John Barry (composer)

John Barry, OBE (born John Barry Prendergast on November 3, 1933 in York, England) is considered one of the "Big Four" of modern film composers (the others being John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Henry Mancini).

Film scores

James Bond series

Barry would go on to score 11 of the next 13 Bond films. In Goldfinger he would perfect the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz and sensuous melodies. As he matured, the Bond scores concentrated more on lush melodies, as in Moonraker and Octopussy. However Barry showed a strong return to form in his final (so far) 007 film, 1987's The Living Daylights, which many aficionados cite as his best 007 score since 1969's OHMSS. Interestingly, the only Bond score ever to elicit the attention of the Academy Awards was Marvin Hamlisch's The Spy Who Loved Me, (1977) which was nominated for Best Original Score, but did not win.

Related Topics:
Goldfinger - Moonraker - Octopussy - The Living Daylights - Academy Awards - Marvin Hamlisch - The Spy Who Loved Me

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• Dr. No (1962) — uncredited
• From Russia With Love (1963)
• Goldfinger (1964)
• Thunderball (1965)
• You Only Live Twice (1967)
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
• Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• Moonraker (1979)
• Octopussy (1983)
• A View to a Kill (1985)
• The Living Daylights (1987)

David Arnold, a young 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. Almost all of the tracks were originally composed by John Barry and the revision of his work obviously met with his approval - he contacted Barbara Broccoli, producer of the upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer. He has went on to score every subsequent film; The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day and has been confirmed as the composer for Casino Royale. Some have argued, however, that the reason Barry has not been able to score any recent Bond films is due to salary disputes with MGM.

Related Topics:
David Arnold - Barbara Broccoli - Tomorrow Never Dies - The World Is Not Enough - Die Another Day - Casino Royale

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Authorship of the "James Bond Theme."

Credit for this is given solely to composer Monty Norman (who had been contracted to compose the score for Dr. No). However Barry, while not publicly denying this, has at times implied otherwise. Matters came to a head over 30 years after the original composition, when Monty Norman sued The Sunday Times for a 1997 article which named Barry as the true author. For this lawsuit, Barry himself attended in 2001 and testified for the defence. See: http://www.geocities.com/jaoll/barry/lawsuit.htm.

Related Topics:
Monty Norman - The Sunday Times - 1997

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Barry told the court he had been given a music manuscript of a work by Norman (intended to become the theme) and that Barry was to make a musical arrangment. Barry told the court he composed additional material, and arranged the theme. The court was also told that Norman received sole credit due to his prior contractual agreement with the film producers. Monty Norman won the suit and was awarded damages.

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Other major film scores

• Zulu (1963)
• The Knack (1965)
• Born Free (1966) (Two Academy Awards - Best Music, Original Song & Original Music Score)
• Deadfall (1968)
• The Lion in Winter (1968) (Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture)
• Midnight Cowboy (1969) (Grammy Award for best Instrumental Theme)
• Walkabout (1971)
• The Last Valley (1971)
• Mary, Queen of Scotts (1972) (Academy nomination for best score)
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
• King Kong (1976)
• Robin and Marian (1976)
• The Deep (1977)
• Hanover Street (1979)
• The Black Hole (1979)
• Somewhere in Time (1980)
• Raise the Titanic (1981)
• Body Heat (1981)
• Frances (1982)
• The Cotton Club (1984) (Grammy Award for Best Big Band Jazz Instrumental Performance)
• Out of Africa (1985) (Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score. Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition)
• Dances with Wolves (1990) (Academy Award - Best Music, Original Score. Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition)
• Chaplin (1992) (Academy nomination for best score)
• Cry, The Beloved Country (1995)
• Across The Sea of Time (1995) (3D IMAX movie)
• The Scarlet Letter (1995)
• Mercury Rising (1999)
• Enigma (2001)

Television themes

• Vendetta
• The Persuaders!
• Eleanor and Franklin

Other works

• The Americans
• The Beyondness of Things
• Eternal Echoes