Longtime NFL Films composer Sam Spence died on the eve of Super Bowl 50. He was 88.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Spence died Saturday morning at a nursing center in Lewisville, Texas.
Spence composed and conducted the music for hundreds of NFL Films' highlights from the 1960s through the '80s.
His son, Kim Spence, told the Chronicle that Spence passing away on the eve of the 50th Super Bowl reflected his father's flair for the dramatic, as heard in songs like "Up She Rises," "Pony Soldiers," "Let's Go Big O" and "The Over the Hill Gang."
Your magical music gave a sound to the game and will always give goosebumps to the world. Thank you, Sam Spence. RIP pic.twitter.com/BlOPmLOOj7
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) February 7, 2016
"He lived to hear from people who enjoyed his work," Kim Spence told the newspaper. "He believed his music would allow him to live forever."
Spence was born in San Francisco, host city of Sunday's Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Spence became a music instructor at the University of Southern California before moving to Munich, Germany.