There are at least five artists with this name;
1) John Towner Willi… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least five artists with this name;
1) John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. With a career spanning over six decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history, including those of the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. He has a very distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. The classical music critic Marcus Paus argues that Williams' "satisfying way of embodying complex dissonances and avant-garde techniques within a larger tonal framework" makes him "one of the great composers of any century".
Williams has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but three of his feature films. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island. Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993, and is currently the orchestra's laureate conductor.
Williams has won 24 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars was additionally preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams composed the score for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).
John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932 in Floral Park, New York, to Esther (née Towner) and Johnny Williams, a jazz percussionist who played with the Raymond Scott Quintet. Williams has said of his lineage, "My father was a Maine man—we were very close. My mother was from Boston. My father's parents ran a department store in Bangor, Maine, and my mother's father was a cabinetmaker. [...] People with those roots are not inclined to be lazy."
Williams married Barbara Ruick, an American actress and singer, in 1956. Together they had three children: Jennifer (b. 1956), Mark Towner Williams (b. 1958), and Joseph (b. 1960), who is the lead singer of Toto. The two remained married until her death in 1974. In 1980, Williams married Samantha Winslow, a photographer.
2) John Christopher Williams is a classical guitar player.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 24 April 1941, to an English father (Len Williams) and an Australian-Chinese mother, Williams was taught initially by his father. At the age of twelve he went to Italy to study under "The Maestro," Andrés Segovia. Later, he attended the Royal College of Music in London, studying piano because the school did not have a guitar department at the time. Upon graduation, he was offered the opportunity to create such a department. He seized the opportunity and ran it for the first two years. Williams has maintained links with the College (and with the Northern College in Manchester) ever since.
Williams is best known as a classical guitarist, but has explored many different musical traditions. He has collaborated with Julian Bream and Paco Peña and was a member of the fusion group Sky. He is also a composer and arranger.
Williams has commissioned guitar concertos from composers such as Stephen Dodgson, André Previn, Patrick Gowers, Richard Harvey, and Steve Gray. He has also worked with composers from his native Australia, including Phillip Houghton, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards (composer), and Nigel Westlake, to produce guitar works that capture the spirit of his homeland.
He enjoyed a worldwide hit single with his recording of Cavatina by Stanley Myers, used as the theme tune to the Oscar-winning film The Deer Hunter (1979). The piece had originally been written for piano, for another film ten years earlier, The Walking Stick (1970) but re-written for guitar and expanded by Myers at Williams' invitation. In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded the song "He Was Beautiful" accompanied by John Williams. A year later, it was a top-five UK hit single for Iris Williams (no relation).
At the invitation of producer Martin Lewis he created a highly acclaimed classical-rock fusion duet with celebrated rock guitarist Pete Townshend of Townshend's anthemic "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the 1979 Amnesty International benefit show The Secret Policeman's Ball. The duet was featured on the resulting album and the film version of the show – bringing Williams to the broader attention of the rock audience.
The relationship with Lewis led to Williams' classical-rock fusion band Sky being invited to give the first-ever rock concert to be held at Westminster Abbey – a benefit concert for Amnesty that Lewis produced in February 1981.
He is visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London.
Williams and his artist wife Kathy Panama reside in London and Australia.
3) John Williams
John Williams is internationally regarded as one of the foremost players of Irish music today. With five All-Ireland titles to his credit, John is the only American-born competitor ever to win first place in the "senior concertina" category. His additional talents on flute, button accordion, bodhran, and piano distinguish him as a much sought after multi-instrumentalist in the acoustic scene around the world.
Born and raised on the Southwest Side of Chicago, John spent his summers during college on the Southwest coast of Ireland in his father’s village of Doolin, Co. Clare. Like Chicago, Doolin became a major musical crossroads for John and countless other local and international musicians to meet and exchange music. Gigging every night in the pubs of Doolin and Lisdoonvarna soon led to performances in Galway, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Paris, Britanny, Zurich, and New York City (bio http://www.johnwilliamsmusic.com/bio.htm).
3) John Williams
A blues/jazz guitarist in Seattle, Washington, whose music is available at Magnatune.com (bio http://magnatune.com/artists/john_williams).
3) John Knowles Williams
An experimental/indie musician. Music is available at sweetnuthin.letsneverdie.net/Music/My_Recordings/ or www.myspace.com/JohnKWilliams.
1) John Towner Willi… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least five artists with this name;
1) John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. With a career spanning over six decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history, including those of the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. He has a very distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. The classical music critic Marcus Paus argues that Williams' "satisfying way of embodying complex dissonances and avant-garde techniques within a larger tonal framework" makes him "one of the great composers of any century".
Williams has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but three of his feature films. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island. Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993, and is currently the orchestra's laureate conductor.
Williams has won 24 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars was additionally preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams composed the score for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).
John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932 in Floral Park, New York, to Esther (née Towner) and Johnny Williams, a jazz percussionist who played with the Raymond Scott Quintet. Williams has said of his lineage, "My father was a Maine man—we were very close. My mother was from Boston. My father's parents ran a department store in Bangor, Maine, and my mother's father was a cabinetmaker. [...] People with those roots are not inclined to be lazy."
Williams married Barbara Ruick, an American actress and singer, in 1956. Together they had three children: Jennifer (b. 1956), Mark Towner Williams (b. 1958), and Joseph (b. 1960), who is the lead singer of Toto. The two remained married until her death in 1974. In 1980, Williams married Samantha Winslow, a photographer.
2) John Christopher Williams is a classical guitar player.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 24 April 1941, to an English father (Len Williams) and an Australian-Chinese mother, Williams was taught initially by his father. At the age of twelve he went to Italy to study under "The Maestro," Andrés Segovia. Later, he attended the Royal College of Music in London, studying piano because the school did not have a guitar department at the time. Upon graduation, he was offered the opportunity to create such a department. He seized the opportunity and ran it for the first two years. Williams has maintained links with the College (and with the Northern College in Manchester) ever since.
Williams is best known as a classical guitarist, but has explored many different musical traditions. He has collaborated with Julian Bream and Paco Peña and was a member of the fusion group Sky. He is also a composer and arranger.
Williams has commissioned guitar concertos from composers such as Stephen Dodgson, André Previn, Patrick Gowers, Richard Harvey, and Steve Gray. He has also worked with composers from his native Australia, including Phillip Houghton, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards (composer), and Nigel Westlake, to produce guitar works that capture the spirit of his homeland.
He enjoyed a worldwide hit single with his recording of Cavatina by Stanley Myers, used as the theme tune to the Oscar-winning film The Deer Hunter (1979). The piece had originally been written for piano, for another film ten years earlier, The Walking Stick (1970) but re-written for guitar and expanded by Myers at Williams' invitation. In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded the song "He Was Beautiful" accompanied by John Williams. A year later, it was a top-five UK hit single for Iris Williams (no relation).
At the invitation of producer Martin Lewis he created a highly acclaimed classical-rock fusion duet with celebrated rock guitarist Pete Townshend of Townshend's anthemic "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the 1979 Amnesty International benefit show The Secret Policeman's Ball. The duet was featured on the resulting album and the film version of the show – bringing Williams to the broader attention of the rock audience.
The relationship with Lewis led to Williams' classical-rock fusion band Sky being invited to give the first-ever rock concert to be held at Westminster Abbey – a benefit concert for Amnesty that Lewis produced in February 1981.
He is visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London.
Williams and his artist wife Kathy Panama reside in London and Australia.
3) John Williams
John Williams is internationally regarded as one of the foremost players of Irish music today. With five All-Ireland titles to his credit, John is the only American-born competitor ever to win first place in the "senior concertina" category. His additional talents on flute, button accordion, bodhran, and piano distinguish him as a much sought after multi-instrumentalist in the acoustic scene around the world.
Born and raised on the Southwest Side of Chicago, John spent his summers during college on the Southwest coast of Ireland in his father’s village of Doolin, Co. Clare. Like Chicago, Doolin became a major musical crossroads for John and countless other local and international musicians to meet and exchange music. Gigging every night in the pubs of Doolin and Lisdoonvarna soon led to performances in Galway, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Paris, Britanny, Zurich, and New York City (bio http://www.johnwilliamsmusic.com/bio.htm).
3) John Williams
A blues/jazz guitarist in Seattle, Washington, whose music is available at Magnatune.com (bio http://magnatune.com/artists/john_williams).
3) John Knowles Williams
An experimental/indie musician. Music is available at sweetnuthin.letsneverdie.net/Music/My_Recordings/ or www.myspace.com/JohnKWilliams.
Emperor's Throne Room
John Williams Lyrics
Instrumental
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
燎Ryo
Ah, the prodigal Jedi! Have you come seeking vengeance? Tsk, ooh, that’s not very Jedi-like.
Where’s your master, apprentice?
Desann sends his regards, but is far too busy at the Valley of the Jedi to personally dispose of his pawns.
What!?
You still don’t know, do you? Desann followed you to the Valley of the Jedi. Even now, hundreds of Desann’s loyal followers are drinking deeply from the Valley’s power, becoming reborn in the glory of the Force. And we owe it all to you!
Then, you killed Jan...!
That’s right! We killed your woman to make you angry. Angry enough to cast aside your promises and rashly seek out the power of the Valley. Think of it! Her death and your failure will be celebrated for eons to come as the events that brought about the era of Desann. Congratulations.
Stop... talking!
John White
DEATH STAR - EMPEROR'S THRONE ROOM
The elevator opens. Vader and Luke enter the room alone. They walk across the dark space to stand before the throne, father and son side by side beneath the gaze of the Emperor. Vader bows to his Master.
*Emperor*: Welcome, young Skywalker, I have been expecting you.
Luke peers at the hooded figure defiantly. The Emperor then looks down at Luke's binders.
*Emperor*: You no longer need those.
The Emperor motions ever so slightly with his finger and Luke's binders
fall away, clattering to the floor. Luke looks down at his own hands,
free now to reach out and grab the Emperor's neck. He does nothing.
*Emperor*: Guards, leave us.
The red-cloaked guards turn and disappear behind the elevator.
*Emperor*: I am looking forward to completing your training. In time, you will call me "Master".
*Luke*: You're gravely mistaken. You won't convert me as you did my father.
The Emperor gets down from his throne and walks up very close to Luke. The Emperor looks into his eyes and, for the first time, Luke can perceive the evil visage within the hood.
*Emperor*: Oh no, my young Jedi. You will find that it is you who are mistaken, about a great many things.
*Vader*: [hands Luke's lightsaber to Palpatine] His lightsaber.
*Emperor*: Ah, yes, a Jedi's weapon, much like your father's. By now you must know your father can never be turned from the dark side. So will it be with you.
*Luke*: You're wrong. Soon I'll be dead, and you with me.
*Emperor*: [laughing] Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your Rebel fleet?
Luke looks up sharply.
*Emperor*: Yes, I assure you, we are quite safe from your friends here.
Vader looks at Luke.
*Luke*: Your overconfidence is your weakness.
*Emperor*: [looks back at Luke] Your faith in your friends is yours.
*Vader*: It is pointless to resist, my son.
*Emperor*: Everything that has transpired has done so, according to my design. [Indicates Endor] Your friends, out there on the Sanctuary Moon...
Luke reacts. The Emperor notes it.
*Emperor*: ...are walking into a trap, as is your Rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them. [mockingly] Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.
Through the round window behind the Emperor's throne can be seen the distant flashes of the space battle in progress.
*Emperor*: Come, boy. See for yourself.
The Emperor is sitting in his throne, with Vader standing at his side. Luke moves to look through a small section of the window.
*Emperor*: From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance, and the end of your insignificant Rebellion.
Luke is growing visibly angry. He glances at his lightsaber sitting on the armrest of the throne. The Emperor watches him and smiles, touches the lightsaber.
*Emperor*: You want this, don't you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it! Give in to your anger! With each passing moment, you make yourself more my servant!
*Luke*: [turning away, attempting to calm himself down and turning back to answer to the Emperor] No!
*Emperor*: It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine!
Out of the window and on the view screens, the Rebel fleet is being decimated in blinding explosions of light and debris. But in here there is no sound of battle. The Emperor turns to Luke.
*Emperor*: Your fleet has lost. And your friends on the Endor moon will not survive. There is no escape, my young apprentice. The Alliance will die...as will your friends.
Luke's eyes are full of rage. Vader watches him.
*Emperor*: Good... I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete.
Luke can resist no longer. The lightsaber flies into his hand. He ignites it in an instant and swings at the Emperor. Vader's lightsaber flashes into view, blocking Luke's blow before it can reach the Emperor. The two blades spark at contact. The Emperor laughs. Luke turns to fight his father.
Luke and Vader are engaged in a man-to-man duel of lightsabers even more vicious then the battle on Bespin. But the young Jedi has grown stronger in the interim, and now the advantage shifts to him. Vader is forced back, losing his balance, and is knocked down the stairs. Luke stands at the top of the stairs, ready to attack.
*Emperor*: Good. Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you.
Luke looks momentarily toward the Emperor, then back to Vader, and realises he is using the dark side. He steps back, turns off his lightsaber, and relaxes, driving the hate from his being.
*Vader*: Obi-Wan has taught you well.
*Luke*: I will not fight you, father.
Vader walks back up the stairs to Luke.
*Vader*: You are unwise to lower your defenses.
Vader attacks, forcing Luke on the defensive. The young Jedi leaps in an amazing reverse flip up to the safety of the catwalk overhead. Vader stands below him.
*Luke*: Your thoughts betray you, father. I feel the good in you...the conflict.
*Vader*: There is no conflict.
*Luke*: You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now.
*Vader*: You underestimate the power of the dark side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.
Vader throws the laser sword and it cuts through the supports holding the catwalk, then returns to Vader's hand. Luke tumbles to the ground in a shower of sparks and rolls out of sight under the Emperor's platform. Vader moves to find him.
*Emperor*: Good! Good!
Vader stalks the low-ceilinged area on the level below the throne, searching for Luke in the semi-darkness, his lightsaber held ready.
*Vader*: You cannot hide forever, Luke.
*Luke*: I will not fight you.
*Vader*: Give yourself to the dark side. It is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for...
Vader stops and senses something. Luke shuts his eyes tightly, in anguish.
*Vader*: Sister! So...you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will.
*Luke*: Never-r-r!
Luke ignites his lightsaber and screams in anger, rushing at his father with a frenzy we have not seen before. Sparks fly as Luke and Vader fight in the cramped area. Amazing music plays in the background. Luke's hatred forces Vader to retreat out
of the low area and across a bridge overlooking a vast elevator shaft. Each stroke of Luke's sword drives his father further toward defeat.
The Dark Lord is knocked to his knees, and as he raises his sword to block another onslaught, Luke slashes Vader's right hand off at the wrist, causing metal and electronic parts to fly from the mechanical stump. Vader's sword clatters uselessly away, over the edge of the platform and into the bottomless shaft below. Luke moves over Vader and holds the blade of his sword to the Dark Lord's throat. The Emperor watches with uncontrollable, pleased agitation.
*Emperor*: Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!
Luke looks at his father's mechanical hand, then to his own mechanical, black-gloved hand, and realises how much he is becoming like his father. He makes the decision for which he has spent a lifetime in preparation. Luke steps back and hurls his lightsaber away.
*Luke*: Never. I'll never turn to the dark side. You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.
The Emperor's glee turns to rage.
*Emperor*: So be it...Jedi.
Luke stands still, as the Emperor reaches the bottom of the stairs. He raises his arms toward Luke.
*Emperor*: If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed.
Blinding bolts of energy, evil lightning, shoot from the Emperor's hands at Luke. After a moment the bolts of energy are coming with such speed and power the young Jedi shrinks before them, his knees buckling. The wounded Vader struggles to his feet, and moves to stand at his master's side.
*Emperor*: Young fool...only now, at the end, do you understand.
Luke is under torment beneath the continuing assault of the Emperor's lightning. He clutches a canister to keep from falling into the bottomless shaft as the bolts tear through him.
*Emperor*: Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side. You have paid the price for your lack of vision.
Luke writhes on the floor in unbearable pain, reaching weakly up toward where Vader stands watching.
*Luke*: [groans] Father, please! Help me!
Again Vader stands, watching Luke. He looks at his master, the Emperor, then back to Luke on the floor.
*Emperor*: Now, young Skywalker...you will die.
Although it would not have seemed possible, the outpouring of bolts from the Emperor's fingers actually increases in intensity, the sound screaming through the room. Luke's body writhes in pain.
The Emperor grins for a moment before his expression turns angry once more. He fires more lightning in a continuous stream into Luke, who is in even more pain than before. Darth Vader looks between the two once more, then suddenly lunges forward
and picks up the Emperor, directing the lightning into the Emperor and himself. Vader throws the Emperor bodily into the nearby shaft, and the Emperor is destroyed in a spectacular burst of energy.
Dylan Tribe
Vader’s theme, the Imperial March, is the theme of a majestic evil. ready to demonstrate its power to those who dare oppose it.
This is completely different. This is the theme of pure evil. A pure evil that has been manipulating everything, and is now ready to make its final strike, with the intent to snuff out all light for good.
David Powell
@John Veitch Something inside everyone, that most of us don't want to admit. What we are when we lose our grip on ourselves.
John Veitch
There's another, maybe even more sinister musical theme that plays in one of the Emperor's throne room scenes, as Luke is backing Vader up to the edge of the pit. Perhaps that could be called the Evil Luke theme.
Bootlebat
You put it better than I ever could.
Buzz*Duh
You nailed it perfectly!
Nick the Pick
It also invokes a sense of dread. Someone said it invokes tension, but I just have to flat out say this makes me feel dread. I don't even consider Palpatine a mortal man once you delve into the expanded universe... If you read Dark Empire you know what I'm talking about.
Quinn Alexander
Before the prequels I always just imagined the Emperor was just this thing that appeared one day out of nowhere, for no reason, and changed everything all at once. Some eldritch manifestation of the dark side with no background, from some unknowable place far beyond the stars. Whenever I hear those discordant strings playing during his leitmotiff, I think of those old ideas, and the same combined wonder and terror for that place beyond the stars where evil came from.
SplitjawJanitor
Who's to say the prequels debunks this concept? The politician persona is all an act and he's still not given a concrete origin. The evil that plays the long game is no less evil for it.
Dima Matat
This is what his clone from Rise of Skywalker and Dark Empire is. No backstory, no personality, nothing outside the Sith ideals taken to the highest extreme.
Stussmeister
Indeed. Palpatine/Sidious was a mystery even to his own family, and immersed himself so deeply in the Dark Side that some referred to him simply as "The Shadow." Even when his own master, Darth Plagueis, reached out with the Force to get an idea of Palpatine's power, he could find nothing. One could argue, then, that in much the same way Palpatine manipulated events to rise to power, the Sith and Dark Side manipulated the Force to create a being of pure, limitless evil.