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.
Matchmaker
John Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh Yente, Yente!
Well somebody has to arrange the matches; young people can't decide these things for themselves!
Oh, she might bring someone wonderful!
Someone interesting,
And well off,
And important!
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match
Matchmaker, matchmaker look through your book and make me a perfect match!
Matchmaker, matchmaker I'll bring the veil
You bring the groom, slender and pale
Bring me a ring for I'm longing to be the envy of all I see!
For papa, make him a scholar
For mama, make him rich as a king
For me, well, I wouldn't hollar if he were as handsome as anything!
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match
Find me a find, catch me a catch
Night after night in the dark I'm alone
So find me a match of my own!
Since when are you interested in a match Chava?
I thought you just had your eye on your books
And you have your eye on the rabbi's son?
Well why not?
We only have one rabbi, and he only has one son; why shouldn't I want the best?
Because you're a girl from a poor family!
So whatever Yente brings you'll take, right?
Of course right!
Hodel!
Oh Hodel, have I made a match for you!
He's handsome, he's young! (alright he's 62)
But he's a nice man, a good catch!
True? True!
I promise you'll be happy!
And even if you're not, there's more to life than that!
(Don't ask me what)
Chava! I've found him!
Won't you be a lucky bride?
He's handsome! He's tall!
(That is, from side-to-side)
But he's a nice man, a good catch!
Right? Right!
You've heard he has a temper,
He'll beat you every night!
But only when he's sober
So you're alright!
Did you think you'd get a prince?
Well I'll find the best I can!
With no dowry, no money, no famly background
Be glad you've got a match!
Matchmaker, matchmaker you know that I'm stil very young...
Please, take your time.
Up to this minute I misunderstood
That I could get stuck for good!
Yente, see that he's gentle
Remember, you were also a bride
It's not that I'm sentimental,
It's just that I'm terrified!
Matchmaker, matchmaker plan me no plans
I'm in no rush, maybe I've learned
Playing with matches a girl can get burned
So bring me no ring!
Groom me no groom!
Find me no find!
Catch me no catch!
Unless he's a matchless match!
"Matchmaker" is a song from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, composed by John Williams. It is performed by the character Tzeitel, a young Jewish woman living in early 20th century Russia, who is the eldest daughter of a poor dairyman. She sings with Yente, the village matchmaker, who is tasked with finding a suitable partner for Tzeitel. Through the song, Tzeitel expresses her desire for a match who is interesting, well-off, and important, and she hopes that Yente will bring someone wonderful. The song also features other characters, including Hodel and Chava, who are also seeking matches.
The lyrics of the song highlight the traditional role of the matchmaker in Jewish culture, where young people were not allowed to choose their own partners. Instead, the matchmaker would use her experience and connections to find suitable matches for eligible singles. The song also shows the societal pressure on young Jewish women to marry well, with Tzeitel wishing for a match who is handsome, rich, and respected.
The song is an ode to the importance of matchmaking in Jewish culture, and how it played a significant role in shaping the lives of young people. It also highlights the struggles and challenges faced by young women who were often forced to marry for financial stability and societal approval.
Line by Line Meaning
Tzeitel you're the oldest, Yente has to make a match for you before she can make one for me!
I cannot get a match until the matchmaker sets one up for Tzeitel first, because she is the oldest.
Oh Yente, Yente!
Addressing the matchmaker, Yente by name.
Well somebody has to arrange the matches; young people can't decide these things for themselves!
Matches must be arranged by the matchmaker since young people cannot decide them on their own.
Oh, she might bring someone wonderful!
The matchmaker might introduce someone amazing.
Someone interesting,
The person she introduces will be captivating.
And well off,
The person she introduces will be wealthy.
And important!
The person she introduces will be influential.
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match
Find me a find, catch me a catch
Matchmaker, matchmaker look through your book and make me a perfect match!
Asking the matchmaker to find the perfect match by looking through her book of potential suitors.
Matchmaker, matchmaker I'll bring the veil
You bring the groom, slender and pale
Bring me a ring for I'm longing to be the envy of all I see!
The matchmaker's job is to bring the groom, while the artist brings the veil and desires to be the envy of all.
For papa, make him a scholar
For mama, make him rich as a king
For me, well, I wouldn't hollar if he were as handsome as anything!
Asking the matchmaker to find a brilliant scholar for the father, a wealthy man for the mother, and a handsome man for the artist.
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match
Find me a find, catch me a catch
Night after night in the dark I'm alone
So find me a match of my own!
Repeatedly asking the matchmaker to find a suitable spouse since the singer is lonely at night.
Since when are you interested in a match Chava?
I thought you just had your eye on your books
And you have your eye on the rabbi's son?
Well why not?
We only have one rabbi, and he only has one son; why shouldn't I want the best?
Because you're a girl from a poor family!
So whatever Yente brings you'll take, right?
Of course right!
The artist questions Chava's interest in a match and reminds her of her family's financial situation. However, Chava argues that since there is only one rabbi's son available, she may strive for the best. They conclude that Chava will take whatever match Yente arranges for her.
Hodel!
Oh Hodel, have I made a match for you!
He's handsome, he's young! (alright he's 62)
But he's a nice man, a good catch!
True? True!
I promise you'll be happy!
And even if you're not, there's more to life than that!
(Don't ask me what)
Announcing that the matchmaker has found a match for Hodel. Although he is older, he is a good catch and the matchmaker promises Hodel's happiness.
Chava! I've found him!
Won't you be a lucky bride?
He's handsome! He's tall!
(That is, from side-to-side)
But he's a nice man, a good catch!
Right? Right!
You've heard he has a temper,
He'll beat you every night!
But only when he's sober
So you're alright!
Did you think you'd get a prince?
Well I'll find the best I can!
With no dowry, no money, no famly background
Be glad you've got a match!
The matchmaker announces that she has found a match for Chava. Although he is not a prince, he is a tall and handsome man. However, rumors abound that he has a temper and beats women, but only when he's drunk. The matchmaker reminds Chava to be grateful for the match despite her lack of a dowry, money, or family background.
Matchmaker, matchmaker you know that I'm stil very young...
Please, take your time.
Up to this minute I misunderstood
That I could get stuck for good!
Asking the matchmaker to take her time finding the perfect match since she is still very young and does not want to by stuck into a bad match for the rest of her life.
Yente, see that he's gentle
Remember, you were also a bride
It's not that I'm sentimental,
It's just that I'm terrified!
Asking the matchmaker to confirm that the potential groom is gentle, reminding her of her own marriage, and admitting that she is terrified, not sentimental.
Matchmaker, matchmaker plan me no plans
I'm in no rush, maybe I've learned
Playing with matches a girl can get burned
So bring me no ring!
Groom me no groom!
Find me no find!
Catch me no catch!
Unless he's a matchless match!
Asking the matchmaker to not plan any matches for her, explaining she is in no rush and implying that toying with matches can be dangerous. She asks the matchmaker to not bring her any rings, grooms, finds, or matches unless they are perfect for her.
Writer(s): SCOTT WILLIAMS
Contributed by Alex L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.