John Barry

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Born: November 3, 1933 | Died: January 30, 2011 Primary Instrument: Composer/conductor/leader

John Barry, the Academy Award-winning film composer whose idiosyncratic and iconic compositions over the course of a lifetime in the movies -- including some of the best known James Bond music and the themes to “Midnight Cowboy,” and “Out of Africa,” among dozens of others.

The British-born composer not only helped define the feel of the Bond films but crafted music that served as a 1960s soundtrack to a new kind of jet-setting lifestyle. With his wildly adventurous arrangements and instrumentation, his music's devil-may-care feel will forever be connected to fashionably mod cocktail lounges of the era.

With its seductive strings and grand melodies, “You Only Live Twice” captures the sound of sexy adventure, both smooth and pleasantly casual but somehow filled with tension. The pluck of an acoustic guitar sits alongside the flutter of a harp; an underlying rhythm sounds like Phil Spector's wall of sound as filtered through a cocktail shaker.

Though the authorship of the original theme song for the James Bond films has been in dispute (Monty Norman is credited as sole writer), there's no denying that regardless of who thought up the melody -- the crux of the authorship claim -- it's Barry's arrangement that pushes the song over the edge. Witty and sharp, his use of brass as de facto exclamation points helped define James Bond.

One of the most profoundly moving theme songs in film, Barry's 1969 score to “Midnight Cowboy” won the 1970 Grammy for best instrumental composition. Barry oversaw both the score and soundtrack, which also featured Fred Neil's song, “Everybody's Talkin'” as performed by Harry Nilsson. That won the Grammy for best male pop vocal performance.

Barry's genius was on full display for his Academy Award-winning score to “Out of Africa.” The theme was somehow both epic and gentle, a patient, moving hymn that takes its time unfolding, but whose open spaces are filled with majestic grandeur. The score offered evidence of a composer who was settling down from decades providing energy and action to thrilling narratives, and moving toward a contemplation that felt less tense but no less urgent.

Barry's father was in the cinema business running eight cinemas in York, which first sparked his musical interests. Although originally a classical pianist Barry also decided to learn the trumpet and started growing an interest for composing and arranging music. But it was during his National Service that he began performing as a musician.

After taking a correspondence course (with jazz composer Bill Russo) and arranging for some of the bands of the day, he formed The John Barry Seven, with whom he had some hit records, including “Hit and Miss”, the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury programme, and a cover of the Ventures' “Walk Don't Run”.

The career breakthrough for Barry was the BBC television series Drumbeat, when he appeared with The John Barry Seven and arranged for many of the singers, including Adam Faith; he also composed songs (along with Les Vandyke) and film scores on Faith's behalf. When Faith made his first film Beat Girl in 1960 Barry composed, arranged and conducted the score that was not only Barry's first film, but the first soundtrack album to be released on an LP in the UK. Barry also composed the music for another Faith film “Never Let Go”, orchestrated the score for “Mix Me a Person,” and composed, arranged and conducted the score for “The Amorous Prawn.”

Barry was employed by the EMI record company from 1959 until 1962 arranging orchestral accompaniment for the company's recording artists. From 1962 Barry transferred to Ember Records where he produced albums as well as arranging them.

Awards:

Awards and nominations

Five Academy Awards

1967 Best Original Song for "Born Free" from Born Free

1967 Best Original Music Score for Born Free

1969 Best Original Music Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) for The Lion in Winter

1986 Best Original Score for Out of Africa

1991 Best Original Score for Dances with Wolves

Academy Award nominations

1972 Best Original Dramatic Score for Mary, Queen of Scots

1993 Best Original Score for Chaplin Grammy Award

1992 Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Dances with Wolves BAFTA Award 1969 Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for The Lion in Winter BAFTA Fellowship Award

2005 BAFTA nominations

1987 Best Score for Out of Africa

1992 Best Original Score for Dances with Wolves

Emmy Award nominations

1964 Outstanding Achievement in Composing Original Music for Television for Elizabeth Taylor in London (a 1963 television special)

1977 Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special (Dramatic Underscore) for Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years Max Steiner Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the City of Vienna)

2009 Barry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.

Last Updated: February 1, 2011

Barry worked on the soundtracks for the following Bond films: Dr. No (1962) — James Bond Theme used on main and end titles and Bond's arrival in Jamaica
From Russia with Love (lyrics by Lionel Bart) (1963),
Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Song in a Motion Picture
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Moonraker (1979)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985),
(Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture & for Best Original Song - Motion Picture)
The Living Daylights (1987) Other major film scores Beat Girl (1960)
Never Let Go (1960)
The Cool Mikado (1962)
The Amorous Prawn (1962)
The L-Shaped Room (1962)
Man in the Middle (1963)
A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964)
Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
Zulu (1964)
Boy and Bicycle (1965)
Mister Moses (1965)
Four in the Morning (1965)
The Party's Over (1965)
The Knack …and How to Get It (1965)
King Rat (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Born Free (1966)
(Two Academy Awards - Best Music, Original Song (lyrics by Don Black), Best Music, Original Music Score, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture)
The Chase (1966)
The Wrong Box (1966)
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
The Whisperers (1967)
Dutchman (1967)
Boom! (1968)
Petulia (1968)
Deadfall (1968)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
(Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture, BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score)
The Appointment (1969)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
(Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition)
Monte Walsh (1970)
The Last Valley (1970)
They Might Be Giants (1971)
Murphy's War (1971)
Walkabout (1971)
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
(Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
Follow Me! (1972)
A Doll's House (1973)
The Tamarind Seed (1974)
The Dove (1974)
(Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song)
The Day of the Locust (1975)
King Kong (1976)
Robin and Marian (1976)
The Deep (1977)
(Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song (lyrics by Donna Summer) - Motion Picture)
First Love (1977)
The White Buffalo (1977)
Game Of Death (1978)
The Betsy (1978)
Starcrash (1978)
Hanover Street (1979)
The Black Hole (1979)
Somewhere in Time (1980)
(Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture)
Touched by Love (1980)
Inside Moves (1980)
Night Games (1980)
Raise the Titanic (1980)
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
(Razzie Award for Worst Musical Score)
Body Heat (1981)
Frances (1982)
Murder By Phone (1982)
Hammett (1982)
The Golden Seal (1983)
High Road to China (1983)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Until September (1984)
Mike's Murder (1984)
Jagged Edge (1985)
Out of Africa (1985)
(Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score, BAFTA Award nomination for Best Original Film Score)
Howard the Duck (1986)
A Killing Affair (1986)
The Golden Child (1986)
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Hearts of Fire (1987)
Masquerade (1988)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
(Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score, BAFTA Award nomination for Best Original Film Score, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture)
Chaplin (1992)
(Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Score, Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture)
Ruby Cairo (1993)
My Life (1993)
Indecent Proposal (1993)
The Specialist (1994)
Cry, The Beloved Country (1995)
Across The Sea of Time (1995) (3D IMAX movie)
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Swept from the Sea (1997)
Mercury Rising (1998)
Playing by Heart (1998)
Enigma (2001) Musicals Passion Flower Hotel (1965)
Lolita, My Love (1971),
a musical comedy (text by Alan Jay Lerner) based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita
Billy (1974)
The Little Prince and the Aviator (1981)
Brighton Rock (2004) Television themes Dateline London (1962)
Elizabeth Taylor in London
(Grammy award nomination) (1963)
Juke Box Jury (1959–1967)
The Human Jungle (1963–1965)
Impromptu (1964)
Sophia Loren in Rome (1964)
The Newcomers (1965–1969)
Vendetta (1966)
The Persuaders! (1971–1972)
The Adventurer (1972–1973)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973)
The Glass Menagerie (1973)
Born Free (1974)
Love Among the Ruins (1975)
Eleanor and Franklin (1976)
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977)
The War Between the Tates (1977)
Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977)
The Gathering (1977)
The Corn is Green (1979)
Willa (1979)
Svengali (1983)
USA Today-The TV series (1988)
The Witness (1992)
John Barry-Moviola (1993) Other works Stringbeat (1961)
The Americans (1975)
The Beyondness of Things (1999)
Eternal Echoes (2001)
The Seasons - no release date set Hit singles (Excludes co-composed hits, e.g. Duran Duran's A View to a Kill) "Hit And Miss" as The John Barry Seven plus Four, (1960)
"Beat For Beatniks" as The John Barry Orchestra,(1960)
"Never Let Go" as The John Barry Orchestra, (1960)
"Blueberry Hill" as The John Barry Orchestra, (1960)
"Walk Don't Run" as The John Barry Seven, (1960)
"Black Stockings" as The John Barry Seven, (1960)
"The Magnificent Seven" as The John Barry Seven, (1961)
"Cutty Sark" as The John Barry Seven, (1962)
"The James Bond Theme" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#13 (1962) "From Russia With Love" as The John Barry Orchestra, (1963)
"Theme From 'The Persuaders'" as John Barry, (1971)

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