John Williams - Star Wars

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning seven decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including those for Jaws, the Star Wars saga, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Home Alone, and three Harry Potter films. He has composed the music for all but two of director Steven Spielberg's feature films.

Other notable works by Williams include theme music for four Olympic Games, the NBC Nightly News, the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, the DreamWorks Pictures production logo, and the television series Lost in Space. Williams has also composed numerous classical concerti, and he served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993; he is now the orchestra's conductor laureate.

Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards.With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is, together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated person, after Walt Disney. John Williams was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 1999 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.

As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.41 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing film series, behind only the James Bond and Harry Potter films.

John Williams' score for Star Wars (the film was re-titled upon its initial re-release, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) was recorded over eight sessions at Anvil Studios in Denham, England on March 5, 8–12, 15 and 16, 1977. The score was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with Williams himself conducting.

The film premiered on May 25, 1977 and by late summer a disco version of the Star Wars Theme by Meco became America's number one song. Williams received three Grammys in February 1978 and his third Academy Award (second for Best Original Score) in April.

In 2005, the American Film Institute honored and recognized the original Star Wars soundtrack as the most memorable film score of all time.

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