Jim Johnston Explains How He Wrote Steve Austin’s Theme

Jim Johnston had the first version of Steve Austin's theme done in hours. 

A few theme songs are as iconic as the glass shatter and plodding theme of Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man who wrote that theme and others for WWE for 32 years Jim Johnston told Sports Illustrated he knew what kind of music to make for Austin when watching the first vignettes of the character. 

“From his vignettes, I saw that Steve was this ass-kicker of a guy who did not enter a room with subtlety. He needed something that reflected that,” said Johnston. 

An important part for Johnston was the music matching the mood of the arena when Austin showed up for a fight. 

“I had in my mind that this would be driving and low, but it needed something relentless about it. It needed to capture someone who entered a room and made you think, ‘God only knows what happens next,’" said Johnston.

In the interview, Johnston revealed he started with only a glass shattering sound effect and added the car noises later because the glass shatter sounded "thin." He also admitted he wrote the song in twenty minutes and had it recorded within hours. 

The full interview can be read at SI.com.