Jim Johnston: The man behind WWE's legendary theme songs, why he's not in the Hall of Fame, thoughts on AEW

Insight with Chris Van Vliet

Chris Van Vliet

Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Business, Health & Fitness, Sports, Wrestling

4.9 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2021

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Johnston is a music composer who worked as the music producer for WWE from 1985 - 2017. He is the man responsible for the legendary theme songs for Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Mick Foley, Degeneration X, The Undertaker, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and countless others. During the course of his 32-year career with WWE, he composed more than 10,000 pieces of music before he was released in 2017. Jim joins Chris Van Vliet from his studio in Greenwich, CT where he talks about how he started working for WWE, his process behind creating music, some of his favorite themes, why he doesn't think he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and he ends the interview with a beautiful piano rendition of The Undertaker's theme song. This is truly one of my favorite conversations ever!If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to https://chrisvanvliet.com Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast episode is brought to you by Coors Light. These days, everything is go, go, go.
0:06.1	It's nonstop hustle all the time. Work, friends, family. Expect you to be on 24-7? Well,
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0:23.2	It is literally made to chill. Coors Light is the one I choose when I need to unwind. So when you
0:28.8	want to hit reset, reach for the beer that's made to chill. Get Coors Light in the new look
0:33.8	delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart. Celebrate responsibly.
0:38.9	Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado.
0:45.4	Oh yeah, welcome to another audio adventure here on Insight with Chris Van Fleet.
0:51.0	I am Chris Van Fleet, and thank you for joining us for what is one of my favorite
0:55.8	conversations ever with the goat himself, Jim Johnston. If it's your first time here, make sure to
1:03.0	click subscribe or follow wherever you're listening to this so you don't miss out on what we have
1:08.2	coming up. Jim Johnston is the man behind literally every legendary
1:15.6	wrestling theme. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Rock, McFoly, Degeneration X, The Undertaker,
1:23.0	Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and the list goes on and on and on and on.
1:35.1	During the course of his 32-year career with WWE, he composed more than 10,000 pieces of music.
1:39.7	And then for some reason, in 2017, they decided to let him go.
1:45.6	And I think that you'll agree with me that if anyone deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame,
1:54.1	it's Mr. Jim Johnston. And I just loved digging into the process of how he makes a theme and just how his mind works. Also, through this conversation, I learned that Jim Johnston is available for hire
1:59.9	if you're a wrestler or really just anybody
2:03.2	looking for music to be composed. Jimjonston.com is where you can find out more about him.
2:10.7	Take a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening. Jim doesn't have social media. So just tag me.
	...

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