The musical score for Star Wars was created and directed by John Williams, with Herbert Spencer's orchestration (he also orchestrated all three films in the original trilogy). The 87 musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra performed the score, which was recorded in fourteen sessions at Anvil Studios located in Denham, England, spanning from March 5, 8–12, 15 and 16, 1977.
The movie debuted on May 25, 1977, and by the end of the summer, a disco rendition of the Star Wars Theme by Meco rose to the top of the American music charts. In February 1978, Williams was awarded three Grammys, followed by his third Academy Award in April (his second for Best Original Score).
In 1977, 20th Century Fox Records initially launched the "Star Wars" original soundtrack on LP. John Williams handpicked 74 minutes of music from the full 88-minute score for this edition. He also re-sequenced the cues and used crossfading to enhance the listening experience. The music versions featured on this album were not the film mixes done by Eric Tomlinson, but instead, remixes created by John Neal specifically for the album. We also know that John Neal used the 16-track tapes from the recording sessions for these mixes.
Polydor later put out the original soundtrack on CD in 1986. This version used the identical masters as the original LP, retaining the same edited program and John Neal's mixes. The enhanced audio quality of CD over vinyl is the only significant difference between the original LP and the Polydor CD.
The complete score was released chronologically for the first time in 1997 (RCA Victor) and 2004 (Sony Classical). Both releases have the same track listing. The RCA version includes detailed notes on each track by Michael Matessino, which are absent from the Sony Classical version.
Sony Classical rereleased the original soundtrack masters in a different physical format right before they lost the rights in 2016 as part of the "Ultimate Digital Collection". This release was created from a new, high-quality scan of the OST master, ensuring it retained John Neal's mixes and all the original edits. However, the Ultimate Digital Collection was available from sites such as HDTracks in lossless formats up to 192 kHz/24-bit, while the Polydor CD was only available in standard CD quality, which is lossless 44.1 kHz/16-bit. Since Walt Disney Records acquired the rights, the Ultimate Digital Collection is no longer available for purchase.
Walt Disney Records released a three-LP 40th-anniversary box set on December 1, 2017. Considering its release before the 2018 Remastered sets, it likely utilized the 2016 OST master scans, similar to the Ultimate Digital Collection. However, as an LP release, it lacks high-quality audio and can be seen as a reissue of the original 1977 LP. The third LP included a bonus side that duplicated the track "The Last Battle" (distinct from the cue of the same name), while the other side featured a decorative logo etching.
**Woodwind: **3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons
**Brass: **8 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 tubas
**Percussion: **Timpani, 3 percussion
**Keyboards: **Piano, Celeste
**Strings: **2 harps, 14 first violins, 12 second violins, 10 violas, 10 cellos, 6 double basses
**Cantina Band: **3 saxophones, 1 trumpet, 1 clarinet, Fender Rhodes piano, steel drum, Arp synthesizer, drum kit, and percussion
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope soundtrack on Wikipedia
- A New Hope Soundtrack in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope soundtrack at Discogs