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playing driving notes on my guitar that implied danger. I thought of a car accident, only because of the horrible sound it makes. Then I went to glass, but the sound of the glass was so thin that I needed to make it bigger so I added the car crash. Right away I said, 'I get it. That's Steve Austin'. That was the best part of the job: creating a theme that fit the character. As soon as you heard Steve’s, it felt like it had already been his theme for years.
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who did not enter a room with subtlety. He needed something that reflected that. I had in my mind that this would be driving and low, but it needed something relentless about it. It needed to capture someone who entered a room and made you think, 'God only knows what happens next'. So I started
515:, he described feeling a "sense of responsibility" to create unique-sounding music for each wrestler, that also had instant recognisability. Johnston is credited with writing entrance theme songs for the most popular wrestlers over the course of his 30 year tenure, in particular the company's
449:, the 2004 album by the same name. The DVD featured a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on Johnston, offering insights into the composing, producing, and directing of the album. There are also some humorous interactions of Johnston with
682:"Part 2 of in depth Jim Johnston interview! - March 6, 2019 – 42:30 mark – Johnston says he is born exactly ten years and one day apart from Paul McCartney confirming 1952 birth year as McCartney is 1942"
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Writing and recording mostly by himself, he wrote over 10,000 pieces of music, many of which are as highly regarded as the wrestlers themselves. In later years, he regularly collaborated with mainstream
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said the tracks "weren't just catchy, colourful pieces of music, but cinematic scores that communicated the emotional makeup of your favourite wrestler clearer than any catchphrase ever could."
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into the early-2000s. Johnston wrote, composed, and produced his compositions alone, in addition to playing all the instruments, including
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for new music and different takes on existing entrance music. Johnston was released from WWE in 2017, replaced in the role by
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for the promotion's wrestlers, and compilations of his music released by WWE charted highly in several countries.
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musicians for albums, and
Johnston would often hand-pick artists to work with on new theme songs. In 2001,
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DVD extras, commenting on WWE's music, and how music is crucial in WWE. He also appeared on an episode of
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In writing theme music, Johnston often drew from outside inspiration, notably
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ceremonies, and traveled across the United States in 1995 as part of the "
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Johnston also scored several film projects for WWE's film division
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status in the United States, signifying one million sales, while
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918:"Legendary entrance music composer Jim Johnston released by WWE"
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in the mid-1980's, Johnston met Brian Penry, art director for
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as being as "legendary as the WWE stars themselves," while
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WWE Music Group discography § Themes by Jim
Johnston
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films, which led to working for the television networks
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WWF began releasing
Johnston-produced theme music as
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776:"Jim Johnston Story – WWE Theme Song Mastermind"
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1054:"The 10 most metal wrestling entrance themes"
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1268:ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol. 6
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487:Writing process and reception
382:World Bodybuilding Federation
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1275:WWE Wreckless Intent
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142:(until 2017)
131:1985–present
127:Years active
25:Jim Johnston
18:
1550:1952 births
886:Satin, Ryan
684:. Audioboom
552:Discography
477:Nikki Bella
472:Total Divas
461:discussing
392:Appearances
377:The Reunion
360:WWE Studios
275:Connecticut
107:bass guitar
90:Instruments
64:Occupations
1514:Categories
668:References
423:SummerSlam
311:achieving
288:to create
263:industrial
76:songwriter
47:1952-06-19
32:Birth name
1429:John Cena
1037:April 28,
1009:April 28,
981:April 28,
953:April 28,
901:April 28,
870:April 29,
844:April 29,
818:April 28,
785:April 28,
756:April 28,
723:April 28,
502:Star Wars
398:videotape
238:was this
198:Disturbed
194:Motörhead
1099:April 4,
1031:Newsweek
927:April 4,
688:April 9,
529:Newsweek
384:and the
349:Fandango
313:platinum
271:Showtime
259:animated
202:Kid Rock
81:musician
71:Composer
1467:(Elias)
1445:Jillian
865:SupaJam
573:Result
327:hip hop
210:Run-DMC
186:hip hop
151:Website
1065:May 3,
576:Award
563:Awards
374:, and
228:Career
216:, and
136:Labels
59:, U.S.
1487:CFO$
1457:Elias
570:Year
540:metal
441:Vader
222:CFO$
206:Ice-T
117:piano
112:drums
1431:and
1101:2018
1094:IMDb
1067:2021
1039:2021
1011:2021
1003:Vice
983:2021
955:2021
929:2018
903:2021
872:2021
846:2021
820:2021
787:2021
758:2021
725:2021
690:2019
650:2013
634:2008
618:2004
602:2003
584:2002
545:Vice
453:and
421:and
331:rock
329:and
269:and
261:and
190:rock
188:and
41:Born
975:Mix
660:Raw
653:Won
644:Raw
637:Won
628:Raw
621:Won
612:Raw
605:Won
595:Raw
587:Won
512:Mix
415:Raw
386:XFL
267:HBO
174:WWE
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