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.
Star Of Bethlehem
John Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bathing the world in heav'nly light,
Let the glow of your distant glory
Fill us with hope this Christmas night.
Star of innocence, star of goodness
Gazing out since time began,
You who've lived through endless ages
Star of beauty hear our plea,
Whisper your wisdom tenderly.
Star of Bethlehem set us free
Make us a world we long to see.
Star of Bethlehem, star up high,
Miracle of the midnight sky,
Let your luminous life of heaven
Better our hearts and make us fly.
Star of happiness, star of wonder
You see everything from afar,
Cast your eye upon the future
Make us wiser than we are.
Star of gentleness, hear our plea,
Whisper your wisdom tenderly.
Star of Bethlehem set us free
Make us a world we long to see.
The song "Star of Bethlehem" by John Williams speaks of the star that shone brightly over the manger where Jesus was born on Christmas night. The star is being referred to as a symbol of hope, innocence, and beauty, which has been gazing from the sky since time immemorial, observing the endless ages, and viewing mankind with love. The star is believed to be a representation of God’s love and guidance. The song requests the Star of Bethlehem to fill the world with heavenly light, to make us wiser and to set us free from all negativities.
The lyrics continue to address the star as a miracle of the midnight sky that fills our hearts with happiness and wonder. The song requests the Star of Bethlehem to cast its eye upon the future and make us wiser than we are, to make the world better, and to set us free to see the world we long to see. The song speaks of the star as a symbol of gentleness, whispering its wisdom tenderly to people.
The song is an amazing piece of music that speaks of the symbol of hope and salvation. The song portrays a vision of a better world filled with peace and hope, where humanity is set free from all the negative influences surrounding us. The song reminds us to keep hope alive and continue to believe that a better world is possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Star of Bethlehem shining bright
The bright star, known as the Star of Bethlehem, is shining in the sky.
Bathing the world in heav'nly light,
The bright light of the Star of Bethlehem is illuminating the entire world, with an otherworldly glow.
Let the glow of your distant glory
The celestial and distant glory of the Star of Bethlehem is being invoked for its radiance and warmth, which symbolically represents the hope and grace of Christmas.
Fill us with hope this Christmas night.
May the brilliance of the Star of Bethlehem fill human beings with a sense of hope, as we celebrate the night of Christ's birth.
Star of innocence, star of goodness
The Star of Bethlehem represents innocence and goodness.
Gazing out since time began,
The Star of Bethlehem has watched over the world, since the beginning of time.
You who've lived through endless ages
The Star of Bethlehem, being a celestial object, has existed for countless ages.
View with love the age of man.
The Star of Bethlehem, with a benevolent gaze, watches over the human race with love and kindness.
Star of beauty hear our plea,
People are making a plea to the Star of Bethlehem, as a representation of beauty.
Whisper your wisdom tenderly.
May the Star of Bethlehem impart its wisdom with a soft spoken voice or gentle radiance, inspiring people towards goodness and kindness.
Star of Bethlehem set us free
The Star of Bethlehem, being a symbol of liberation, may free people from their shackles of greed, hate, and selfishness.
Make us a world we long to see.
May the Star of Bethlehem help in making the world more beautiful, peaceful, and filled with hope, love, and kindness.
Star of Bethlehem, star up high,
The bright and beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shining far up in the sky, represents infinity and eternity.
Miracle of the midnight sky,
The Star of Bethlehem that appears on Christmas night is perceived as a miraculous phenomenon.
Let your luminous life of heaven
The Star of Bethlehem is a radiant beacon in the heavens, a beautiful symbol of hope and grace.
Better our hearts and make us fly.
May the presence of the Star of Bethlehem elevate people's hearts, so they may soar to new heights of enlightenment, love, and wisdom.
Star of happiness, star of wonder
The Star of Bethlehem is a symbol of happiness and wonder, bringing joy and amazement to those who are lucky enough to see it.
You see everything from afar,
The Star of Bethlehem has a panoramic view of everything on Earth from its position in the sky.
Cast your eye upon the future
May the omniscient Star of Bethlehem, being a view from the future, guide people with its wisdom and foresight.
Make us wiser than we are.
May the Star of Bethlehem bestow upon humanity the gift of wisdom, making them more intelligent, insightful, and compassionate.
Star of gentleness, hear our plea,
The gentle and kindhearted Star of Bethlehem is being invoked for help, as people share their deepest desires and wishes with it.
Whisper your wisdom tenderly.
May the Star of Bethlehem communicate its wisdom and message with a soft voice or gentle radiance, inspiring people towards a more gracious and loving future.
Star of Bethlehem set us free
May the Star of Bethlehem remove the shackles of ignorance, fear, and hate, setting humanity free to become more enlightened and compassionate beings.
Make us a world we long to see.
May the Star of Bethlehem help us create a more beautiful, peaceful, and loving world that we all yearn for.
Contributed by Andrew P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.