NBC News Theme - John Williams - Boston Pops 5/26/2007

[stripes5150]

Imagine if they played this whole arrangement before every newscast....lol

[JLGARCIAII]

Understandably, the three "dislikes" were from the very jealous ABC, CBS and FOX.

[lovelyspringweather]

such win.

[thegoodgeneral]

To people saying without Wagner we'd have a much different musical reality, I say without Williams we have a very much different musical future. These are both true, they almost don't feel worth pointing out. I think we can all agree this music is pretty great.

[15711mansel]

Unbeleivable. it touches every nerve senation in my body. I always end up welling it tears afterwards. One of my all time favorites. This is coming from an R & B lover.

[Cnd1867]

Such a beautiful theme, poignant enough for a news programme, soft enough to be a wonderful piece of music

[LLJtbone]

This theme made the NBC Nightly News exciting!

[ivorbigunzz]

Americas Motzart.

[HarryPotter87]

Next thing they'll play the CBS News theme ROTFLMAO

[NeuroticVows]

@HarryPotter87 He actually wrote this and recorded it for NBC. This is his work

[44032]

@HarryPotter87 Actually Beethoven did the first NBC Nightly News theme. And he couldn't hear a thing at the time!

[tnawcwvictoria]

This is a beautiful song and it helped redefined NBC News

I'm sure that the people from NBC News Past and Present are very proud of his work and NBC has made Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Maria Shriver, Ann Curry, Deborah Norville, John Palmer, and Garrick Utley, Connie Chung, Chris Wallace, John Chancellor, Stone Phillips and Matt Lauer famous and it helped Meredith Vieira redefine her career as a Broadcast Journalist

God Bless John and NBC News

[phantomlord54]

He's Brian Williams' dad??

[SG1Mitchell]

no.

[phantomlord54]

No, I figured as much...I was just havin' some fun with it

[Kuntipac]

i would get mad if they giggled

[bubblinbrownsugar616]

Something tells me though it must have been a surprise. He probably didn't say what they were going to play next and when they heard the familiar tune, they giggled. I'd do the same...if it was a surprise.

[Rachet88]

I've seen John Williams and The Boston Pops several times. And it always makes me giggle when he starts this song and you can hear people chuckle. "OH! NBC News music!"

[munchkin0518]

I just... I mean, HOW?? How does he do it? Genius... speechless!!!

[Abriggs500]

I enjoy the french horns and string section in this piece of music known also known as "The Mission."

[avenged7xguitar]

hear*

[avenged7xguitar]

oh my god, i can't even begin to beleive how much bass i here in this song!  -_-

[dynamo9908]

this is one of john williams lesser known works

[bduddy55555]

Uhh... really? It is on TV every night, you know...

[880511]

I think they mean that people don't know he wrote it

[sexiirino842]

hahahahahaha!!!! dynamo555555 is a dumbass.

[xxCCBBxx]

john williams is the modern day Mozart or Beethoven

[jadebrew]

I love John Williams. His music is majestic and stately.

[BlooTewb]

The crowd laughs at first, they must've thought it was a joke, or didn't know John wrote that tune. Amazing stuff

[f1khamba]

BlooTewb, that's exactly what I thought. People don't realize what a beautiful melody this piece has because they simply associate it w/ the 7:00 news. I wonder if John Williams got offended when the crowd chuckled at the opening notes.

[bdrman]

I thought that at first too. A saw a person comment who went to one of his concerts that he says something like "In case you missed the evening news tonight..."

[broadwaymelody33]

mhm! He says that at any event when he conducts that, just to be charming

[joecoolyowza]

Channel 7 Australia has ripped off this theme for their news

[apeters2007]

No, they've done it with permission.

[rowmelb]

yes they have and Channel 7 have been using it for the last 20 years. Though Channel 7 play the NBC news early every morning with the same theme music, so we kind of knew that already.

[63035068]

this just proves that john williams can meet the demands to score for leading news programs aswell as film. he's a genius.

[rnigma]

Williams did other themes for NBC, including Meet the Press, and two Olympic themes: "Olympic Fanfare" in 1984 and "Olympic Spirit" in '88.

[kpfister123]

love it. never gets old. thanks to nbc for keeping this forever. it's a national icon

[usbiker133t]

This would have been fantastic for a movie, kind of a waste to use it on the news. Williams did magic with star trek.

[sfan1]

John Williams has never scored a Star Trek picture. You may have gotten that mixed up with Star Wars.

[usbiker133t]

He conducted what is considered the best rendition of the motion picture theme song to date played by the boston pops. I know he did not compose anything from star trek.

[GOATunh]

i really think john williams is some kind of genius. every song he's ever composed is just so powerful...even this one that's now a news theme. and just to a geek, i'll add that i played this song in my high school band and LOVED it:)

[jedimastercool]

the second beethoven he made star wars music

[YogaNate79]

John Williams is the King of Music and Sound. And that is a fact.

[dastardlydude67]

"I am very excited to say that there is more original music to be written by this man. How fucking exciting is that people??"

People with a passion for what they do will keep on doing it right up until their dead. But I have a feeling this dude isn't going to leave us anytime soon, even given his current age. He still has a lot more to teach the average human, emotion-wise.

[RedSoxPatriots3]

Was this the first of his three shows there? If it was I was there.

[7807087]

i gave you a thumbs up just because of your name

[RedSoxPatriots3]

Go Red Sox and Patriots (and Celtics)

[7807087]

and BC eagles

[RedSoxPatriots3]

Even though I live in massachusetts I am a UCONN Fan. Go UCONN!!

[48mmPOV]

This is a pretty damn geeky thing to say, but I will anyway. COOL. And listening to this music out of context to the news images, I have to say, it reminds me VERY STRONGLY of E.T.. JW is a living legend. I am very excited to say that there is more original music to be written by this man. How fucking exciting is that people??

[chewbacca328]

omg before i read your comment i was thinking the same thing about E.T.

[EmoryZacProductions]

Symphony Hall has such great acoustics. Also does 7 in Australia run NBC programming because then it would make sense that they use the NBC theme.

The only thing missing are the NBC chimes.

[dondonp12004]

Yes, but between 3:18 and 3:27, the Horns quoted the NBC chimes.

[newscaster13]

In late-November 2004, just as Tom Brokaw was reaching retirement, Williams had composed the opening theme that included the NBC Chimes.

Along with that updated version came the opening credits where all the past Nightly News anchors were flying around (David Brinkley, John Chancellor, John Cameron Swayze and Chet Huntley). The NBC Chimes were played in the background

[ShedEntertainment]

It's also the news theme for the 7 Network in Australia

[PenaltyKillah]

Someone actually ripped it off?

[ShedEntertainment]

Not really - the only thing that's the same these days is the 'sting.' And besides practically everyone knows that it came from this piece.

[jiaptial]

The seven theme is based on this original music.

[ShedEntertainment]

That's what I meant.

[Chiggs58th]

I always wondered why that theme was so good! John Williams is the only man on planet Earth who can make a masterpiece out of a theme for TV news show. He's a god!

[starwarsworld]

You guys gotta remember John Williams composed Superman March, Imperial March (Darth Vader Theme), Indiana Jones, Star Wars Theme, Jurasssic Park, Harry Potter, Home Alone, E.T., and much much more!

[SnarkLicker]

Man... there's this guy, then there's Jerry Goldstein... and that's it. Maybe Dennis McCarthy and Alan Menken.

[aMgVbros4aetas]

@SnarkLicker I think you mean Jerry Goldsmith not Goldstein

[ugahedges]

i love nbc news

[RabidDawg2]

Some people copy John Williams their entire career, and people think they're "good".

But most people have no idea what "great" is. That's the sad part.

[osc200]

People don't understand that the person that we really should thank is Richard Wagner. Richard Wagner's music composition style is the basis for film scoring.

[RabidDawg2]

"People don't understand that the person that we really should thank is Richard Wagner."

No, he is not.

John Williams is. And when Williams dies, there will be more fanfare on Earth than there ever was for any other composer, including Beethoven.

[osc200]

But Wagner is an exception. Even Williams himself would agree with me.

[Fleetwing1627]

Without Wagner's creation of the leitmotif movie music would sound much different than it does today. Williams is the one who created the modern big movie score, but he couldn't have done it without Wagner.

[osc200]

Thank You!

[charmedfover]

do you know were i can find the piece

[pointreyes6]

@osc200 He couldnt have done it without Korngold, either.

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@osc200 dude, ive been waiting to know who created this tear welling music, and im not surprised, to be frank, that it was Mr. Williams. He is an inspiration to all, and his music brings eyes to tears, and faces to the skies. the day he dies will not be the "real" day he dies. He will remain in our hearts till the day we die, and after that. Thank you John Williams.

[Gencturk92]

so was Bernard Herrmann, he was a great composer

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@Gencturk92 well, ive never heard of him, so i wouldn't mention him

[Gencturk92]

@SaulAdamTJ1234 you never heard the screeching violins in the shower scene in psycho ?

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@Gencturk92 oooohhhh yeah i didn't see that movie, but i heard them all right. so bernard herrmann composed that?

[Gencturk92]

@SaulAdamTJ1234 how can you not see psycho, best film ever made. and yes, bernard herrmann scored it

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@Gencturk92 'cause i didn't feel like seeing it, respect others opinions, not just your own next time.

[Gencturk92]

@SaulAdamTJ1234 psycho is million times a better movie then anything, just watch it

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@Gencturk92 that's your opinion, and i hope that you know not to try and force people to do what you think is good. if you keep on telling me this, i'll put it as spam

[Gencturk92]

@SaulAdamTJ1234 put it on anything you want, you probably dont know nothing about cinema, go and tell anyone you know if psycho is a good movie, then you get your answer.

[SaulAdamTJ1234]

@Gencturk92 i doubt that many of my friends have watched this. (Spam message reply #1)

[RabidDawg2]

"Williams is the one who created the modern big movie score, but he couldn't have done it without Wagner."

You underestimate genius.

[superhotlesbian]

Or Holst or Dvorak. He needed them as well!

[ThaSchwab]

And Stravinsky.

[aihoschema]

@Fleetwing1627 Everything is based on something else. Willaims also didn't invent the lydian mode, yet here we hear it in many places and it just sounds fantastic as it always will in the hands of this genius. All music is inspied by other music. Yes Wagner is a great influence on Williams, but so is Rachmaninov, Debussy, Aaron Copland and many others. And he influenced so many other film composers. AND he is also a great jazz musician! Genuis!

[mcguirexn]

@Fleetwing1627 Well, yes...but let's not forget about Korngold.

[evesira]

@Fleetwing1627 what about Rosza, Waxman, Steiner, and my favorite Bernard Herrmann? most people say those are actually the founders of film scores. John Williams created his own unique style of film scoring, which i would describe as ornate. Hans Zimmer pioneered the really big booming hollywood orchestra sounding score. and of course all the great classical composers, including Wagner, contributed to the range of styles we have today. Thank all composers! They built off each other!

[GGbreizh]

@Fleetwing1627 Wagner did NOT create leitmotifs.

And here, anyway, this is not movie music...

[MrMrmike5]

@osc200 while wagner came up with the motif system, williams transformed it and fused it with romantism era musical qualities thus to produce a new type of music lets call it Williamism

[thegoodgeneral]

@osc200 Williams would be quick to point out all of the composers he respects and considers infinitely better than himself. Wagner included but not singled out.

[bretg]

@RabidDawg2

Actually, Carl Maria von Weber is considered the one who originated "leitmotif," the themes connected to dramatic characters. Wagner continued this trend, especially in his "Ring" cycle, but it was Richard Strauss, with his tone poems, that elevated musical storytelling to a high art.

I present Strauss' works to my students as "movie music before there were movies." Korngold, Steiner, Bernstein, Bernstein, and Williams owe their heritage to Richard Strauss.

[mornnb]

@osc200 And without Beethoven there would be no Richard Wagner.

[CitySon]

John Williams is musical perfection! This theme is synonmous with everything that's right with this country.--And his theme to Superman: the Movie, c'mon, larger than life! I love John Williams, Elmer Bernstein (R.I.P), & Danny Elfman! Our modern-day Mozart, Beethoven, & Tchichovsky.

[wimmzey]

Elfman DOES NOT belong with the company of those talents. Pa LEEEEZ!

[CitySon]

Actually, I agree. Ron Jones is a much better choice.

[TacoSoft]

I wish we could use it at the local news station I work for

[hyrulphicsound]

Damn, I'm jealous, NBC has an awesome news theme. XXDD It's amazing!!

John Williams is t3h awesome!!

[SmrtyPntz92]

This an awesome theme for a news channel!

I had to play this in 8th grade and it was very enjoyable to play, too.

[miamivicepastels83]

this is actually a pretty song...i didn't think of it that way until i heard the full theme a few years ago

[fatalbeatings]

John Williams is the greatest musical genius of our time, long live John Williams!

[Troyocorus]

i hear it every night

[Jantv81]

Where can I get the full length version of the theme?

[ProudImport]

I was lucky enough to hear it live in NYC not too long ago. John Williams joked that the network had promised him to play the entire piece whenever they had a slow news day... don't you all wish that could be everyday?

[bubblinbrownsugar616]

Oh heck yeah. Last time I heard an "extended" version of this theme was at the end of a week when they use to roll the credits for the news.

[shadowwolfz]

John Williams is a national treasure

[tonks8526]

The Seven Network and affiliates still uses this theme as well for it's news.

[cockshe]

I remember being 12 when I heard this song pretty much in it's entirety after Brokaw's report. To this day it still bring shivers into me at age 33. Long live Williams and long live Brokaw!!

[midknightryder13]

The first week NBC used this -- they had a day where they played the ENTIRE piece over the closing credits. It was magnificent! Actually, the amazing thing is that even though it's 25 years old, there would be a revolt if NBC STOPPED using it. THAT's the mark of a great composition.

[AutisticPsycho]

Heh, John's back conducting for this one time. He conducted the Pops until he left and they got Lockhart. I never knew that, but it's pretty damn cool.

[ctv4vp]

GREAT!!!!!!

[TacoSoft]

Beautiful

[thegreatactor]

great. nbc does realy use it an more.

[newscaster13]

Yes NBC does...

It is a much shorter version of that rendition you're hearing, so Brian Williams (Brokaw's predecessor) can close out the Nightly News for the day.

They started using that rendition when Nightly News went to High Definition.

[Dinboy]

it's pretty funny you can hear everyone say "ohhhhhh" after the first measure or so. hahahha

[vistuaslacker]

The actual name of this piece of music is "The Mission".

[dingorex]

How is it a newscast theme 25 years old can still give me goosebumps? John Williams is a national treasure..no, a world treasure!

[Rachet88]

I always like how the audience giggles when it starts.  "Oh! NBC News theme!" But it's such a great piece besides!

[marcelinotvn]

Increible y envidiable... Ojalá Williams realizara un concierto en Chile. Gracias a osc200 por postear este video y permitirnos el privilegio de ver al maestro en acción! Saludos desde Santiago de Chiler

[aussieyimon]

That's the same music that Channel 7 news uses here in Australia. It's by far the best news music theme ever! It's a bit more techno and upbeat on the news though.

[newscaster13]

Where was this?

I know that Boston's Symphony Hall has dinner tables, where they can eat while they enjoy a performance; it is seen on Evening at Pops.

This must have been at Lincoln Center in Washington D.C. - where an article was stating that "They were missing Tom Brokaw, maybe this will satisfy them"

John Williams Fansite: 4 New Reviews of John Williams' Concerts in Washington DC

[osc200]

This wast at Symphony Hall!

[thereserve06]

When I played at the Boston Symphony Hall, It looked exactly like this. And no, there was no tables at all for eating, just rows of chairs. Old chairs. Lincoln Center had the Evening at Pops a few years ago. Maybe that's where you're getting this idea.

[munkeebarrel]

It's typically rows of chairs during Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts, and dinner tables and chairs during Boston Pops Orchestra shows.

[dondonp12004]

Best theme music for an evening newscast ever!

[theundisputed7]

Damn... that's... somethin'.