Much has been written and talked about John Williams' monumental scores to the Star Wars films. I wanted to dig deeper into the music in each film, but focus on the source music.
Source music (also known as diegetic music) is the music heard by the characters in the scene. In the case of Star Wars, it's often music being played by characters on screen. So here goes, film by film (in Episode order) - what source music there is and where you can hear it.
Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Williams composed source music for the background of several Mos Espa scenes. Most are buried heavy in the film mix but you can hear Street Band of Mos Espa, Desert Winds (unused), Mos Espa Arena Band, and The Street Singer on the Ultimate Edition soundtrack. You could argue The Flag Parade is half score/half source. At the end of the film we see the Naboo victory parade with Augie's Great Municipal Band.
Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
A bit of futuristic upbeat music appears in the Dex's Diner scene. This unreleased bit was written by John's son, Joseph Williams.
Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
When Anakin and Palpatine meet in the opera house, the Mon Calamari ballet performance features low male voices and synths. It blends into the ominous score underscoring his Dark Side studies. It appears on the soundtrack in Palpatine's Teachings.
Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Arguably the most recognizable film source music, we hear Cantina Band as Luke and Ben enter the Mos Eisley cantina and Cantina Band #2 when they discuss with Han and Chewie. Williams created an interesting jazz combo that sounds both futuristic and familiar.
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
No source music to be found in this Episode.
Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Jabba's palace is a boon for source music. When the droids first talk to Jabba, we hear Jabba's Baroque Recital, a courtly minuet. The Max Rebo Band performed the disco-like Lapti Nek (arrangement/lyrics by Joseph Williams). The song was replaced by Jedi Rocks (music by Jerry Hey) in the '97 Special Edition. There are some additional snippets of songs performed on the sail barge, but they remain unreleased.
Later, there is a bit of Ewok source music - Ewok Feast and Part of the Tribe. The semi-source Ewok Celebration (the Yub Nub song) was replaced in 1997 with Victory Celebration.
Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
As our heroes arrive in Maz Kanata's castle we hear two reggae songs, Jabba Flow and Dobra Doompa (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and J.J. Abrams) with the former released on an EDM inspired Star Wars album.
Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
With a visit to the casino on Canto Bight, we hear a throwback source to the original Cantina Band. The bright tune features brief quotes of "Aquarela do Brasil" and the melody of "The Long Goodbye" (written by Williams in 1973). Most of the casino source music was featured in Canto Bight on the soundtrack.
Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
With their stop of Pasaana, our heroes visit the Aki Aki festival. As they pass through the crowd, we hear Lido Hey (Miranda and Abrams). On the planet Kijimi, they visit the bar run by the familiar looking Oma Tres. In the bar we hear Oma's Place (Rickey Tinez and Abrams).
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