John Williams: A Composer’s Life
6/1/202636 min
John Williams has written some of the most famous film scores ever, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones to Jurassic Park. But before the blockbuster success, there was a kid growing up around jazz musicians in New York, and a young composer trying to find his voice. In this episode, journalist Tim Greiving takes us through John’s early life and career, from his years as a session player to the meeting with Steven Spielberg that changed everything. Along the way, we unpack the stories behind John’s early iconic scores, including the two-note terror of Jaws, the symphonic world of Star Wars, and the mysteries of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound. Subscribe on YouTube to see our video series. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at 20k.org/plus. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. Buy the biography John Williams: A Composer’s Life wherever you get your books. Subscribe to Tim’s Substack Behind the Moon, an exclusive dive behind the scenes of the book. Find out how you can get the iPhone 17 Pro at no cost with an eligible trade in at att.com/iphone, or by visiting an AT&T store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsDallas Taylor· Host0:00
Summer is when we share more time, more memories, and more photos. At AT&T, the iPhone 17 Pro is your summer essential. Its center stage front camera auto adjusts the frame to fit everyone into group selfies. You don't even have to turn your phone. And AT&T makes sharing those pictures with everyone easy. Right now at AT&T, ask how you can get iPhone 17 Pro on them with eligible iPhone trade-in, any condition. Requires trade-in of iPhone 15 Plus or higher, excluding iPhone 16e and 17e. Requires eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply. Subject to change. Visit att.com/iphone or visit an AT&T store for details. You're listening- To 20,000 Hertz The stories- Behind the world's- Most recognizable- And interesting sounds. I'm Dallas Taylor. When it comes to film composers, there are a few names that stand out above the rest, people like Ludvig Goransson, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer. But the most well-known film composer in history has to be John Williams. Incredibly, he's been scoring movies since the 1950s, and he's still working today at 94 years old. Over the last 70 years, he scored over 100 films, including many of the biggest blockbusters of all time, like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana