John Barry was one of the best-known composers of soundtrack music of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but his career carried him through a multitude of music genres and styles. He was best-known in film in connection with his work on the James Bond pictures, but Barry was also the holder of five Academy Awards, none of them for the Bond movies. Born Free (for which he won Oscars for Best Score and Best Song), The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa, and Dances With Wolves are hardly unknown films or scores. Additionally, from 1957 until the early '60s as leader of The John Barry Seven, Barry was one of the best-known figures in popular music and early rock & roll in England. Born in York, England, on November 3, 1933, John Barry was the son of a small movie theater chain owner and a former concert pianist. He showed an avid interest in music as a boy and initially studied piano, although he switched to the trumpet in his teens. After spending much of his boyhood steeped in classical music, he discovered jazz. His idol was Harry James and his favorite music was made by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and the Dorsey Brothers. Barry studied piano and composition with the music master of York Minster Cathedral, Dr. Francis Jackson, and had a deep interest in arranging. Growing up around his father's movie theater business, Barry was always cognizant of the power and influence of the cinema, but it was a specific film, A Song to Remember, dealing with the life of Fryderyc Chopin, that first demonstrated to him the power of music in movies and got him interested in the field. He also creditedMax Steiner's score for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Anton Karas' music for The Third Man as favorite film scores from his early life. Barry played with a local jazz band in his mid-teens, and was lucky enough to get himself assigned to a musical unit in the British army when he was called up for service at age 18. During his two years of army service, he tried his hand at arranging, and he later enhanced his skills by taking a correspondence course offered by Bill Russo, one of Stan Kenton's arrangers. Once he was back in civilian life, Barry offered his arrangements to some of the top bandleaders in England, among them Ted Heath, Jack Parnell, and Johnny Dankworth. Dankworth actually used two of them, and at Parnell's suggestion, Barry started his own band. The result was John Barry & the Seven, later known as The John Barry Seven. He moved the group to London in 1957 and approached Jack Good, the producer of British television's top music showcase Six-Five Special, but was turned down for the show. After a few weeks and some successful live engagements, including a gig as the backing band for Tommy Steele, the show's producers changed their minds and The John Barry Seven made it onto the Six-Five Special. It was out of their appearances on the program that they were signed to EMI's Parlophone Records label. The group's next big gig was as one of the resident house bands for Good's new program, Oh Boy!, which was a showcase for many of the most dynamic young rock & roll singers coming up in England, including Cliff Richard. It was from there that Barry moved on to become music director for Drumbeat, a dramatic program series starring a young singer/actor named Adam Faith. From 1959 until 1962, he and Faith were an unbeatable combination, both onscreen and in the recording studio, releasing a string of major British hits through the Parlophone label. The John Barry Seven also enjoyed hits of their own, including "Hit or Miss" and a version of the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run." They were known for their unusual sound, owing to their bold yet precise playing and their heavy use of electric piano and other relatively uncommon instruments (this in a time when the electric bass was barely tolerated). They were among the star instrumental acts of the day and, surprisingly, cut albums for EMI's Columbia Records, which was already the home of the Shadows, the group's biggest rivals. In 1960, Barry was also invited to write his first film score for the juvenile delinquency drama Beat Girl, starring Adam Faith. The results were an impressive mix of brass, heavy electric guitar (courtesy of The John Barry Seven, guitarist Vic Flick), and orchestra. Barry was engaged by the producers of a film called Dr. No to write and arrange a finished score from work that was originally begun by composer Monty Norman. The film itself was a hit and Barry's work sufficiently impressed the producers, Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli, enough to get him a gig writing the full score for the next movie, and for more than two decades worth of subsequent James Bond movies up through 1985's A View to a Kill. Several of these featured songs that Barry co-wrote -- including "Goldfinger," "Thunderball," and "You Only Live Twice" -- became hits of varying proportions and longevity in their own right for artists such as Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, and Nancy Sinatra. The best of his James Bond songs may be the most unusual, such as "We Have All the Time in the World" from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, sung by Louis Armstrong. If Beat Girl established Barry's British film credentials, Dr. No and the next two movies in the series (From Russia With Love and Goldfinger) made Barry's name international. It was with Born Free, however, that he moved into the front ranks of popular film composers, with the score and Oscar-winning title song. From then on, he was in a position to score some of the biggest and most daring films being made in England or Hollywood, ranging from the hour-long experimental film Dutchman to high-profile dramas like The Lion in Winter (for which he won his third Oscar). In 1962, the same year he composed the music for the first James Bond movie, Barry also left EMI to join the independent Ember Records label. In addition to doing his own recordings, Barry produced and arranged the music for dozens of Ember artists, including Chad & Jeremy, and also produced such best-selling comedy albums as Fool Britannia, Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's savage satire of the Profumo scandal that nearly toppled the British government. In the midst of his burgeoning film work, Barry found time to make albums of his own on occasion, usually featuring re-recordings of his best movie-related music. In 1999, he also released one album of his classical instrumental style compositions, The Beyondness of Things. Barry suffered a life-threatening injury at the end of the '80s from which his recovery seemed problematic. He survived with help from a very good physician and one of the first results of this new lease on life was Barry's music for Dances With Wolves, which was one of his most ambitious soundtrack creations ever, filled with complex orchestral parts and sweeping, almost Mahler-like melodic arcs and textures, earning him his fifth Oscar in the process. In 1992, he was nominated for his sixth Oscar for the film Chaplin. He died in 2011 at the age of 77.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lights! Action! Music!
Participant |
2007 | |||
|
Enigma
Composer (Music Score), Conductor |
2001 | |||
|
Mercury Rising
Composer (Music Score) |
1998 | |||
|
Playing by Heart
Composer (Music Score) |
1998 | |||
|
Swept From The Sea
Composer (Music Score) |
1997 | |||
|
Across the Sea of Time
Composer (Music Score) |
1995 | |||
|
Cry, the Beloved Country
Composer (Music Score) |
1995 | |||
|
The Scarlet Letter
Composer (Music Score) |
1995 | |||
|
The Specialist
Composer (Music Score) |
1994 | |||
|
Indecent Proposal
Composer (Music Score) |
1993 | |||
|
My Life
Composer (Music Score) |
1993 | |||
|
Chaplin
Composer (Music Score), Conductor |
1992 | |||
|
Ruby Cairo
Composer (Music Score) |
1992 | |||
|
Dances With Wolves
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1990 | |||
|
Masquerade
Composer (Music Score) |
1988 | |||
|
Hearts of Fire
Composer (Music Score) |
1987 | |||
|
The Living Daylights
Composer (Music Score) |
1987 | |||
|
Howard the Duck
Composer (Music Score) |
1986 | |||
|
Peggy Sue Got Married
Composer (Music Score) |
1986 | |||
|
The Golden Child
Composer (Music Score) |
1986 | |||
|
A Killing Affair
Composer (Music Score) |
1985 | |||
|
A View to a Kill
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1985 | |||
|
Blastfighter
Songwriter |
1985 | |||
|
Jagged Edge
Composer (Music Score) |
1985 | |||
|
Out of Africa
Composer (Music Score) |
1985 | |||
|
Mike's Murder
Composer (Music Score) |
1984 | |||
|
The Cotton Club
Composer (Music Score) |
1984 | |||
|
Until September
Composer (Music Score) |
1984 | |||
|
High Road to China
Composer (Music Score) |
1983 | |||
|
Octopussy
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1983 | |||
|
Svengali
Composer (Music Score) |
1983 | |||
|
The Golden Seal
Composer (Music Score) |
1983 | |||
|
Frances
Composer (Music Score) |
1982 | |||
|
Hammett
Composer (Music Score) |
1982 | |||
|
Murder by Phone
Composer (Music Score) |
1982 | |||
|
Body Heat
Composer (Music Score) |
1981 | |||
|
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
Composer (Music Score) |
1981 | |||
|
Inside Moves
Composer (Music Score) |
1980 | |||
|
Night Games
Composer (Music Score) |
1980 | |||
|
Raise the Titanic
Composer (Music Score) |
1980 | |||
|
Somewhere in Time
Composer (Music Score) |
1980 | |||
|
Touched by Love
Composer (Music Score) |
1980 | |||
|
Hanover Street
Composer (Music Score) |
1979 | |||
|
Moonraker
Composer (Music Score) |
1979 | |||
|
The Black Hole
Composer (Music Score) |
1979 | |||
|
Willa
Composer (Music Score) |
1979 | |||
|
Star Crash
Composer (Music Score) |
1978 | |||
|
The Betsy
Composer (Music Score) |
1978 | |||
|
The Corn Is Green
Composer (Music Score) |
1978 | |||
|
The Game of Death
Composer (Music Score) |
1978 | |||
|
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Composer (Music Score) |
1977 | |||
|
First Love
Composer (Music Score) |
1977 | |||
|
The Deep
Composer (Music Score) |
1977 | |||
|
The Gathering
Composer (Music Score), Conductor |
1977 | |||
|
The White Buffalo
Composer (Music Score) |
1977 | |||
|
Young Joe, The Forgotten Kennedy
Composer (Music Score) |
1977 | |||
|
Eleanor and Franklin: The Early Years
Composer (Music Score) |
1976 | |||
|
King Kong
Composer (Music Score), Conductor |
1976 | |||
|
Robin and Marian
Composer (Music Score) |
1976 | |||
|
The War Between the Tates
Composer (Music Score) |
1976 | |||
|
Love Among the Ruins
Composer (Music Score) |
1975 | |||
|
Shampoo
Composer (Music Score) |
1975 | |||
|
The Day of the Locust
Composer (Music Score) |
1975 | |||
|
The Dove
Composer (Music Score) |
1974 | |||
|
The Little Prince
Composer (Music Score) |
1974 | |||
|
The Man with the Golden Gun
Composer (Music Score) |
1974 | |||
|
The Tamarind Seed
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1974 | |||
|
A Doll's House
Composer (Music Score) |
1973 | |||
|
The Glass Menagerie
Composer (Music Score) |
1973 | |||
|
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Composer (Music Score) |
1972 | |||
|
The Public Eye
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1972 | |||
|
Diamonds Are Forever
Composer (Music Score) |
1971 | |||
|
Mary, Queen of Scots
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1971 | |||
|
Murphy's War
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1971 | |||
|
The Last Valley
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1971 | |||
|
They Might Be Giants
Composer (Music Score) |
1971 | |||
|
Walkabout
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1971 | |||
|
Monte Walsh
Composer (Music Score) |
1970 | |||
|
Midnight Cowboy
Composer (Music Score) |
1969 | |||
|
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Composer (Music Score) |
1969 | |||
|
The Appointment
Composer (Music Score) |
1969 | |||
|
Boom!
Composer (Music Score) |
1968 | |||
|
Deadfall
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1968 | |||
|
Dove
Composer (Music Score) |
1968 | |||
|
Petulia
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1968 | |||
|
The Lion in Winter
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1968 | |||
|
The Whisperers
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1967 | |||
|
You Only Live Twice
Composer (Music Score) |
1967 | |||
|
Born Free
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1966 | |||
|
Dutchman
Composer (Music Score) |
1966 | |||
|
The Chase
Composer (Music Score) |
1966 | |||
|
The Party's Over
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1966 | |||
|
The Quiller Memorandum
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision, Songwriter |
1966 | |||
|
The Wrong Box
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1966 | |||
|
Four in the Morning
Composer (Music Score) |
1965 | |||
|
King Rat
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1965 | |||
|
Mister Moses
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1965 | |||
|
The Ipcress File
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1965 | |||
|
The Knack ... And How to Get It
Composer (Music Score) |
1965 | |||
|
Thunderball
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision, Songwriter |
1965 | |||
|
A Jolly Bad Fellow
Composer (Music Score) |
1964 | |||
|
Goldfinger
Composer (Music Score) |
1964 | |||
|
Man in the Middle
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1964 | |||
|
Sophia Loren in Rome
Composer (Music Score) |
1964 | |||
|
Séance on a Wet Afternoon
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision |
1964 | |||
|
Zulu
Composer (Music Score) |
1964 | |||
|
From Russia With Love
Composer (Music Score), Conductor |
1963 | |||
|
Dr. No
Composer (Music Score) |
1962 | |||
|
Mix Me a Person
Composer (Music Score) |
1962 | |||
|
The Amorous Mr. Prawn
Composer (Music Score) |
1962 | |||
|
The L-Shaped Room
Composer (Music Score) |
1962 | |||
|
Beat Girl
Composer (Music Score) |
1960 | |||
|
Never Let Go
Composer (Music Score), Musical Direction/Supervision, Songwriter |
1960 |




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