Of all the big decisions Steven Spielberg and George Lucas had to make on their first film collaboration, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," picking John Williams as composer was probably the easiest one. Williams was likely the only crew member who had worked with both Spielberg and Lucas, and gave us another timeless score that perfectly encapuslates the personalist of archaeologist Indiana Jones. Host Jeff Commings analyzes Williams' composition of the main theme, and why it doesn't exactly follow th...
Dec 18, 2019•41 min•Ep. 54
Host Jeff Commings counts John Williams' score to "The Empire Strikes Back" as his all-time favorite, as does guest co-host Jim Nova. The two analyze the amazing Imperial March and its chord progression that gives it a sinister tone. They also talk about the amazing love theme and the music written for Jedi Master Yoda. Among their favorite scenes in the film is the chase through the asteroid field, comprising some of Williams' best music. That four minutes alone should have won Williams the Aca...
Dec 11, 2019•59 min•Ep. 48
Was Steven Spielberg's "1941" an elaborate prank to see how far he could go with making movies, or did he really set out to make a genuine comedy? It appears to be the latter, though there are not many laughs to be had in this disjointed film set one week after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Spielberg was not the only culprit for this misaligned film. Host Jeff Commings gives a little history on the collaboration between screenwriters Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and gives a possible reason why Spie...
Dec 04, 2019•31 min•Ep. 53
John Williams' final foray into the horror genre was the 1979 version of "Dracula," with Frank Langella reprising his Broadway role to great effect. The movie goes for romantic overtones instead of outright horror and gore, though there is some of that there. And John Williams was willing to go along for the ride with lush strings and woodwinds from the London Symphony Orchestra taking center stage. Host Jeff Commings talks about this final collaboration between Williams and film producer Walter...
Nov 27, 2019•41 min•Ep. 51
The 50th episode of "The Baton" is here! And what better way to mark the occasion than a discussion of one of the most popular film scores in history. Possibly the only part of making "Superman" that went without a major hitch was the composition and recording of the iconic score. This was just 18 months after John Williams' score for "Star Wars" showed his mastery of creating music for characters that found its way into the mainstream. Host Jeff Commings is joined by Doug Grieve, a trombone pla...
Nov 20, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 52
John Williams made his first foray into sequel territory with "Jaws 2," writing a score that gave us brief reprises of his iconic shark theme but relied mostly on a different tone throughout. Mostly, his music offers a new emotional connection to the terrible incident happening on Amity Island and helps a film that had as many troubles as its predecessor. Host Jeff Commings talks about the long road to get the film made, including Steven Spielberg's thoughts on returning to direct. Learn more ab...
Nov 13, 2019•30 min•Ep. 49
John Williams had an unusual assignment for his first score of 1978: Write a score for "The Fury" exactly as the late Bernard Herrmann would have composed it. Williams agreed to do so out of honor to his friend, who died about 18 months earlier, and to director Brian De Palma, who had a great relationship with Herrmann on "Obsession." Host Jeff Commings brings on co-host Maurizio Caschetto to break down the Herrmann similarities in the score, as well as the moments that allowed Williams to bring...
Nov 06, 2019•53 min•Ep. 50
John Williams closed out 1977 on top of the pyramid in Hollywood. He was involved in two of the three highest-grossing films in the United States, and wrote scores for them that brought more attention to symphonic film scores. His final film of 1977, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," required him to participate in pre-production to find a five-note signal that would serve as communication between Earthlings and the aliens. His underscore is full of great themes, including a nod to the "Dies ...
Oct 30, 2019•36 min•Ep. 45
This episode of "The Baton" is all about "Star Wars" and its monumental score by John Williams. Settle in as host Jeff Commings talks with Sir Clive Gillinson, who played cello on the original 1977 soundtrack. He relives some memories of playing the music and why Williams made such an impression on the London Symphony Orchestra that he returned to conduct multiple scores with the group. Also on the show is a discussion of the effectiveness of the main theme by Chris Hatt, who talks about the mus...
Oct 23, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 47
John Williams closed out a very busy 1976 with his compositions for the score to the thriller "Black Sunday," which would get a delayed release until spring 1977. Host Jeff Commings is joined by Siddique Hussain, who counts the score as one of his favorites from the Maestro in the time between "Jaws" and "Star Wars." He cites some thematic material and musical styles used in the score that will make stronger appearances in future films, including "Star Wars." Since the film did not fare well at ...
Oct 16, 2019•56 min•Ep. 46
John Williams got back into the war genre with the film "Midway," writing just 32 minutes of score for a 132-minute film. In this case, most of the movie features battle scenes that producer Walter Mirisch wanted to feel very realistic, which meant the appearance of music was not appropriate -- at least for Mirisch. "Midway" was the first score Williams wrote after his landmark work on "Jaws," and a couple of months after a disastrous production of the "Thomas and the King" musical on the London...
Oct 09, 2019•26 min•Ep. 42
"The Missouri Breaks" is arguably the worst film to feature a John Williams score ... at least up to that point in his 17 years as a film composer. Though it starred Oscar-winning actors Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, it was a misfire from the start, with Brando going off the rails in terms of acting choices, and Nicholson looking unfit for a Western. John Williams took on the challenge of using music to keep the film on track, but Williams himself takes some eccentric choices. The primary de...
Oct 02, 2019•35 min•Ep. 44
What do you do after you've composed the most famous movie score of all time? In the months after working on "Jaws," John Williams had three film scores to tackle for films to be released in 1976. One of them was "Family Plot," Alfred Hitchcock's lighter take on kidnapping, murder and con games. "Murder can be fun," Hitchcock told Williams, which helped the Maestro compose a score heavy on harpsichord to fulfill Hitchcock's mandate. Join host Jeff Commings as he takes you through the backstory i...
Sep 25, 2019•39 min•Ep. 40
How can two notes make people so fearful of going into the ocean? That's what John Williams did with his iconic score for the 1975 blockbuster "Jaws." Host Jeff Commings is joined by Jeff Owens to break down the elements in the main title music that make this two-note theme a masterclass of composition. They also get chills when discussing other excellent musical moments in the film, such as the first attack on the shark and the shark's attack on the cage. Rent a yellow raft and dive into this s...
Sep 18, 2019•54 min•Ep. 43
John Williams and Clint Eastwood worked together only once, for the mountain climbing film "The Eiger Sanction." Host Jeff Commings is joined by Brian Martell, who counts this film score as his favorite pre-"Star Wars" score by Williams. The two chuckle at the outdated clichés and the obvious Bond parodies and ripoffs before lauding George Kennedy's scene-stealing performance. There's also some great music in the film, too, including an inspiring fanfare for the famous Totem Pole rock formation ...
Sep 11, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 41
John Williams closed out his stint in the disaster movie genre with a bold and effective score to "The Towering Inferno." Williams starts us off with urgent opening music, then settles down as the fire begins to spread through the 138-story title building. What also stands out is the lack of music in a 30-minute sequence where music would not have been out of place, but its omission is welcome as a setup to a powerful climax to the film. Host Jeff Commings talks about the accusations of cut-and-...
Sep 04, 2019•45 min•Ep. 39
Very few John Williams fans put "Earthquake" in equal regard as "The Towering Inferno," the other disaster movie that Williams scored in 1974. The "Earthquake" score feels very much like "The Towering Inferno" in sound and feel, with little bombast and an opening title that suggest doom and an epic scale. There isn't much thematic material in the film, but host Jeff Commings found a quasi-motif with the villainous Jody, and looks at the poignant music composed for the end credits. There's no Sen...
Aug 28, 2019•41 min•Ep. 38
We've reached a monumental point in John Williams' film scoring career. It's the film "The Sugarland Express," the first collaboration between the Maestro and Steven Spielberg. Yes, the film should be remembered for the beginning of this partnership, but is it a good movie if you try to view it outside of the historical viewpoint? Host Jeff Commings takes us through the score to this film, which has never been officially available to listen to away from the movie. Learn about the bootleg CDs tha...
Aug 21, 2019•31 min•Ep. 37
The first of four films in 1974 for John Williams was the little-seen drama "Conrack," which brought John Williams back to the classroom for the fourth time and reunited him with "Pete 'N' Tillie" director Martin Ritt. The film about a white teacher inspiring a group of poor black children gets a theme for Jon Voight's character, and for the children under his tutelage. Both themes get wonderful renditions in the film, and unfortunately are not able to be heard outside of the film … until now! E...
Aug 14, 2019•22 min•Ep. 36
Join host Jeff Commings and guest co-host Chris Hatt as they examine the 1973 drama "Cinderella Liberty." Hatt counts this as one of his favorite John Williams scores, simply because the music exquisitely follows ordinary people in the real world. Using the piano as his guide, Hatt offers some insight into the artistry of creating music for a crucial bar scene, as well as the creation of the love theme for the prostitute played by Marsha Mason and the sailor played by James Caan. The film also m...
Aug 07, 2019•54 min•Ep. 35
Though "The Paper Chase" was famous mostly for the Academy Award-winning performance of John Houseman, the score by John Williams deserved some recognition at the time. Though not his best effort of 1973, Williams wrote a score that host Jeff Commings is surprised was not nominated for an Original Score Oscar. Williams composed a couple of baroque pieces to serve the "action" scenes in the film, and wrote a tender love theme to underscore the shaky on-again, off-again relationship at the heart o...
Jul 31, 2019•29 min•Ep. 34
"The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing featured Burt Reynolds, the number one movie star in the world, in a romantic Western action film that had troubles during shooting and in postproduction. Michel Legrand was fired three days into recording his score for the film, and John Williams was brought in as a replacement. Host Jeff Commings walks listeners through the score that returns the Maestro to Aaron Copland territory, and offers the opportunity to compare Williams' main theme music with that of Legr...
Jul 24, 2019•35 min•Ep. 33
John Williams and Robert Altman collaborated one more time, for the crime drama "The Long Goodbye." Unlike their work on "Images," Altman did not give Williams as much creative license. Williams was to use only one theme and put it through several different styles in the film. This includes using a sitar during a dance scene, guitars for visits to Mexico and even John Williams sitting at the piano for a lively rendition. He and Johnny Mercer wrote a song for the lyrics, sung mostly by Jack Sheld...
Jul 17, 2019•31 min•Ep. 32
John Williams' final foray into movie musicals -- aside from the scrapped idea of making "Hook" into a musical -- was 1973's "Tom Sawyer," which paired him with the successful songwriting pair of Richard and Robert Sherman. The result was a decent effort, as Williams put some strong flourishes into the songs as well as his underscore. Naturally, you'll hear touches of "The Reivers" here, but you'll also note the strong work as an orchestrator that made this musical worth watching and a joy to he...
Jul 10, 2019•35 min•Ep. 31
John Williams wrapped up the year 1972 with the drama "Pete 'N' Tillie," a major departure from the other three scores he wrote for films that year. It was much quieter, focusing on a simple piano theme to serve as a quasi-love theme for the not-so-perfect-together couple of the film's title. It was also much shorter, coming in at less than 15 minutes of music in the finished film. As such, this isn't a long episode filled with a treasure trove of musical moments, but host Jeff Commings is ready...
Jul 03, 2019•22 min•Ep. 29
We've arrived at the score in John Williams' career that sounds pretty much like nothing he had ever written -- and almost like nothing he will write as his career evolves. The collaboration with Robert Altman for "Images" began in the 1960s, when the two were toiling away in television work and Altman had the idea for the story of a schizophrenic woman. Altman allowed Williams unlimited options for his score: "The more absurd, the better," Altman said. Williams brought on celebrated percussioni...
Jun 26, 2019•55 min•Ep. 30
John Williams reteamed with Irwin Allen for the 1972 action film "The Poseidon Adventure," a risk-taker of a movie that worked out well for everyone involved and officially created the disaster-film genre. Williams does well in creating a strong opening but keeps his orchestra subdued throughout the film to keep the atmosphere of doom and gloom always present, with little sense of hope. Host Jeff Commings is on hand to detail the highlights from the score and how the film set a few precedents. T...
Jun 19, 2019•39 min•Ep. 28
John Williams returned to the Old West -- and returned to working with director Mark Rydell -- for the 1972 film "The Cowboys." Once again leaning on Aaron Copland's template for Americana-tinged music, Williams employed a fun theme for the 11 boys hired to help John Wayne herd cattle across the plains. He also used a bass harmonica for the film's villain, played viciously by Bruce Dern. The score is counted as a favorite for many John Williams fans, and after learning more about the music with ...
Jun 12, 2019•41 min•Ep. 27
The 1971 film version of "Fiddler on the Roof" was a massive undertaking for John Williams as music supervisor, taking on a beloved Broadway musical that needed to be expanded for the big screen. In addition to putting some fresh touches on the songs, he also was able to compose some original music that further illustrated his talents to the world. The film marked the first time Williams worked on a big moneymaker, and he also reaped a few rewards of his own. Host Jeff Commings details some of t...
Jun 05, 2019•36 min•Ep. 24
John Williams' final television project in the 1970s teamed him with director Delbert Mann again, this time for "Jane Eyre." Williams composed this score while on a break from working on "Fiddler on the Roof," and the love Williams had (and continues to have) for all things English is on full display in the score. Peter Lloyd, the principal flute player for the London Symphony Orchestra, gets to shine as the score features plenty of flute melodies. Host Jeff Commings is joined by guest co-host Y...
May 29, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 26
