Song of the Day #1866

Song of the Day: Raiders of the Lost Ark (“Soundtrack Suite”) [YouTube link] was composed by John Williams and is performed here by the London Symphony Orchestra. It’s hard to believe … but on this date—forty years ago—in 1981, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” debuted in theaters. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film starred Harrison Ford, and gave birth to the Indiana Jones film franchise! This action-packed adventure never lost its sense of humor, and won five Oscars in the process (for Art Direction, Film Editing, Sound, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects). It also gave us a memorable Oscar-nominated score by the maestro, who won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.