The Star Wars franchise means so much to so many, and music has played a massive role in this space-opera phenomenon.
Try to imagine Darth Vader ominously descending a spaceship ramp without "The Imperial March." Or a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in their acrobatic duel with Darth Maul without "Duel of the Fates." If you're wired a certain way, you probably have chills just seeing those track titles.
And if you're that deep of a Star Wars head, today's a big day for you. May 4 informally marks Star Wars Day — the punny date comes from "May the Fourth be with you."
And partly given that franchise scorer John Williams has won a whopping 25 golden gramophones, GRAMMY.com is keenly aware of how the music of Star Wars has touched generation after generation.
Read on for five little-known facts about the Star Wars score you probably don't know. And if you do? The force is strong with this one.
Randy Newman's Uncle Supervised The Original Trilogy Score
If you're unaware of Newman outside of Disney-Pixar tunes, his catalog goes so, so much deeper — as well as his pedigree in cinema. The seven-time GRAMMY winner's uncles, Alfred, Lionel and Emil, all loomed large in Hollywood film scoring; Lionel was the musical supervisor for the original Star Wars trilogy; today, a Fox building is dedicated in his honor.
"The Imperial March" Doesn't Appear In The Original Star Wars
Indeed, your memories are incorrect on this one. Vader's timelessly evil theme wouldn't appear until The Empire Strikes Back; he had a different theme in A New Hope.
The Famous Silent Battle Between Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader Originally Had Music
Would the showdown between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, in The Empire Strikes Back still be impactful with music? Probably. But it gets a whole new zhuzh without it — just slashing lightsabers and eerie chamber sound effects. In this case, less was more.
Music Was Removed In The Scene Following Yoda's Death
Without the old master around, Dagobah is a lonely, lonely place indeed. (There seems to be a running theme: they knew when not to add music.)
"Duel Of The Fates" Was Inspired By An Epic Celtic Poem
"Under the tongue root, a fight most dread, and another raging behind in the head."
That sure sums up the fight for Anakin Skywalker's soul, but it's actually an archaic Celtic poem whose title translates to "Battle of the Trees."
John Williams translated it into a variety of languages, landing on a sort of faux-Sanskrit: "Khara Matha Khara Rath Amah." The syllables formed the seed of the hair-raising "Duel of the Fates" — listen, and you'll hear it.
The result was one of the deepest moments in the entire Star Wars music universe — which is saying a lot, given the competition.
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