Indiana Jones Soundtrack: John Williams and the Songs in Each Film

John Williams scored all five Indiana Jones films, from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), directed by Steven Spielberg, to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), directed by James Mangold. No other composer is credited on a main film in the series, so the music stays consistent across 42 years and a change of director.

The film by film run is simple. Williams scored Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Dial of Destiny (2023). Lucasfilm says the Temple of Doom score was performed with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Which albums carry that music? Temple of Doom has a score album titled "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", released by Polydor in 1984 with 11 tracks. Its best-known cues by title are "Short Round's Theme", "Fast Streets of Shanghai", "Slalom on Mt. Humol" and "The Mine Car Chase". Think of it as the set piece menu, since the track names read like the chase and escape scenes they accompany.

The Last Crusade album, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", came from Warner Bros. Records on May 23, 1989, with 13 tracks. The cues people search for include "Indy's Very First Adventure", "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra", "Escape From Venice", "The Keeper of the Grail" and "Belly of the Steel Beast".

Crystal Skull has "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", released by Concord Records on May 19, 2008, with 19 tracks. It opens with "Raiders March", the theme most listeners mean when they hum the series, and also includes "Irina's Theme", "The Adventures of Mutt", "Call of the Crystal" and "The Jungle Chase".

Dial of Destiny has "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack", released by Walt Disney Records on June 28, 2023, with 18 tracks. Look for "Helena's Theme", "Tuk Tuk in Tangiers", "Voller Returns" and "Water Ballet". In my opinion, "Helena's Theme" is the first new character theme in years to sit comfortably beside the older material.

If you want to hear the scores in sequence, the Indiana Jones movies in order guide explains why Temple of Doom comes before Raiders in story order. For the performers, see the Indiana Jones cast page.

The signature music of the Indiana Jones films is John Williams' "Raiders March", and the licensed songs are "Anything Goes" in Temple of Doom, "Hound Dog" in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and "Magical Mystery Tour", "Space Oddity" and "La Fogaraccia" in Dial of Destiny. Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade have no named songs, so Williams' orchestral writing carries both.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). "Raiders March" is the piece most people mean when they ask what the Indiana Jones theme is called. Williams scored the film, directed by Steven Spielberg, and the march is the cue that follows Indy from the Peruvian temple, where Belloq takes the golden idol, to the race for the Ark. It also opens the Crystal Skull album, so the franchise's best-known theme comes back 27 years later.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). The film opens in a Shanghai nightclub with "Anything Goes", sung in Mandarin by Kate Capshaw as the singer Willie Scott, with Cole Porter's song arranged by Williams. It is the only film in the series that starts on a full musical number. The Polydor score album, released in 1984, also carries "Short Round's Theme", the cue for Indy's young sidekick, along with "The Mine Car Chase".

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). No licensed song is credited. The Warner Bros. Records album, released May 23, 1989, shows where the music lives: "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra", "Escape From Venice" and "The Keeper of the Grail" cover the chase, the Venice sequence and the Grail itself.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" plays over the opening scene, when a hot rod full of teenagers races a Russian driven US Army convoy across the desert highway. It sets the 1957 period before the first note of Williams' score arrives.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). This is the series' busiest film for licensed music. The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" and Nino Rota's "La Fogaraccia" are both credited. David Bowie's "Space Oddity" plays on a radio in the 1969 sequence, just before Americans celebrate the Apollo 11 moon landing. Williams again wrote the score.

Our picks: the best songs in the Indiana Jones films (opinion)

• "Raiders March": in my opinion, the most recognizable theme in the saga, and it works in every film that uses it.
• "Anything Goes": an unexpected way to begin an adventure, and Capshaw singing in Mandarin gives Temple of Doom its own identity.
• "Hound Dog": it tells you the decade within seconds, which is what a good needle drop should do.
• "Space Oddity": a radio cue in the 1969 sequence that ties the moon landing to the mood of an older, weary Indy.
• "Short Round's Theme": a score cue that gives the sidekick his own musical voice.
• "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra": a title that tells you the chase is played for fun as much as for danger.
• "The Mine Car Chase": the set piece that Temple of Doom is remembered for, and the album title sells it.

If you are chasing a particular film, the Indiana Jones movies hub links every title, and where to watch Indiana Jones lists the services that carry them. For the collectible side of the series, see Indiana Jones merchandise.