Welcome to Tune Talk!
Liner Notes
| Artist | John Williams |
| Song | The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme) |
| Album | Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back |
| Year | 1980 |
How many times have you been watching a movie, heard an incredible score, and wondered who the composer was, only to discover that—once again—it was the incredible John Williams?
He is the mastermind behind so many of our absolute favorites. As a family, we love the Star Wars films. We have spent many family movie nights making a big pot of popcorn and settling in to watch one of them. We have most definitely seen every single one of them, more than once.
But out of all the music in that galaxy far, far away, nothing hits quite like “The Imperial March.” John Williams composed this masterpiece in 1980 for The Empire Strikes Back, creating the ultimate cinematic villain anthem. It is pure, heavy, unstoppable power. The piece is so deeply ingrained in pop culture that once you hear the first few notes, you instantly want to look over your shoulder to make sure Darth Vader isn’t walking up behind you!
My son was such a huge fan of the franchise at one point that for his fifth birthday, we threw an all-out Star Wars themed party. As the hosts, we all dressed up as Jedi and decorated the entire house. One of the highlights of the decorations was a huge Death Star beach ball that was as tall as him. I hung it from our entryway light fixture so it looked like it was literally hovering in the sky over us, just the way it would in the movies. And of course, the soundtrack to every one of the films was set on random and played the entire time!
It was one of the best and most fun parties we ever threw for him, and we still talk about it to this day. Looking back, it was ironic in a way that we had a house so packed with friends and family, because only a few short months later, the world shut down and we were confined to our homes for the pandemic. During that long quarantine, the memory of that party was one of the bright spots that really helped get us through it. I’m sure it’s no surprise to know that with us, it scored a perfect 10!
Ratings From The Road
| Ray | 10 |
| Lori | 10 |
| Max | 10 |
| Average Rating From The Road | 10 |
Does the sound of “The Imperial March” make you nervous just a little bit when you hear those first few notes? How would you rate this famous piece of music? Drop us a line!