When you tune in your television to watch the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, you may wonder who stole the theme music.
How could an Olympics dare begin without the familiar rumble of kettle drums and shrill horns that many automatically associate with the Summer and Winter Games?
Easy. Television-wise, it's a new ballgame. That goes for the music, too.
NBC's coverage of the games in Seoul marks only the third time since 1964 that ABC will not broadcast the Olympics. ABC owns the rights to the long-familiar theme, 'Bugler's Dream,' composed by Leo Arnaud.
NBC teamed up with Arista Records, music and computer experts, and a compact disc producer to assemble a new music library for use during the network's 180 hours of broadcasting between the Sept. 17 opening and the Oct. 2 closing ceremonies.
The hallmark is a new theme composed by Boston Pops conductor John Williams. It has a soaring energy that immediately identifies it as a Williams product, not unlike the music he composed for the 'Star Wars' movies or his NBC Nightly News theme.
'Everybody will call up NBC and ask why we're not using the Olympic theme. That undoubtedly will be the biggest shock, because it's like changing the national anthem. People never associated it with ABC, but with the Olympics,' said Tom James, vice president of James & Aster, the firm which assembled, produced and computerized all music for the 1988 Olympics.
The music library has been put on sets of 30 compact discs, available for use in each of the 50 network video production facilities in and around Seoul.
The CDs, produced by Philips and Du Pont Optical Co. of New York, will allow producers instant access to any cut of music they need. For the first time, the Olympics coverage will be broadcast in stereo.
'All of the music is categorized and cross-referenced in terms of moods we think it will go with,' James said. 'Triumphant, light motion, slow motion, heavy action, reflective. It's all been transformed into styles ranging from New Orleans jazz to classical.'
Some of it will be very familiar. A lot of Top 40 hits from the past three years are included in the NBC music bank, such as an instrumental version of Michael Jackson's 'Bad.' Other things are brand new, like the Yellowjackets' 'Local Hero' off their latest fusion album.
American television audiences had 20 years to grow accustomed to 'Bugler's Dream,' so NBC and Arista know they must make a more sudden impact to draw attention to the new theme.
The public's first chance to hear the music Williams and a number of pop superstars created will come with the Aug. 31 release of the Arista recording, 'The 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time.'
It features Williams' 'Olympic Spirit,' Whitney Houston's recording of the title track, 'One Moment in Time,' and new songs by Eric Carmen, the Four Tops, Eric Clapton, the Bee Gees, and Jennifer Holliday. Chances are some will become hits in their own right.
Arista plans to ship 1 million copies of the album in CD, vinyl and cassette formats initially. It will be preceded by a five-cut CD sampler scheduled for shipment to radio stations Aug. 25. The 'Olympic Spirit' theme will also be released as a pop single.
Gary Borman, executive supervisor of the album project, said Williams recorded the new theme with an 80-piece orchestra comprised of Los Angeles musicians.
'It has the fanfare, the drama to it, a celebratory nature,' Borman said. 'John was really inspired. You never know what you are going to get, but it was beyond our expectations. When you marry the music to the visuals, we feel it will have a tremendous impact on Olympics viewers.'
The music will make its television debut on Sept. 15 during a two-hour ABC preview of the Olympic games.
Other original music for the album includes Carmen's 'Reasons To Try'; 'Indestructible' by the Four Tops; the Bee Gees' 'Shape of Things to Come'; and Holliday's 'Peace In Our Time.'
The Bee Gees also wrote, produced and sing background vocals on the track 'Fight,' with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and vocals and featuring a group of top British musicians recording under the pseudonym, The Bunburys.
The album also includes tracks by Taylor Dayne, The Christians, Jermaine Jackson, Kashif and the new rock 'n' roll band Odds and Ends singing 'That's What Dreams Are Made Of.'
