Which classic rock band is John Williams’ son in?
John Williams is the untouchable king when it comes to Hollywood film scores, so much so that his back catalogue, from massive franchises like Jurassic Park and Star Wars to cult classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Hook, places him legions above the rest. But don’t be fooled—in the industry’s classic penchant for nepotism, Williams’ family has profited off his fortune in launching their own careers, much like many artists around them. It’s his son who took this to a new level of classic rock heights.
The name Joseph Williams may not ring too many bells in its own right, but the composer’s youngest son has his own command over the music industry in the form of the band Toto, which he fronted in the period of the late 1980s for their albums Fahrenheit and The Seventh One, released in 1986 and 1988, respectively.
Over the years he has had a somewhat sporadic relationship with the band, departing initially after the latter album before taking up brief stints back with them in both 1998 and 2006, and then eventually permanently rejoining after the group’s reformation in 2015. Since then, the band has put out albums Toto XIV and Old is New, with Williams being the only remaining member from previous lineups as of 2020.
His time with Toto may be a somewhat on-and-off affair, so what exactly did he get up to in the intervening years? As it turns out, quite a bit. Williams has released no less than 11 solo albums between 1982 and 2021, also managing his time as a session musician for many artists, including the former frontman of Yes, Jon Anderson, on his own solo efforts, as well as for the rock band Chicago.
How has John Williams helped his son in the industry?
He has also fairly taken advantage of his father’s Hollywood contact book because his voice has graced the silver screen more times than you can count. Most predominantly, he has worked with Disney, voicing singing roles for the main mouse himself. But he also had a hand in shaping an animated classic—anytime you’ve heard ‘Hakuna Matata’ or ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from The Lion King, it’s Williams providing the dulcet tones of adult Simba. No prizes for guessing who landed him that gig.
To be fair, his dad’s impact has clearly never been lost on his musical trajectory, as the pair have teamed up on various occasions to become a film composing force, with the Williams son having penned pieces on the soundtracks of three Star Wars movies—Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones. It’s clear that, in a musical capacity, this father and son could take the world by storm.
In that sense, not only has Joseph Williams followed in his father’s footsteps, but he has really gone further than that, sitting at the crux of both rock music and Hollywood with a massive songbook to back it up. Ultimately, we can begrudge nepotism all we want, but in the case of the Williams family, there’s no denying that music across so many realms wouldn’t be the same without them.
