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.
I Can't Get Started
John Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've settled revolutions in Spain
And the North Pole I have charted
Still I can't get started with you
On the golf course, I'm under par
Metro Goldwyn have asked me to star
I've got a house, a showplace
'Cause you're so supreme
Lyrics I write of you, I dream
Dream day and night of you
And I scheme just for the sight of you
Baby, what good does it do?
I've been consulted by Franklin D
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
Still I'm broken-hearted
'Cause I can't get started with you
The lyrics to John Williams's song "I Can't Get Started" express the frustration and longing of someone who has achieved great fame and success in various aspects of their life, yet still feels incomplete because they cannot capture the attention and love of the person they desire. The singer presents a list of impressive accomplishments, such as flying around the world, settling revolutions, charting the North Pole, and being asked to star in movies. They emphasize their material possessions, like having a house and a showplace. Despite all of these achievements, the singer expresses their inability to make any progress in winning over the person they are infatuated with.
The lyrics suggest that the singer finds their love interest to be superior and supremely desirable. They daydream and fantasize about this person constantly, and they even scheme just for the chance to see them. However, all of their efforts seem to be in vain, leading to a broken heart.
The song highlights the paradox of success and fame, showing that external accomplishments do not necessarily satisfy the longing for love and connection with someone special. No matter what the singer achieves in their professional life, it pales in comparison to the feeling of not being able to win over the person they desire.
Line by Line Meaning
I've flown around the world in a plane
I have traveled extensively by air, exploring many countries and cultures
I've settled revolutions in Spain
I have successfully resolved and brought peace to conflicts occurring in Spain
And the North Pole I have charted
I have accurately mapped and explored the North Pole region
Still I can't get started with you
Despite my impressive achievements, I cannot initiate or establish a meaningful connection or relationship with you
On the golf course, I'm under par
I perform exceptionally well in golf, consistently scoring below the expected level of proficiency
Metro Goldwyn have asked me to star
The renowned film studio, Metro Goldwyn, has approached me to be the lead actor in their productions
I've got a house, a showplace
I possess an exquisite and impressive home, a property that is considered extraordinary
Still I can't get no place with you
However, despite my material possessions and achievements, I cannot find a position of significance or importance in your life
'Cause you're so supreme
You possess an unparalleled level of greatness and excellence
Lyrics I write of you, I dream
I consistently find myself creating and imagining poetic verses inspired by my thoughts of you
Dream day and night of you
You occupy my mind and thoughts continuously, both during my waking hours and in my dreams
And I scheme just for the sight of you
I plot and devise plans solely to have the privilege of seeing you in person
Baby, what good does it do?
However, I question the worth or value of these schemes and dreams if they do not lead to any progress or fulfillment
I've been consulted by Franklin D
Even the esteemed President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought my advice and guidance
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
The legendary actress Greta Garbo honored me by hosting a social gathering where we had tea together
Still I'm broken-hearted
Nevertheless, I remain deeply saddened and emotionally wounded
'Cause I can't get started with you
Because our relationship is unable to blossom or commence, causing me great distress and disappointment
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Gershwin, Vernon Duke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matthew Hebbert
February 2022: the world is chaos, but John Williams is still the man.
chsbob9
May 4th 2022, cannot agree enough
Shadow Inno
June 10 2022, still correct
biblegirl
Always and forever
ExplosiveYoda
June 29th 2022. Still holds up.
chsbob9
@ExplosiveYoda your response made me look at what we are talking about, and it still stands as you stated.
Ace
I literally can't listen to any of these songs without internally hearing these lyrics. It has been over 11 years!
John Kern
Neither can I 😄
Everytime I hear the star wars or Indiana Jones theme, I'm always singing these lyrics. People look at me like my brain just broke 😜
Astosce
Just finished watching Jurassic park... And I had to watch this video...this is sick!
Fanny Gallet
Same, especially the superman one 😂