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.
To Love
John Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or are we growing apart?
Am I just crazy
Or are we making things hard?
Don't wanna give up
Don't wanna dance in the dark
It just feels like
Feels like we can't even talk no more
Tell me what happened
What the hell happened?
Looking at me like a stranger
Tell me what happened
What the hell happened?
I never thought we'd be changing
Are we holding on to something
That has turned to nothing
It used to be love
Are we on the right track?
'Cause all we do is look back
On everything that we had
It used to be love
Summer nights were endless
Breathing smoke in Venice
Too good to pretend
It used to be love
It used to be love
When did we lose it?
When did the feeling go south?
Told me your secrets
You said that you'd never been more in love
Tell me what happened
What the hell happened?
Looking at me like a stranger
Tell me what happened
What the hell happened?
I never thought we'd be changing
Are we holding on to something
That has turned to nothing
It used to be love
Are we on the right track?
'Cause all we do is look back
On everything that we had
It used to be love
Summer nights were endless
Breathing smoke in Venice
Too good to pretend
It used to be love
It used to be love
We had it all
Swear we had it all
Are we on the right track?
'Cause all we do is look back
On everything that we had
It used to be love
Summer nights were endless
Breathing smoke in Venice
Too good to pretend
It used to be love
It used to be love
In these lyrics, John Williams expresses the confusion and uncertainty that comes with a failing relationship. The song is filled with questions, doubts, and a longing for the love that once existed.
The first verse begins with a reflection on the current state of the relationship. Williams wonders if they are changing or simply growing apart, questioning whether his perception is accurate or if he is just imagining things. He doesn't want to give up, but the situation feels difficult and challenging. The line "feels like we can't even talk no more" suggests a breakdown in communication between the two individuals, adding to the sense of disconnect.
Moving into the chorus, Williams expresses the longing for what once was. He wonders if they are holding on to something that has now become nothing, emphasizing that it used to be love. They are constantly looking back at the past, reminiscing on the beautiful memories they once shared. The mention of "summer nights" and "breathing smoke in Venice" brings a sense of nostalgia and paints a picture of a time filled with joy and happiness. However, it also highlights the stark contrast to their current reality.
In the second verse, Williams questions when and how they lost the love they once had. The partner had shared their deepest secrets, claiming to never have been more in love before, but now they seem like a stranger. Again, the artist seeks answers and tries to make sense of the changes in their relationship.
The chorus is repeated, emphasizing the confusion and the desire to understand what went wrong. Williams acknowledges that they had it all before, but now they are left wondering if they are still on the right track. The constant looking back at their past love suggests that they are struggling to move forward and adjust to the new dynamics.
Overall, this song conveys the emotions of doubt, confusion, and deep longing for the love that once existed. It reflects the common struggle of relationships changing over time and the difficulty in accepting and adapting to those changes.
Line by Line Meaning
So are we changing
Are we evolving and growing as individuals?
Or are we growing apart?
Or are we becoming more distant from each other?
Am I just crazy
Am I acting irrationally or overthinking?
Or are we making things hard?
Or are we contributing to the difficulties in our relationship?
Don't wanna give up
I don't want to surrender or quit.
Don't wanna dance in the dark
I don't want to navigate blindly through our relationship problems.
It just feels like
It simply appears or seems as though
Feels like we can't even talk no more
It seems like we are no longer able to communicate effectively.
Tell me what happened
Please share with me what went wrong or changed.
What the hell happened?
What on earth went wrong?
Looking at me like a stranger
Observing me as if you don't recognize or know me anymore.
I never thought we'd be changing
I never anticipated that we would go through such a transformation.
Are we holding on to something
Are we clinging on to a relationship that may no longer have value?
That has turned to nothing
That has become empty or insignificant.
It used to be love
It once was filled with affection and emotional connection.
Are we on the right track?
Are we moving in the correct direction or making the right choices?
'Cause all we do is look back
Because all we do is reflect on the past.
On everything that we had
On all the experiences and memories we shared.
Summer nights were endless
The nights during summertime seemed to stretch on forever.
Breathing smoke in Venice
Inhaling the thin particulate matter in the air in Venice.
Too good to pretend
Too wonderful to pretend that everything is alright.
It used to be love
It previously was filled with affection and emotional connection.
We had it all
We possessed everything we needed in our relationship.
Swear we had it all
I promise we truly had everything we could ask for.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bjorn Johnsson, Andreas Moe, Michael McEach, PRETTY YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind