John Barry (composer)
Encyclopedia
John Barry Prendergast, OBE (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was an English conductor
and composer
of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond
films between 1962 and 1987. He wrote the scores to the award winning films Midnight Cowboy
, Dances with Wolves
and Out of Africa, in a career which lasted over 50 years.
Born in York
, North Riding of Yorkshire
, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas, owned by his father. During his National Service
in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician having learned to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven
. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No
who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond
given to them by Monty Norman
. This started a successful association between Barry and the James Bond films which lasted for 25 years.
He received awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free
, and one each for The Lion in Winter
(for which he also won a BAFTA Award) and Out of Africa (for which he also won a Grammy Award
). He was later nominated for a Golden Globe for best original score for the 1980 film Somewhere in Time
. Barry completed his last film score, Enigma
in 2001 and recorded the successful album Eternal Echoes the same year. He then concentrated chiefly on live performances and co wrote the music to the musical Brighton Rock in (2004) alongside Don Black
. Barry was married four times and had four children. He moved to California in 1975 and lived there for the remainder of his life until his death in 2011.
, England and was the son of an English mother and a Irish father. His father, Jack Xavier Prendergast, from Cork
, was a projectionist
during the silent movie
era, who later owned a chain of cinemas across northern England
. As a result of his father's work, Barry was raised in and around cinemas in Northern England
and he later stated that his childhood background of being brought up in the theatres owned by his father, influenced his musical tastes and interests as a result.
composer Bill Russo
) and working as an arranger
for the Jack Parnell
and Ted Heath's Orchestra, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven
, with whom he had some hit records on the EMI Columbia
label, including "Hit and Miss", the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury
programme, a cover of the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run", and a cover of the theme for the United Artists Western The Magnificent Seven
. The career breakthrough for Barry was the BBC television series Drumbeat
, when he appeared with the John Barry Seven. He was employed by EMI
from 1959 until 1962 arranging orchestral accompaniment for the company's singers, including Adam Faith
; he also composed songs (along with Les Vandyke
) and scores for films in which Faith was featured. When Faith made his first film, Beat Girl
, in 1960, Barry composed, arranged and conducted the score, his first. His music was later released as the first soundtrack album on LP album 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
.
In 1962, Barry transferred to Ember Records
, where he produced albums as well as arranging them.
These achievements caught the attention of the producers
of a new film called Dr. No
who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond
given to them by Monty Norman
. Barry was hired and the result was one of the most famous signature tunes in film history, the "James Bond Theme
". (Credit goes to Monty Norman, see below.) When the producers of the Bond series engaged Lionel Bart
to score the next James Bond film From Russia with Love, they discovered that Bart could neither read nor write music. Though Bart wrote a title song for the film, the producers remembered Barry's arrangement of the James Bond Theme and his composing and arranging for several films with Adam Faith. Lionel Bart also recommended Barry to producer Stanley Baker
for his film Zulu
. Bart and Barry worked together in the film Man in the Middle
.
This was the turning point for Barry, and he went on to become one of the most celebrated film composers, winning five Academy Awards
and four Grammy Award
s, with scores for, among others, The Lion in Winter
, Midnight Cowboy
, Born Free
, and Somewhere in Time
.
Barry was often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service
), and to make wide use of pop artists and songs in Midnight Cowboy
. Because Barry provided not just the main title theme but the complete soundtrack score
, his music often enhanced the critical reception of a film, notably in Midnight Cowboy
, the 1976 version of King Kong
, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves
. Barry would often watch films and would note down with pen and paper, what worked or what did not.
One of Barry's best known compositions is the theme for the 1971 TV series The Persuaders!
, also known as "The Unlucky Heroes", in which Tony Curtis
and Roger Moore
were paired as rich playboys solving crimes. The score for the series was composed by Ken Thorne
. The theme went on to be a hit single in some European countries and has been re-released on collections of 1970s disco
hits. The instrumental recording features Moog synthesizer
s. Barry also wrote the scores to a number of musicals, including Passion Flower Hotel (lyrics by Trevor Peacock
), the successful West End show Billy
(lyrics by Don Black) and two major Broadway flops, The Little Prince and the Aviator
and Lolita, My Love
, the latter with Alan Jay Lerner
as lyricist.
Barry's work began to be sampled in the 1990s by artists such as Dr. Dre
and Wu-Tang Clan
, with his "James Bond Theme
" being sampled by performers as diverse as Bonobo
, Gang Starr
and Junior Reid
. Fatboy Slim
used the opening guitars from "Beat Girl (Main Title)" for "Rockafeller Skank" from his 1998 album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby
. The Sneaker Pimps also sampled "Golden Girl" on their 1996 single "6 Underground
". Additionally, "You Only Live Twice" was heavily sampled on "Millennium
" from Robbie Williams
' second album, I've Been Expecting You
.
In 2001, the University of York
conferred an honorary degree on Barry, and in 2002 he was named an Honorary Freeman
of the City of York.
During 2006, Barry was the executive producer on an album entitled Here's to the Heroes by the Australian ensemble The Ten Tenors
. The album features a number of songs Barry wrote in collaboration with his lyricist friend, Don Black. Barry and Black also composed one of the songs on Shirley Bassey
's 2009 album, The Performance. The song entitled, "Our Time is Now", is the first written by the duo for Bassey since "Diamonds Are Forever
".
continually credited as the composer of the "James Bond Theme
").
In his tenure with the film series, Barry's music, variously brassy and moody, appealed to film aficionados. For From Russia With Love he composed "007", an alternative James Bond signature theme, which is featured in four other Bond films (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker). The theme "Stalking", for the teaser sequence of From Russia With Love, was covered by colleague Marvin Hamlisch
for The Spy Who Loved Me
(1977). (The music and lyrics for From Russia With Loves title song were written by Lionel Bart
, whose musical theatre credits included Oliver!). Barry also (indirectly) contributed to the soundtrack of the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale
: his Born Free
theme appears briefly in the opening sequence.
In Goldfinger
, he perfected the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz and sensuous melodies. There is even an element of Barry's jazz roots in the big-band track "Into Miami", which follows the title credits and accompanies the film's iconic image of the camera lens zooming toward the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
As Barry matured, the Bond scores concentrated more on lush melodies, as in Moonraker
and Octopussy
. Barry's score for A View to a Kill was traditional, but his collaboration with Duran Duran
for the title song
was contemporary and one of the most successful Bond themes to date, reaching number one in the United States and number two in the UK Singles Chart
. Both A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights
theme by a-ha
blended the pop music style of the artists with Barry's orchestration. In 2006, a-ha's Pal Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing".
Barry's last score for the Bond series was 1987's The Living Daylights
, Dalton's first film in the series with Barry making a cameo appearance as a conductor in the film. Barry was intended to score Licence to Kill
but was recovering from throat surgery at the time and it was considered unsafe to fly him to London to complete the score. The score was completed by Michael Kamen
.
David Arnold
, a British composer, saw the result of two years' work in 1997 with the release of Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album of new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. Arnold thanks Barry in the sleeve notes, referring to him as "the Guvnor". Almost all of the tracks were John Barry compositions, and the revision of his work met with his approval – he contacted Barbara Broccoli
, producer of the then upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies
, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer. Arnold also went on to score the subsequent Bond films: The World Is Not Enough
, Die Another Day
, Casino Royale
and Quantum of Solace.
Sole compositional credit for the "James Bond Theme" is attributed to Monty Norman
, who was contracted as composer for Dr. No. Some 30 years later, in 2001, the disputed authorship of the theme was examined legally in the High Court in London after Norman sued The Sunday Times
for publishing an article in 1997 in which Barry was named as the true composer; Barry testified for the defense.
In court, Barry testified that he had been handed a musical manuscript of a work by Norman (meant to become the theme) and that he was to arrange it musically, and that he composed additional music and arranged the "James Bond Theme". The court was also told that Norman received sole credit because of his prior contract with the producers. Barry said that a deal was struck whereby he would receive a flat fee of £250 and Norman would receive the songwriting credit. Barry said that he had accepted the deal with United Artists Head of Music Noel Rogers because it would help his career. Despite these claims the jury ruled unanimously in favour of Norman.
On 7 September 2006, John Barry publicly defended his authorship of the theme on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2
.
, and also received composition lessons from Francis Jackson, Organist of York Minster.
Barry moved to California in 1975, with a British judge later accusing him of emigrating to avoid paying £
134,000 due the Inland Revenue
. The matter was resolved in the late 1980s and Barry was able to return to the UK. He subsequently lived for many years in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island
, from 1980.
Barry suffered a rupture of the oesophagus
in 1988, following a toxic reaction to a health tonic he had consumed. The incident rendered him unable to work for two years and left him vulnerable to pneumonia
.
Barry was married four times. His first three marriages, to Barbara Pickard (1959–63); Jane Birkin
(1965–68); and Jane Sidey (1969–78), all ended in divorce. He was married to Laurie from 1978 until his death. The couple had a son, Jonpatrick. Barry had three daughters, Suzanne (Susie) with his first wife, Barbara, Kate with his second wife, Jane, and Sian from a relationship with Ulla Larson between the first two marriages.
Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011 at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77. He is survived by Laurie, his wife of 33 years, and by his four children and five grandchildren.
A memorial concert took place on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall
in London where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, Dame Shirley Bassey, Rumer
, David Arnold
, Wynne Evans
, Derek Watkins (trumpeter)
and others performed Barry's music. Sir George Martin, Michael Parkinson
, Don Black, Timothy Dalton
and others also contributed to the celebration of his life and work. The event was sponsored by The Royal College of Music
through a grant by the Broccoli
Foundation. See links to four videos below.
Academy Award nominations
Grammy Award
BAFTA Award
BAFTA Fellowship Award
BAFTA nominations
Emmy Award
nominations
Golden Globe Award
nominations
Max Steiner Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the City of Vienna)
Lifetime Achievement Award from World Soundtrack Academy (presented at the Ghent Film Festival)
Barry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1998.
The American Film Institute
ranked Barry's score for Out of Africa #15 on their list of the greatest film scores
. His scores for the following films were also nominated:
's A View to a Kill
)
The 4 highest-charting hits all spent more than 10 weeks in the UK top 50.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films between 1962 and 1987. He wrote the scores to the award winning films Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
, Dances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
and Out of Africa, in a career which lasted over 50 years.
Born in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas, owned by his father. During his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician having learned to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven
The John Barry Seven
The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands.-Origins:...
. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
given to them by Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
. This started a successful association between Barry and the James Bond films which lasted for 25 years.
He received awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
, and one each for The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter (1968 film)
The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
(for which he also won a BAFTA Award) and Out of Africa (for which he also won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
). He was later nominated for a Golden Globe for best original score for the 1980 film Somewhere in Time
Somewhere in Time (film)
Somewhere in Time is a 1980 romantic science fiction film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay...
. Barry completed his last film score, Enigma
Enigma (2001 film)
Enigma is a 2001 British film about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in World War II. The film, directed by Michael Apted, stars Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet. The film's screenplay was by Tom Stoppard, based on the novel Enigma by Robert Harris...
in 2001 and recorded the successful album Eternal Echoes the same year. He then concentrated chiefly on live performances and co wrote the music to the musical Brighton Rock in (2004) alongside Don Black
Don Black
Don Black may refer to:* Don Black , racialist campaigner* Don Black , English lyricist* Don Black , baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics...
. Barry was married four times and had four children. He moved to California in 1975 and lived there for the remainder of his life until his death in 2011.
Early life and family
Barry was born John Barry Prendergast, in YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, England and was the son of an English mother and a Irish father. His father, Jack Xavier Prendergast, from Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, was a projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
during the silent movie
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era, who later owned a chain of cinemas across northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. As a result of his father's work, Barry was raised in and around cinemas in Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
and he later stated that his childhood background of being brought up in the theatres owned by his father, influenced his musical tastes and interests as a result.
Career
Although originally a classical pianist, Barry took a correspondence course (with jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
composer Bill Russo
William Russo (musician)
William Russo, better known as Bill Russo , was an American jazz musician. He is considered one of the greatest jazz composers and arrangers.-History:...
) and working as an arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
for the Jack Parnell
Jack Parnell
John Russell Parnell was an English bandleader and musician.-Biography:Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London....
and Ted Heath's Orchestra, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven
The John Barry Seven
The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands.-Origins:...
, with whom he had some hit records on the EMI Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
label, including "Hit and Miss", the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury
Juke Box Jury
Juke Box Jury was a musical panel show which originally ran on BBC Television from 1 June 1959 until December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series....
programme, a cover of the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run", and a cover of the theme for the United Artists Western The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
. The career breakthrough for Barry was the BBC television series Drumbeat
Drumbeat (TV series)
Drumbeat was a BBC television series that aired every Saturday from 4 April to 29 August 1959. It was the BBC's answer and rival to ITV's TV series Oh Boy!, though as the latter finished on 30 May, for most of its run Drumbeat had no comparable competition.It launched the careers of singer Adam...
, when he appeared with the John Barry Seven. He was employed by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
from 1959 until 1962 arranging orchestral accompaniment for the company's singers, including Adam Faith
Adam Faith
Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
; he also composed songs (along with Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
) and scores for films in which Faith was featured. When Faith made his first film, Beat Girl
Beat Girl
Beat Girl is a 1960 British film about late-fifties youth-rebellion. The title character is played by starlet Gillian Hills, who later went on to have numerous small roles in 1960s and 1970s films, such as Blowup and A Clockwork Orange, and became a successful "ye-ye" singer in France.The music was...
, in 1960, Barry composed, arranged and conducted the score, his first. His music was later released as the first soundtrack album on LP album in the UK. Barry also composed the music for another Faith film, Never Let Go
Never Let Go
Never Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Todd. It concerns a man's purchase, loss of, and attempt to recover a Ford Anglia car. Sellers played a London villain, in one of his rare straight roles.-Plot:...
, orchestrated the score for Mix Me a Person
Mix Me a Person
Mix Me a Person is a 1962 British crime drama film directed by Leslie Norman and starring Anne Baxter, Donald Sinden, Adam Faith, Walter Brown and Carole Ann Ford. A young London criminal is faced with a hanging for murdering a policeman...
, and composed, arranged and conducted the score for The Amorous Prawn
The Amorous Prawn
The Amorous Prawn is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. General Fitzadam receives his final posting in the remote Scottish Highlands, where his wife decides to run their residence as a hotel for wealthy Americans...
.
In 1962, Barry transferred to Ember Records
Ember Records
Ember Records was the name of two record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, one American and one British.-1950s to 60s:In the late 1950s, the eccentric avid jazz fan Jeffrey Kruger, owner of the famous Flamingo Jazz Club, was looking for a new challenge...
, where he produced albums as well as arranging them.
These achievements caught the attention of the producers
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of a new film called Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
given to them by Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
. Barry was hired and the result was one of the most famous signature tunes in film history, the "James Bond Theme
James Bond Theme
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond film....
". (Credit goes to Monty Norman, see below.) When the producers of the Bond series engaged Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
to score the next James Bond film From Russia with Love, they discovered that Bart could neither read nor write music. Though Bart wrote a title song for the film, the producers remembered Barry's arrangement of the James Bond Theme and his composing and arranging for several films with Adam Faith. Lionel Bart also recommended Barry to producer Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker
Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
for his film Zulu
Zulu (film)
Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
. Bart and Barry worked together in the film Man in the Middle
Man in the Middle (film)
Man in the Middle is a 1963 film, starring Robert Mitchum and directed by Guy Hamilton. The movie, set in World War II India, tells the story of the murder trial of an American Army officer who killed a British soldier. Mitchum plays Lieut. Col. Barney Adams, who has been assigned as the accused...
.
This was the turning point for Barry, and he went on to become one of the most celebrated film composers, winning five Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
and four Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, with scores for, among others, The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter (1968 film)
The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
, Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
, Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
, and Somewhere in Time
Somewhere in Time (film)
Somewhere in Time is a 1980 romantic science fiction film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay...
.
Barry was often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
), and to make wide use of pop artists and songs in Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
. Because Barry provided not just the main title theme but the complete soundtrack score
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, his music often enhanced the critical reception of a film, notably in Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
, the 1976 version of King Kong
King Kong (1976 film)
King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
. Barry would often watch films and would note down with pen and paper, what worked or what did not.
One of Barry's best known compositions is the theme for the 1971 TV series The Persuaders!
The Persuaders!
The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
, also known as "The Unlucky Heroes", in which Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
and Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
were paired as rich playboys solving crimes. The score for the series was composed by Ken Thorne
Ken Thorne
Kenneth Thorne is a British-American television and film score composer.- Early life :Thorne was born in East Dereham, a town in the English county of Norfolk. Thorne began his musical career as a pianist with the big bands of England during the 1940s, playing at night clubs and the dance halls...
. The theme went on to be a hit single in some European countries and has been re-released on collections of 1970s disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
hits. The instrumental recording features Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s. Barry also wrote the scores to a number of musicals, including Passion Flower Hotel (lyrics by Trevor Peacock
Trevor Peacock
Trevor Peacock is an English stage and television character actor. He was born in Tottenham, London, the son of Alexandria and Victor Edward Peacock.-Television and Film Career:...
), the successful West End show Billy
Billy (musical)
Billy is a musical based on the novel and play Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall. The book was written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the music is by John Barry, and the lyrics are by Don Black.-Production:...
(lyrics by Don Black) and two major Broadway flops, The Little Prince and the Aviator
The Little Prince and the Aviator
The Little Prince and the Aviator is a musical with a book by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Don Black, and music by John Barry.Based on the classic book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the musical deviates from the original in that aviator Toni, whose plane crashes in the Sahara Desert, explicitly is...
and Lolita, My Love
Lolita, My Love
Lolita, My Love was an unsuccessful musical by John Barry and Alan Jay Lerner, based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. It closed in Boston in 1971 while on a tour prior to Broadway.-Production history:...
, the latter with Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
as lyricist.
Barry's work began to be sampled in the 1990s by artists such as Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
, with his "James Bond Theme
James Bond Theme
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond film....
" being sampled by performers as diverse as Bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
, Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
and Junior Reid
Junior Reid
Delroy "Junior" Reid is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for the songs "One Blood" and "Funny Man", as well as being the man that replaced Michael Rose as lead vocalist for Black Uhuru.-Biography:...
. Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
used the opening guitars from "Beat Girl (Main Title)" for "Rockafeller Skank" from his 1998 album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby
You've Come a Long Way, Baby
You've Come a Long Way, Baby is the second studio album by English big beat musician Fatboy Slim, released on 19 October 1998 through the label Skint Records. The album liner notes state that the album was made at The House of Love. The album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number...
. The Sneaker Pimps also sampled "Golden Girl" on their 1996 single "6 Underground
6 Underground
"6 Underground" is a song by the British band Sneaker Pimps, from their 1996 album Becoming X. First released as a single in the UK in October 1996, the song reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and had moderate radio airplay in the United States...
". Additionally, "You Only Live Twice" was heavily sampled on "Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
" from Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
' second album, I've Been Expecting You
I've Been Expecting You
I've Been Expecting You is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Success:Williams and Chambers started the writing process of the album in Jamaica in the spring of 1998. I've Been Expecting You was released in October 1998. It debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart,...
.
In 2001, the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
conferred an honorary degree on Barry, and in 2002 he was named an Honorary Freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of the City of York.
During 2006, Barry was the executive producer on an album entitled Here's to the Heroes by the Australian ensemble The Ten Tenors
The Ten Tenors
The TEN Tenors are an Australian musical ensemble who have toured world-wide. In a typical set, the group performs Queen standards, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "The Show Must Go On"; tracks from Meat Loaf medley; AC/DC and much more...
. The album features a number of songs Barry wrote in collaboration with his lyricist friend, Don Black. Barry and Black also composed one of the songs on Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
's 2009 album, The Performance. The song entitled, "Our Time is Now", is the first written by the duo for Bassey since "Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (soundtrack)
Diamonds Are Forever is the soundtrack for the 7th James Bond film of the same name."Diamonds Are Forever", the title song, was the second Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, after Goldfinger in 1964...
".
James Bond series
After the success of Dr. No, Barry scored eleven of the next 14 James Bond films (but with Monty NormanMonty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
continually credited as the composer of the "James Bond Theme
James Bond Theme
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond film....
").
In his tenure with the film series, Barry's music, variously brassy and moody, appealed to film aficionados. For From Russia With Love he composed "007", an alternative James Bond signature theme, which is featured in four other Bond films (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker). The theme "Stalking", for the teaser sequence of From Russia With Love, was covered by colleague Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
for The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
(1977). (The music and lyrics for From Russia With Loves title song were written by Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
, whose musical theatre credits included Oliver!). Barry also (indirectly) contributed to the soundtrack of the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
: his Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
theme appears briefly in the opening sequence.
In Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, he perfected the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz and sensuous melodies. There is even an element of Barry's jazz roots in the big-band track "Into Miami", which follows the title credits and accompanies the film's iconic image of the camera lens zooming toward the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
As Barry matured, the Bond scores concentrated more on lush melodies, as in Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
and Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
. Barry's score for A View to a Kill was traditional, but his collaboration with Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
for the title song
A View to a Kill (song)
"A View to a Kill" is the thirteenth single by Duran Duran, released in May 1985.It was a stand-alone single, created for the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, and it remains the only James Bond theme song to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also made it to #2 for 3 weeks on the UK...
was contemporary and one of the most successful Bond themes to date, reaching number one in the United States and number two in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Both A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights (soundtrack)
The Living Daylights is the soundtrack title for the film The Living Daylights and the eleventh and final Bond soundtrack to be scored by composer John Barry...
theme by a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
blended the pop music style of the artists with Barry's orchestration. In 2006, a-ha's Pal Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing".
Barry's last score for the Bond series was 1987's The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
, Dalton's first film in the series with Barry making a cameo appearance as a conductor in the film. Barry was intended to score Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
but was recovering from throat surgery at the time and it was considered unsafe to fly him to London to complete the score. The score was completed by Michael Kamen
Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
.
David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
, a British composer, saw the result of two years' work in 1997 with the release of Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album of new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. Arnold thanks Barry in the sleeve notes, referring to him as "the Guvnor". Almost all of the tracks were John Barry compositions, and the revision of his work met with his approval – he contacted Barbara Broccoli
Barbara Broccoli
Barbara Dana Broccoli, OBE is an American film producer.-Life and career:Broccoli was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of the famous James Bond producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and actress Dana Wilson Broccoli...
, producer of the then upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer. Arnold also went on to score the subsequent Bond films: The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
, Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
, Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
and Quantum of Solace.
Sole compositional credit for the "James Bond Theme" is attributed to Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
, who was contracted as composer for Dr. No. Some 30 years later, in 2001, the disputed authorship of the theme was examined legally in the High Court in London after Norman sued The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
for publishing an article in 1997 in which Barry was named as the true composer; Barry testified for the defense.
In court, Barry testified that he had been handed a musical manuscript of a work by Norman (meant to become the theme) and that he was to arrange it musically, and that he composed additional music and arranged the "James Bond Theme". The court was also told that Norman received sole credit because of his prior contract with the producers. Barry said that a deal was struck whereby he would receive a flat fee of £250 and Norman would receive the songwriting credit. Barry said that he had accepted the deal with United Artists Head of Music Noel Rogers because it would help his career. Despite these claims the jury ruled unanimously in favour of Norman.
On 7 September 2006, John Barry publicly defended his authorship of the theme on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
Personal life
Barry was educated at St Peter's School, YorkSt Peter's School, York
St Peter's School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school located in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse...
, and also received composition lessons from Francis Jackson, Organist of York Minster.
Barry moved to California in 1975, with a British judge later accusing him of emigrating to avoid paying £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
134,000 due the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
. The matter was resolved in the late 1980s and Barry was able to return to the UK. He subsequently lived for many years in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, from 1980.
Barry suffered a rupture of the oesophagus
Boerhaave syndrome
Esophageal rupture is rupture of the esophageal wall due to vomiting. 56% of esophageal perforations are iatrogenic, usually due to medical instrumentation such as an endoscopy or paraesophageal surgery...
in 1988, following a toxic reaction to a health tonic he had consumed. The incident rendered him unable to work for two years and left him vulnerable to pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Barry was married four times. His first three marriages, to Barbara Pickard (1959–63); Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin
Jane Mallory Birkin, OBE is an English-born actress and singer who lives in France. In recent years she has written her own album, directed a film and become an outspoken proponent of democracy in Burma.- Early life :...
(1965–68); and Jane Sidey (1969–78), all ended in divorce. He was married to Laurie from 1978 until his death. The couple had a son, Jonpatrick. Barry had three daughters, Suzanne (Susie) with his first wife, Barbara, Kate with his second wife, Jane, and Sian from a relationship with Ulla Larson between the first two marriages.
Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011 at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77. He is survived by Laurie, his wife of 33 years, and by his four children and five grandchildren.
A memorial concert took place on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, Dame Shirley Bassey, Rumer
Rumer (musician)
Rumer is the professional name of the British female singer-songwriter Sarah Joyce . Her stage name was inspired by the author Rumer Godden. Rumer's voice has been described by The Guardian as being reminiscent of Karen Carpenter...
, David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
, Wynne Evans
Wynne Evans
Wynne Evans is a Welsh tenor. Popularly known for his role as the tenor Gio Compario in the Gocompare.com insurance adverts on television in the United Kingdom, he sang, , in the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall...
, Derek Watkins (trumpeter)
Derek Watkins (trumpeter)
Derek Watkins is a British trumpeter and session musician renowned for playing the trumpet and flugelhorn...
and others performed Barry's music. Sir George Martin, Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, Don Black, Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
and others also contributed to the celebration of his life and work. The event was sponsored by The Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
through a grant by the Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
Foundation. See links to four videos below.
Awards and nominations
Five Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
- 196639th Academy AwardsThe 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...
Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
for "Born Free" from Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia... - 196639th Academy AwardsThe 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...
Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia... - 196842nd Academy AwardsThe 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.This is currently the highest rated of the televised Academy Awards ceremonies, according to Nielsen ratings....
] Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical)Academy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for The Lion in WinterThe Lion in Winter (1968 film)The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E... - 198558th Academy AwardsThe 58th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1985, were held on March 24, 1986 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Alan Alda, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams. The ceremony was watched by 38.93 million viewers, tying the 78th Academy Awards as...
Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Out of Africa - 199063rd Academy AwardsThe 63rd Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1991 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The show was hosted by Billy Crystal.The prominent winner was Dances with Wolves which earned seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Joe Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor...
Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Dances with WolvesDances with WolvesDances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
Academy Award nominations
- 197144th Academy AwardsThe 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the major highlights of the evening was the appearance of Betty Grable, who was battling...
Best Original Dramatic ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots (film)Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Leading an all-star cast are Vanessa Redgrave as the titular character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. In the same year, Jackson played the part of Elizabeth in the TV drama Elizabeth... - 199265th Academy AwardsThe 65th Academy Awards were presented March 29, 1993 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. This was the fourth consecutive show hosted by Billy Crystal.Unforgiven won four Oscars out of nine nominations including Best Picture.-Awards:...
Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Chaplin
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
- 1969 Best Instrumental ThemeGrammy Award for Best Instrumental CompositionThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
for Midnight CowboyMidnight CowboyMidnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John... - 1985 Best Jazz Instrumental PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances...
, Big Band for The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines... - 1985 Best Instrumental CompositionGrammy Award for Best Instrumental CompositionThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
for Out of Africa - 1991 Best Instrumental CompositionGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
for Dances with WolvesDances with WolvesDances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
BAFTA Award
- 1968 Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for The Lion in Winter
BAFTA Fellowship Award
- 2005
BAFTA nominations
- 1986 Best Score for Out of Africa
- 1991 Best Original Score for Dances with Wolves
Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
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 YearsEleanor and Franklin: The White House YearsEleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography...
Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nominations
- 196321st Golden Globe AwardsThe 21st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963 films, were held on March 11, 1964.-Best Actor - Drama: Sidney Poitier - Lilies of the Field*Marlon Brando - The Ugly American*Stathis Giallelis - America, America...
for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (soundtrack)From Russia with Love is the soundtrack for the second James Bond film of the same name. This is the first series film with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer.John Barry, arranger of Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme" for Dr... - 198543rd Golden Globe AwardsThe 43rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1985, were held on January 24, 1986.-Best Actor - Drama: Jon Voight - Runaway Train*Harrison Ford - Witness*Gene Hackman - Twice in a Lifetime...
for Best Original ScoreGolden Globe Award for Best Original ScoreThe Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
& Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
A View to a KillA View to a KillA View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
Max Steiner Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the City of Vienna)
- 2009
Lifetime Achievement Award from World Soundtrack Academy (presented at the Ghent Film Festival)
- 2010
Barry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1998.
The American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
ranked Barry's score for Out of Africa #15 on their list of the greatest film scores
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005.-The List:-External links:**...
. His scores for the following films were also nominated:
- Body Heat (1981)
- Born Free (1966)
- Dances with Wolves (1990)
- Goldfinger (1964)
- The Lion in Winter (1968)
- Somewhere in Time (1980)
Bond films
Barry worked on the soundtracks for the following James Bond films:- Dr. NoDr. No (soundtrack)Dr. No is the original soundtrack for the first James Bond film of the same name.Composer Monty Norman was selected by producer Albert R. Broccoli after Broccoli backed a musical of Norman's Belle or The Ballad of Dr. Crippen written by Wolf Mankowitz a frequent collaborator with Norman and an...
(1962) – James Bond Theme used on main and end titles and Bond's arrival in Jamaica - From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (soundtrack)From Russia with Love is the soundtrack for the second James Bond film of the same name. This is the first series film with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer.John Barry, arranger of Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme" for Dr...
(lyrics by Lionel Bart) (1963) - GoldfingerGoldfinger (soundtrack)Goldfinger is the soundtrack for the 3rd James Bond film of the same name.This is the first of three James Bond films with a theme song sung by Shirley Bassey, whose forceful, dramatic style became a trademark of the series...
(1964) - ThunderballThunderball (soundtrack)Thunderball is the soundtrack for the fourth James Bond film of the same name.The soundtrack was released by United Artists Records in 1965. The music was composed and conducted by John Barry, and performed by the John Barry Orchestra. This was Barry's third soundtrack for the series...
(1965) - You Only Live TwiceYou Only Live Twice (soundtrack)You Only Live Twice is the soundtrack for the 5th James Bond film of the same name. It was composed by Bond veteran, John Barry. At the time, this was his fourth credited Bond film. The theme song, "You Only Live Twice", was sung by Nancy Sinatra, with music by John Barry and lyrics by Leslie...
(1967) - On Her Majesty's Secret ServiceOn Her Majesty's Secret Service (soundtrack)On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the soundtrack for the 6th James Bond film of the same name.Once again, the soundtrack to this James Bond adventure was composed, arranged, and conducted by John Barry; it was his fifth successive Bond film....
(1969) - Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (soundtrack)Diamonds Are Forever is the soundtrack for the 7th James Bond film of the same name."Diamonds Are Forever", the title song, was the second Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, after Goldfinger in 1964...
(1971) - The Man with the Golden GunThe Man with the Golden Gun (soundtrack)The Man with the Golden Gun is the soundtrack for the 9th James Bond film of the same name.The theme tune was performed by Lulu, composed by John Barry, and the lyrics to the song were written by Don Black. Alice Cooper claims his song The Man With The Golden Gun was to be used by the producers of...
(1974) - MoonrakerMoonraker (soundtrack)Moonraker is the soundtrack for the 11th James Bond film of the same name.Moonraker was the third of the three Bond films for which the theme song was performed by Shirley Bassey. Kate Bush and Frank Sinatra were both considered for the vocals, before Johnny Mathis was approached and offered the...
(1979) - OctopussyOctopussy (soundtrack)Octopussy is the soundtrack for the eponymous thirteenth James Bond film. The score was composed by John Barry, the lyrics by Tim Rice. The opening theme, "All Time High" is sung by Rita Coolidge and is one of five musical themes or songs that are not named after film's title, the others being...
(1983) - A View to a KillA View to a Kill (soundtrack)A View to a Kill is the soundtrack for the film of the same name, the 14th installment in the James Bond film series.-Theme song:The theme song "A View to a Kill", was written by John Barry and Duran Duran, and was recorded in London with a 60-piece orchestra. "A View to a Kill" is the most...
(1985) - The Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights (soundtrack)The Living Daylights is the soundtrack title for the film The Living Daylights and the eleventh and final Bond soundtrack to be scored by composer John Barry...
(1987)
Other film scores
- Beat GirlBeat GirlBeat Girl is a 1960 British film about late-fifties youth-rebellion. The title character is played by starlet Gillian Hills, who later went on to have numerous small roles in 1960s and 1970s films, such as Blowup and A Clockwork Orange, and became a successful "ye-ye" singer in France.The music was...
(1960) - Never Let GoNever Let GoNever Let Go is a 1960 British thriller film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Todd. It concerns a man's purchase, loss of, and attempt to recover a Ford Anglia car. Sellers played a London villain, in one of his rare straight roles.-Plot:...
(1960) - The Cool MikadoThe Cool MikadoThe Cool Mikado is a British musical film made in 1962, directed by Michael Winner, and produced by Harold Baim, with music arranged by Martin Slavin and John Barry. It starred Frankie Howerd as Ko-Ko, Lionel Blair and Stubby Kaye...
(1962) - The Amorous PrawnThe Amorous PrawnThe Amorous Prawn is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. General Fitzadam receives his final posting in the remote Scottish Highlands, where his wife decides to run their residence as a hotel for wealthy Americans...
(1962) - The L-Shaped RoomThe L-Shaped RoomThe L-Shaped Room is a 1962 British drama film, directed by Bryan Forbes, which tells the story of a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a London boarding house, befriending a young man in the building...
(1962) - Man in the MiddleMan in the Middle (film)Man in the Middle is a 1963 film, starring Robert Mitchum and directed by Guy Hamilton. The movie, set in World War II India, tells the story of the murder trial of an American Army officer who killed a British soldier. Mitchum plays Lieut. Col. Barney Adams, who has been assigned as the accused...
(1963) - A Jolly Bad FellowA Jolly Bad FellowA Jolly Bad Fellow is a 1964 British film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Leo McKern and Janet Munro.-Cast:* Leo McKern as Prof Bowls-Ottery* Janet Munro as Delia Brooks* Maxine Audley as Clarina Bowls-Ottery* Duncan Macrae as Dr. Brass...
(1964) - Séance on a Wet AfternoonSeance on a Wet AfternoonSéance on a Wet Afternoon is a 1964 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the novel by Mark McShane in which an unstable medium convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and collect the ransom...
(1964) - ZuluZulu (film)Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
(1964) - Boy and BicycleBoy and BicycleBoy and Bicycle is the first film made by Ridley Scott. The black and white short was made on 16mm film while Scott was a photography student at the Royal College of Art in London in 1962....
(1965) - Mister MosesMister MosesMister Moses is an adventure film about a conman blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto...
(1965) - Four in the MorningFour in the Morning (film)Four in the Morning is a 1965 British film directed by Anthony Simmons.-External links:...
(1965) - The Party's Over (1965)
- The Knack …and How to Get It (1965)
- King RatKing Rat (1965 film)King Rat is a 1965 World War II film adapted from the James Clavell novel King Rat. The film was directed by Bryan Forbes and starred George Segal as Corporal King and James Fox as Marlow, two World War II prisoners of war in a squalid camp near Singapore...
(1965) - The Ipcress FileThe Ipcress File (film)The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, and Nigel Green. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's 1962 novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best...
(1965) - Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
(1966) - The ChaseThe Chase (1966 film)The Chase is a 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn, about a series of events set into motion by a prison break. Since one of the two escapees is Charlie "Bubber" Reeves , the escape causes a stir in a nearby town where Bubber is a well-known figure.The film deals with themes of racism...
(1966) - The Wrong BoxThe Wrong BoxThe Wrong Box is a British comedy film made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.The cast includes a...
(1966) - The Quiller MemorandumThe Quiller MemorandumThe Quiller Memorandum is a film adaptation of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Trevor Dudley-Smith under the name "Adam Hall", screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger and Alec Guinness. The film was shot on...
(1966) - The WhisperersThe WhisperersThe Whisperers is a 1967 British drama film directed by Bryan Forbes. It is based on the 1961 novel by Robert Nicolson.- Plot :The Whisperers tells the story of an impoverished old woman living alone in a seedy apartment who enjoys a rich fantasy life as an heiress...
(1967) - Dutchman (1967)
- Boom!Boom! (1968 film)Boom! is a 1968 British drama film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Noël Coward. It was directed by Joseph Losey and adapted from Tennessee Williams' play The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore.-Plot:...
(1968) - PetuliaPetuliaPetulia is a British drama film directed by Richard Lester. The screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus is based on the novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia by John Haase...
(1968) - DeadfallDeadfall (1968 film)Deadfall is a 1968 film directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Michael Caine, Eric Portman, and Giovanna Ralli, with music by John Barry.It is based on the 1965 thriller from author Desmond Cory....
(1968) - The Lion in WinterThe Lion in Winter (1968 film)The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
(1968) - The AppointmentThe AppointmentThe Appointment is a 1969 psychological drama from director Sidney Lumet and writer James Salter, based on the story by Antonio Leonviola.-Plot synopsis:...
(1969) - Midnight CowboyMidnight CowboyMidnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
(1969) - Monte WalshMonte WalshMonte Walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer. The movie has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. It was directed in 1970 by cinematographer William A. Fraker in his directorial debut, and starred Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The movie was set...
(1970) - The Last ValleyThe Last ValleyThe Last Valley is a 1970 historical drama film directed by James Clavell. Set during the Thirty Years War, it stars Michael Caine as the leader of a band of mercenaries, and Omar Sharif as a teacher fleeing from the violence endemic to Germany during this period...
(1970) - They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants (film)They Might Be Giants is a 1971 film based on the play of the same name starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward. Occasionally cited mistakenly as a Broadway play, it never in fact opened in the USA...
(1971) - Murphy's WarMurphy's WarMurphy's War is a 1971 war film starring Peter O'Toole. It was directed by Peter Yates.-Plot:In the closing days of World War II, an Irishman Murphy is the sole survivor of the crew of a merchant ship, Mount Kyle, which has been sunk by a German U-Boat, which then machine-gunned the survivors in...
(1971) - WalkaboutWalkabout (film)Walkabout is a 1971 film set in Australia, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall...
(1971) - Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots (film)Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Leading an all-star cast are Vanessa Redgrave as the titular character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. In the same year, Jackson played the part of Elizabeth in the TV drama Elizabeth...
(1971) - Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film based on the Lewis Carroll novel of the same name. It had an all star cast, and John Barry composed the score....
(1972) - Follow Me! (1972)
- A Doll's HouseA Doll's House (1973 Garland film)A Doll's House is a 1973 British film, directed by Patrick Garland. It is based on Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play A Doll's House.-Cast:* Claire Bloom - Nora Helmer* Anthony Hopkins - Torvald Helmer* Ralph Richardson - Dr...
(1973) - The Tamarind SeedThe Tamarind SeedThe Tamarind Seed is a 1974 Blake Edwards film starring Julie Andrews as Judith Farrow, a British Home Office functionary and Omar Sharif as Feodor, a Soviet air attaché – lovers involved in Cold War intrigue. This was Lorimar's first film. The score was composed by John Barry. The...
(1974) - The DoveThe Dove (1974 film)The Dove is a 1974 American biographical film directed by Charles Jarrott. The picture was produced by Gregory Peck, the third and last feature film he would produce....
(1974) - The Day of the LocustThe Day of the Locust (film)The Day of the Locust is a 1975 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Waldo Salt is based on the 1939 novel of the same title by Nathanael West...
(1975) - King KongKing Kong (1976 film)King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
(1976) - Robin and MarianRobin and MarianRobin and Marian is a 1976 British/American co-produced romantic adventure period film filmed in Pamplona, Spain starring Sean Connery as Robin Hood, Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian, Nicol Williamson as Little John, Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard Harris as King Richard. It also...
(1976) - The DeepThe Deep (film)The Deep is a 1977 adventure film directed by Peter Yates and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. The film stars Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, and Nick Nolte.-Plot:...
(1977)
- First LoveFirst Love (1977 film)First Love is a 1977 romance film. It stars Susan Dey and William Katt and was directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon the story Sentimental Education by Harold Brodkey...
(1977) - The White BuffaloThe White BuffaloThe White Buffalo is a 1977 western film starring Charles Bronson, Kim Novak, Jack Warden, Slim Pickens, and Will Sampson. The movie is rated PG in the USA. The film is directed by J. Lee Thompson, who frequently teamed with Bronson. It was also the final film Bronson made for United...
(1977) - Game Of DeathGame of DeathThe Game of Death is a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee. It was almost the last film Bruce Lee had planned to be the demonstration piece of his martial art Jeet Kune Do. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot before his death, some of which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives...
(1978) - The BetsyThe BetsyThe Betsy is a 1978 film made by the Harold Robbins International Company and released by Allied Artists. It was directed by Daniel Petrie and produced by Robert R. Weston and Emanuel L. Wolf with Jack Grossberg as associate producer. The screenplay was by William Bast and Walter Bernstein, adapted...
(1978) - StarcrashStarcrashStarcrash is an Italian 1979 science fiction film, which was also released under the English title of The Adventures of Stella Star . The film is a low budget and is often regarded as a rip-off of Star Wars...
(1978) - Hanover Street (1979)
- The Black HoleThe Black HoleThe Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy...
(1979) - Somewhere in TimeSomewhere in Time (film)Somewhere in Time is a 1980 romantic science fiction film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay...
(1980) - Touched by LoveTouched by LoveTouched by Love is a 1980 drama film about a therapist who tries a novel approach with a girl afflicted with cerebral palsy; she has her charge become a pen pal with the girl's favorite singer, Elvis Presley...
(1980) - Inside MovesInside MovesInside Moves is a drama film directed by Richard Donner.- Plot :After a failed suicide attempt leaves a man named Rory partially crippled, he finds himself living in a run-down house in Oakland, California...
(1980) - Night Games (1980)
- Raise the TitanicRaise The Titanic (film)Raise the Titanic is a 1980 American big budget adventure film by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment, directed by Jerry Jameson and written by Eric Hughes and Adam Kennedy . The film stars Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, Anne Archer, and Alec Guinness. The film's tagline was "Once they said...
(1980) - The Legend of the Lone RangerThe Legend of the Lone RangerThe Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
(1981) - Body HeatBody HeatBody Heat is a 1981 American neo-noir film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. It stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, and Mickey Rourke. The film is inspired by Double Indemnity....
(1981) - FrancesFrancesFrances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...
(1982) - Murder By Phone (1982)
- Hammett (1982)
- The Golden Seal (1983)
- High Road to ChinaHigh Road to ChinaHigh Road to China is a 1983 adventure-comedy film, set in the 1920s, starring Tom Selleck as a hard-drinking biplane pilot hired by society heiress Eve 'Evie' Tozer to find her missing father . The supporting cast includes Robert Morley and Brian Blessed. The Golden Harvest film was directed by...
(1983) - The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
(1984) - Until SeptemberUntil SeptemberUntil September is a 1984 romantic drama set in France. It stars Karen Allen as an American tourist in Paris who falls in love with a married Frenchman ....
(1984) - Mike's MurderMike's Murder (film)Mike's Murder is a 1984 film, written and directed by James Bridges, and stars Debra Winger, Mark Keyloun and Paul Winfield.-Synopsis:In Los Angeles, bank teller Betty Parrish has a one-night stand with a young tennis instructor named Mike, but then has only random contact with him over the course...
(1984) - Jagged EdgeJagged Edge (film)Jagged Edge is a film starring Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, and Peter Coyote. Robert Loggia received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film. It is a courtroom thriller, written by Joe Eszterhas, and directed by Richard Marquand...
(1985) - Out of Africa (1985)
- Howard the DuckHoward the Duck (film)Howard the Duck is a 1986 American science fiction comedy film directed by Willard Huyck and produced by George Lucas. It is loosely based on the Marvel comic book of the same name, created by Steve Gerber and quoting scripts by Bill Mantlo, the film focuses on Howard, an alien from a planet...
(1986) - A Killing AffairA Killing AffairA Killing Affair, is a 1986 drama film starring Peter Weller, Kathy Baker, John Glover, Bill Smitrovich and Danny Nelson.This films was based on the novel Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday by Robert Houston.It was filmed in Juliette, Georgia...
(1986) - Peggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got MarriedPeggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
(1986) - The Golden ChildThe Golden ChildThe Golden Child is a 1986 American comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy plays Chandler Jarrell, a social worker who is confronted by a young Asian woman , who tells him that he is The Chosen One destined to save The Golden Child, the savior of all mankind, from the clutches of the demon Sardo...
(1986) (only partially used in final cut) - Hearts of FireHearts of FireHearts of Fire is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Bob Dylan, Fiona Flanagan and Rupert Everett. The film was essentially a vehicle for Dylan based on his success as a rock musician...
(1987) - MasqueradeMasquerade (1988 film)Masquerade is a 1988 film; a psychological thriller starring Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly. It is directed by Bob Swaim.-Plot:The story centres on the unfolding relationship between Hamptons heiress Olivia and yacht skipper Tim who are introduced soon after the death of Olivia's mother, which has left...
(1988) - Dances with WolvesDances with WolvesDances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
(1990) - Chaplin (1992)
- Ruby CairoRuby CairoRuby Cairo is a 1993 film directed by Graeme Clifford. The soundtrack features music by John Barry and the song You Belong to Me performed by Patsy Cline.-Plot:...
(1993) - My LifeMy Life (film)My Life is a 1993 film starring Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman and directed by Bruce Joel Rubin. With a PG-13 rating, this film's domestic box office gross was $28 million.-Plot summary:...
(1993) - Indecent ProposalIndecent ProposalIndecent Proposal is a 1993 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Jack Engelhard. It was directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.-Plot:...
(1993) - The SpecialistThe SpecialistThe Specialist is a 1994 American action film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It is directed by Luis Llosa, produced by Jerry Weintraub, and written by Alexandra Seros...
(1994) - Cry, The Beloved CountryCry, the Beloved Country (1995 film)Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry....
(1995) - Across The Sea of TimeAcross the Sea of TimeAcross the Sea of Time is a 1995 family adventure film written by Andrew Gellis and directed by Stephen Low. It stars Peter Reznick, John McDonough and Avi Hoffman. The film follow a young Russian boy's travels to the United States in search of his ancestor's family. It grossed nearly 16 million...
(1995) (3D IMAXIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
movie) - The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter (1995 film)The Scarlet Letter is a 1995 American film adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. It was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, and Robert Duvall. This version was "freely adapted" from Hawthorne and deviated from the original story. Universally panned by...
(1995) - Swept from the SeaSwept from the SeaSwept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron....
(1997) - Mercury RisingMercury RisingMercury Rising is a 1998 American action thriller film starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Harold Becker, the movie is based on Ryne Douglas Pearson's 1996 novel originally published as Simple Simon...
(1998) - Playing by HeartPlaying by HeartPlaying by Heart is a 1998 comedy-drama film, which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters.-Plot:Among the characters are a mature couple about to renew their vows ; a woman who accepts a date offer from a stranger ; a gay man dying of AIDS and his mother who has...
(1998) - EnigmaEnigma (2001 film)Enigma is a 2001 British film about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in World War II. The film, directed by Michael Apted, stars Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet. The film's screenplay was by Tom Stoppard, based on the novel Enigma by Robert Harris...
(2001)
Musicals
- Passion Flower HotelPassion Flower HotelThe Passion Flower Hotel is a novel by Rosalind Erskine . It was published by Pan Books in 1962. The story concerns a young girl going to an English girls' boarding school. In the dormitory, the girls discuss losing their virginity and decide that the best way is to set up a "service" for the local...
(1965) - Lolita, My LoveLolita, My LoveLolita, My Love was an unsuccessful musical by John Barry and Alan Jay Lerner, based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. It closed in Boston in 1971 while on a tour prior to Broadway.-Production history:...
(1971), a musical comedy (text by Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
) based on Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
's novel LolitaLolitaLolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian... - BillyBilly (musical)Billy is a musical based on the novel and play Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall. The book was written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the music is by John Barry, and the lyrics are by Don Black.-Production:...
(1974) - The Little Prince and the AviatorThe Little Prince and the AviatorThe Little Prince and the Aviator is a musical with a book by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Don Black, and music by John Barry.Based on the classic book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the musical deviates from the original in that aviator Toni, whose plane crashes in the Sahara Desert, explicitly is...
(1981) - Brighton Rock (2004)
Television themes
- Dateline London (1962)
- Elizabeth Taylor in LondonElizabeth Taylor in LondonElizabeth Taylor in London was a CBS-TV television special broadcast on 6 October 1963 that was directed by Sidney Smith and co-produced by Philip D'Antoni and Norman Baer...
(Grammy awardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination) (1963) - Juke Box JuryJuke Box JuryJuke Box Jury was a musical panel show which originally ran on BBC Television from 1 June 1959 until December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series....
(1959–1967) - The Human JungleThe Human JungleThe Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Weekend Television by the small production company Independent Artists and screened by the ITV Network...
(1963–1965) - Impromptu (1964)
- Sophia Loren in Rome (1964)
- The NewcomersThe Newcomers (TV series)The Newcomers was a late 1960s BBC soap opera which dealt with the subject of a London family, the Coopers, who moved to a housing estate in the fictional country town of Angleton. It was broadcast in bi-weekly half hour episodes from 5 October 1965 until 28 November 1969...
(1965–1969) - Vendetta (1966)
- The Persuaders!The Persuaders!The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
(1971–1972) - The Adventurer (1972–1973)
- Orson Welles' Great MysteriesOrson Welles' Great MysteriesOrson Welles' Great Mysteries was a British television series originally aired between 1973 and 1974, made by Anglia Television for ITV.The series was an anthology of different tales...
(1973) - The Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie (1973 film)The Glass Menagerie is a 1973 American television movie based on the 1944 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. It is directed by Anthony Harvey and stars Katharine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Joanna Miles and Michael Moriarty. It marked the third screen adaptation of the play.The Glass...
(1973) - Born FreeBorn Free (TV series)Born Free was a short-lived drama based on the 1966 movie of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974 produced by Columbia Pictures Television....
(1974) - Love Among the RuinsLove Among the Ruins (film)Love Among the Ruins is a 1975 British television film directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn and Sir Laurence Olivier....
(1975) - Eleanor and FranklinEleanor and FranklinEleanor and Franklin is a television movie released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jane Alexander as Eleanor Roosevelt. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling biography with the same...
(1976) - Eleanor and Franklin: The White House YearsEleanor and Franklin: The White House YearsEleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography...
(1977) - The War Between the TatesThe War Between the TatesThe War Between the Tates is a campus novel by Alison Lurie that takes place an elite university during the upheavals of the late sixties and gently and deftly skewers all sides in the turmoils and conflicts of that era — opposition to the Vietnam war, the start of the feminist movement, the...
(1977) - Young Joe, the Forgotten KennedyYoung Joe, the Forgotten KennedyYoung Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy is a 1977 television movie that originally aired on ABC. Based upon the biography by Hank Searls called The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy, the film chronicles the life of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the unlucky older brother of John F. Kennedy. Young Joe...
(1977) - The GatheringThe Gathering (1977 film)The Gathering is a 1977 ABC made for television drama film. A rare live-action drama film from the Hanna-Barbera studios, it was directed by Randal Kleiser and starring Edward Asner and Maureen Stapleton.-Plot:...
(1977) - The Corn is GreenThe Corn is Green (1979 film)The Corn Is Green is a 1979 television drama film starring Katharine Hepburn as a schoolteacher determined to bring education to a Welsh coal mining town, despite great opposition. It was directed by George Cukor, the tenth and last collaboration on film between the director and the actress, and is...
(1979) - Willa (1979)
- Svengali (1983)
- USA Today – The TV series (1988)
- The Witness (1992)
- John Barry – Moviola (1993)
Other works
- Stringbeat (1961)
- Americans (1975)
- The Beyondness of Things (1999)
- Eternal Echoes (2001)
- The Seasons – no release date set
Singles
(Excludes co-composed hits, e.g. Duran DuranDuran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill (song)
"A View to a Kill" is the thirteenth single by Duran Duran, released in May 1985.It was a stand-alone single, created for the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, and it remains the only James Bond theme song to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also made it to #2 for 3 weeks on the UK...
)
- "Hit And Miss" as The John Barry Seven plus Four, UK#10 (first charted 1960)
- "Beat For Beatniks" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#40 (1960)
- "Never Let Go" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#49 (1960)
- "Blueberry Hill" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#34 (1960)
- "Walk Don't Run" as The John Barry Seven, UK#11 (1960)
- "Black Stockings" as The John Barry Seven, UK#27 (1960)
- "The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
" as The John Barry Seven, UK#45 (1961) - "Cutty Sark" as The John Barry Seven, UK#35 (1962)
- "The James Bond ThemeJames Bond ThemeThe "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond film....
" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#13 (1962) - "From Russia With Love" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK#39 (1963)
- "Theme From 'The Persuaders'" as John Barry, UK#13 (1971)
The 4 highest-charting hits all spent more than 10 weeks in the UK top 50.
Further reading
- Leonard, Geoff, Pete Walker and Gareth Bramley. John Barry – The Man With The Midas Touch (Redcliffe Press: Bristol, UK, 2008)