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.
In A Little Spanish Town
John Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thrilling me again
Like that night in spain
Someone is sharing my memories
Wonder does she grieve
Every lovely evening
In a little Spanish town
′Twas on a night like this
'Twas on a night like this
I whispered "Be true to me"
And she sighed: "Si, Si"
Many skies have turned to gray
Because we′re far apart
Many moons had passed away
And still she's in my heart
We made a promise and sealed it with a kiss
In a little Spanish town
'Twas on a night like this
Somehow I keep on remembering
Tears that said goodbye
Shining in her eye
Wonder does she keep remembering
Promises of mine
When the moon is shining
In a little Spanish town
′Twas on a night like this
Stars were peek-a-booing down
′Twas on a night like this
I whispered "Be true to me"
And she sighed: "Si, Si"
Many skies have turned to gray
Because we're far apart
Many moons had passed away
And still she′s in my heart
We made a promise and sealed it with a kiss
In a little Spanish town
The lyrics of John Williams's song "In A Little Spanish Town" tell the story of a nostalgic narrator who is reminiscing about a past love affair that took place in a small Spanish town. The evenings are filled with memories that thrill the singer once again, as they recall a specific night in Spain with someone who shared those memories. The singer wonders if the other person also grieves and remembers those lovely evenings.
The song describes a romantic encounter in a little Spanish town, where the stars were shining down on a magical night. The singer whispered a request for the other person to be true to them, to which they responded with a sigh of agreement in Spanish ("Si, Si"). Despite being physically separated, many skies have turned gray and many moons have passed, but the memory of the other person remains in the singer's heart.
The lyrics also mention a promise that was made and sealed with a kiss during their time together in the Spanish town. The singer continues to remember the tears that said goodbye, shining in the other person's eyes. They wonder if the other person also keeps remembering the promises that were made, especially when the moon is shining in the little Spanish town.
Overall, the lyrics of "In A Little Spanish Town" evoke a sense of longing, nostalgia, and the enduring power of love and memories.
Line by Line Meaning
Evenings are crowded with memories
The evenings are filled with nostalgia and recollections.
Thrilling me again
Reviving the excitement and joy within me.
Like that night in spain
Similar to the unforgettable night we spent in Spain.
Someone is sharing my memories
I wonder if someone else is also cherishing those same memories.
Wonder does she grieve
I ponder if she also feels sorrow.
Every lovely evening
During every beautiful evening.
′Twas on a night like this
It happened on a night similar to this.
Stars were peek-a-booing down
The stars were playfully peering from above.
I whispered 'Be true to me'
I softly spoke, asking for fidelity.
And she sighed: 'Si, Si'
And she replied with a gentle sigh, saying 'Yes, Yes.'
Many skies have turned to gray
Numerous skies have lost their brightness and become gloomy.
Because we're far apart
Due to the distance that separates us.
Many moons had passed away
A significant amount of time has elapsed.
And still she's in my heart
Yet, she remains deeply cherished within my heart.
We made a promise and sealed it with a kiss
We made a vow and affirmed it with an affectionate kiss.
Somehow I keep on remembering
In some way, I cannot stop recalling.
Tears that said goodbye
The tears that expressed farewell.
Shining in her eye
Glistening in her gaze.
Wonder does she keep remembering
I wonder if she also holds onto the memories.
Promises of mine
The promises I made.
When the moon is shining
During nights when the moon illuminates.
Writer(s): Mabel Wayne, Sam M. Lewis, Sam Lewis, Joe Young
Contributed by Austin G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@timcarr6401
This was superb. It was much better than Bing's version from 1956.