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John Williams’s music is simply brilliant

The 2012 Olympic games are coming to a close tonight.

As I watch the closing ceremony from my home this evening, I hear the famous Olympic theme music composed by the great John Williams.

The horns in the Olympic theme still gives me goosebumps even today, after all these years.

It got me thinking about all the incredible music that John Williams has composed over the years.

If you have ever seen any of the top grossing movies of all time you have heard John Williams music:

Movies such as Jaws, Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Superman, and of course Star Wars.

Being a kid of the 70′s and 80′s, I grew up hearing John Williams’s famous theme songs in all the movies I grew up watching.   All the movies I love to this day.

The brilliance of John Williams is in the emotion he invokes in the music he creates.

When can you ever say that a few notes would impact something as simple as swimming in the ocean.   “Duh dun, duh dun.”    John Williams gave the shark in Jaws life.   It was present, through his music, even before it ever reached the screen.   That is powerful.   That is brilliance.  That is scary.

Hear Steven Spielberg in his own words talk about the theme to Jaws:

“When he finally played the music for me on the piano, he previewed the main Jaws theme. I expected to hear something kind of weird and melodic, kind of tonal but eerie and of another world, almost a bit like outer space inside inner space, you know, under the water. And what he played for me instead with two fingers on the lower keys was ‘Duh dun, duh dun, duh dun,’ and at first I began to laugh. I thought he was putting me on. And he said, ‘No, that’s the theme to Jaws!’ And I said, ‘Play it again.’ And he played it again, and it suddenly seemed right. And John found the signature for the entire movie.”

I remember the feeling I had as a kid when Indiana Jones fought the forces of evil all while John Williams horns were triumphantly blasting in the theater.

Or when ET and Elliott flew in front of the moon on Elliott’s bike and John Williams took us there.

Without his score, Christopher Reeve would have just been a guy in red and blue tights and Luke Skywalker would have just been a troubled teen with daddy issues.

There are so many memories from childhood that were imprinted in my mind by the man’s music. It is hard to imagine those movies without the power of his music.

The brilliant career of John Williams has spanned over six decades

John Williams has won 5 Academy Awards,  4 Golden Globe awards and 21 Grammy awards.   He has been nominated for 45 Academy Awards – second only to Walt Disney.

The legacy of his music has already stood the test of time and transcended the generations.

He scored the first three Harry Potter movies which brought his genius to  a whole new generation of young movie goers.

Hear the brilliance of John Williams for yourself:

And of course the theme to Jaws (CAUTION: may keep you out of the water):

I will always associate John Williams’s music with adventure, being transported into another world – and for his brilliance.

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