The Raiders March, Indiana Jones' theme, was originally two melodies simply played on piano by composer John Williams. When he performed them for Steven Spielberg, the director asked him to link the two melodies together to create The Raiders March. The song was composed around 1980 and it has been used in every Indiana Jones movie and also appears in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles to represent Harrison Ford's portrayal of the character.
The full version of The Raiders March includes a section of the love theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, otherwise known as Marion's Theme. The shorter version excluding this section is sometimes referred to simply as Indiana Jones' Theme. The music was first heard in its entirety during the ending credits of the first film.
While primarily being a leitmotif, or a recurring musical theme, for Indiana Jones, the theme also makes several more whimsical appearances within The Adventures of Mutt, the theme music for Indy's son Mutt Williams as heard in full on the CD album. In fact, as Mutt swings from vine to vine in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Raiders March plays robustly in the background. It is clear that Mutt has inherited not only part of his father's sense of adventure, but also a part of his rousing music.
Since the release of Raiders its theme and soundalikes has entered the popular consciousness including as part of the soundtrack of the Troféu Imprensa in 1982-1983 and 1985-1987 on the Programa Silvio Santos on SBT.