Unless you’re really into jazz, you don’t know the name of John Barry. However, if you’ve ever seen a James Bond film starring Sean Connery, you know John Barry’s work. Five-time Oscar-winning composer John Barry passed away on Sunday after a heart attack. He won Oscars for the soundtrack and title song for Born Free in 1966, then won again for The Lion In Winter (1968), Out of Africa (1985), and Dances With Wolves (1990). Still, his best-known work includes credits on a dozen James Bond films: Dr. No, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Moonraker, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights.
Born John Barry Prendergast in York, England, young John took up piano, then trumpet, before forming the John Barry Seven in 1957. The key to his success, says Barry, was a few hit instrumental songs from his jazz group which lead him into the world of film composition.
“The James Bond movies came because we were successful in the pop music world, with a couple of big instrumental hits. They thought I knew how to write instrumental hit music,” said Barry in a 1991 interview with the Associated Press.
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