John Williams: A Composer’s Life

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Design, Music, Music Commentary, Arts

4.9 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Summer is when we share more time, more memories, and more photos.
0:04.8	At AT&T, the iPhone 17 Pro is your summer essential.
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0:13.7	You don't even have to turn your phone.
0:15.7	And AT&T makes sharing those pictures with everyone easy.
0:19.2	Right now, at AT&T, ask how you can get iPhone 17
0:22.4	pro on them with eligible iPhone trade-in, any condition. Requires trade-in of iPhone 15 plus or
0:28.8	higher, excluding iPhone 16E and 17E. Requires eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply, subject to
0:36.4	change. Visit ATT.com slash iPhone or visit an AT&T store for details.
0:44.2	You're listening to 20,000 Hertz. The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
0:54.9	I'm Dallas Taylor.
0:58.0	When it comes to film composers, there are a few names that stand out above the rest.
1:03.5	People like Ludwig Gorinson, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer.
1:07.7	But the most well-known film composer in history has to be John Williams.
1:12.6	Incredibly, he's been scoring movies since the 1950s, and he's still working today, at 94 years old.
1:19.6	Over the last 70 years, he's scored over a hundred films, including many of the biggest blockbusters of all time, like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana
1:29.8	Jones, E.T., Home Alone, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan. He's won 27 Grammys,
1:36.5	three Emmys, and five Academy Awards, and he's toured the Globe conducting world-class orchestras.
1:43.1	But despite all of that success, the story of
1:46.0	John Williams' life has rarely been told, because while John has done lots of interviews, he doesn't
1:51.5	talk much about his personal history. But in 2025, the first official biography of John was published.
1:58.5	It's called John Williams, A Composer's Life, by Tim Greaving.
	...

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