classic film scores like Home Alone, Superman, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Star Wars. That would all change in 2000 when the definitive John Williams Greatest Hits album hit record shops. To this day, it remains one of the essential albums in my collection even if I have begun adding many of the full soundtracks he composed. And even after 2000, John Williams continued to work scoring more Spielberg films such as Munich and War Of The Worlds, the first few Harry Potter movies, and of course the Star Wars prequels and sequels.
It’s going to be a sad day when John Williams passes away, but we should continue to celebrate the greatness of his film score masterpieces. About a week ago, I took my kids to see The Incredibles 2. During the end credits as we hung around hoping for some bonus material, Michael Giacchino’s score played. My 6 year old son’s face lit up, and he screamed, DADDY! John Williams! To understand how my little boy’s mind worked to associate the film score with no words to John Williams made me so happy. Both of my kids know John Williams has composed the scores to many of their favorite movies including Star Wars, ET, Home Alone, and Harry Potter, and I bet not many other kids their age have a clue or would care like they do. They take after their old man. John Williams has created movie masterpieces that have played with my emotions, lifted me up when I was down, and provided a lot of great tunes on the soundtrack of my entire life.
-Mikey Hersh
