Composer John Barry dies aged 77 www.bbc.co.uk Composer John Barry, famous for his work on Born Free, Midnight Cowboy and the James Bond films, dies aged 77 of a heart attack. If a man is the essence of the things he loves then part of me is steeped in the wonderfully evocative, hauntingly beautiful music of John Barry. May he rest in peace.
My Heart was his music's home; composer John Barry has died
by Terry 8 Replies latest social entertainment
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Terry
Biography for John Barry
Date of Birth
3 November1933, York, England, UK
Date of Death
30 January2011, New York, USA (heart attack)
Birth Name
John Barry Prendergast
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
"He's never satisfied with what he does. Every day he wakes up and believes that into his mind and soul is going to come some magical arrangement of notes that he's going to ultimately either entrance you with in a concert hall or cinema. It's because he thinks there's still a peak to climb that he's a great film music composer." Sir Richard Attenborough eloquently explains what so many other directors feel about working with John Barry. Their success together in 1992 with Chaplin (1992) is a superb example of what his music does for a motion picture. Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of the comic legend is given a tragic soul by the score; an element "Dickie" never dreamed of. The result (nominated for an Oscar) is but one of Barry's magical arrangement of notes.
The two had worked together at the very start of Barry's career in film during the mid-Sixties on The L-Shaped Room (1962). This was a decade that saw his star rise and rise, progressing from his hit band The John Barry Seven to chart success with Adam Faith (e.g. What Do You Want?) to arranging the James Bond theme for Dr. No (1962). He'd aspired to working in film from as early as when his father's cinema business had dazzled him as a boy - his musical interests encouraging a growing fascination with regular appearances of names such as Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The journey to joining their ranks became assured with the likes of that first Bond picture, of course.
Then in a blur of seemingly no time at all he chalked up a CV containing some of the most memorable themes of their or any other day: Zulu (1964), The Ipcress File (1965), The Knack... and How to Get It (1965), Born Free (1966) (becoming the first Brit to win an Academy Award for both Song & Score), Deadfall (1968), The Lion in Winter (1968) (Oscar number 3), and the Grammy winning Midnight Cowboy (1969). As if that doesn't make him sound busy enough, there were also the best of the series that any conversation about Barry inevitably returns to.
From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) represent James Bond at his most sexily successful. Each title conjures a montage of daredevil stunts, gadgets, scantily clad women, and of course that theme. It's with the Bond pictures that one of the composer's genuine gifts shines brightest - his song writing ability. With lyrics from Don Black, Leslie Bricusse, Lionel Bart, Anthony Newley, and Hal David those songs are classics through and through. Perhaps the most successful and enduringly memorable - Goldfinger - actually knocked the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night off the album chart top spot and went on to win Barry a gold disc.
Thunderball cemented a friendship and working relationship with Don Black, and with the enormous success of Born Free that carried their collaborations into the Seventies for Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Its saucy lyrics raised eyebrows, but nonetheless earned itself an Ivor NovelloAward, a place in director Steven Spielberg's heart, and remains part of Shirley Bassey's stage act. Then came: The Public Eye (1972), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972), The Dove (1974), and naturally another Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Barry also worked for the small screen on many TV movies during the decade, and with Black even got a vocal track out of Sir Laurence Olivier for Love Among the Ruins (1975) (TV). There were advertisement campaigns aplenty too. 'The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair' is a lastingly popular tune which Black's lyrics added to enormously.
In 1974 they took their collective talents to the stage with the hit show 'Billy' (an adaptation of the Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall novel Billy Liar). Lasting 2 & ½ years at London's Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, reviews were uniformly glowing - particularly towards Michael Crawford's central performance, which was effectively the turning point in his career. The cast album then won a silver disc.
Barry continued to dazzle the decade with his other cinema scores: The Last Valley (1971), Monte Walsh (1970), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), They Might Be Giants (1971), Robin and Marian (1976), King Kong (1976), The Deep (1977), Hanover Street (1979), The Black Hole (1979), and reuniting with Bassey for Bond in Moonraker (1979).
At the start of the eighties, he composed the score he's received more mail about than any other. Somewhere in Time (1980) starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour had only moderate success in cinemas, but when subsequently shown on cable television in America there was a huge demand for the reissue of a soundtrack album that then won a platinum disc. Jane Seymour (a film music fan) says that Barry's music always makes her cry, and this piece particularly. Barry has speculated the theme's emotional power might have had something to do with being the first piece he wrote after his parents' death. Whatever the reason, it is as if with this halfway stage of his 40-year movie career that his distinctive style truly takes over.
Becoming synonymously recognised and admired for having bottomless depths' worth of sensuous melody, the adjective 'Barryesque' applies itself delightfully throughout the decade: Raise the Titanic (1980), Frances (1982), High Road to China (1983), The Cotton Club (1984) (Grammy Award For Best Jazz Instrumental Performance), Jagged Edge (1985), and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
In 1985, his most critically acclaimed score demonstrates his melodic atmospheres better than almost any other. Despite there being only some 35 minutes of music through the 2 & ½ hours of Out of Africa (1985), it won Barry his fourth Oscar, a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition, a Golden Globe, and a platinum disc in record sales. Director Sydney Pollack put his film together intending to let the music tell much of the story, but hadn't imagined so subtly synchronous a result. "You can't listen to his music without seeing movies in your head," says Pollack. That pays Barry a compliment toward his standalone records but also to just how cinematically defined his style is.
Another remarkable example is his sultry jazz score for Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat (1981). One scene in particular is textbook stuff, with William Hurt smashing his way into Kathleen Turner's home for the two to succumb to their animalistic passion. Barry's music carries the scene entirely, with the unforgettable saxophone theme blowing the only cool air within the whole movie. The movie made the careers of its stars, and Turner gratefully acknowledges that the music enhanced her character immeasurably.
The decade then saw Barry's involvement with Bond come to an end. After Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987) (featuring an on-screen cameo) was to be his 12th and last in the series, although thematically and in spirit his style has been kept very much alive by David Arnold in his scores for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and in his solo album of Bond song covers 'Shaken and Stirred'.
A life-threatening illness necessitated a two-year sabbatical for Barry during the late eighties. But happily returning in 1990 to prove you can indeed live twice to score Dances with Wolves (1990) he earned himself a whole new generation of fans, his fifth Oscar, a Grammy for Best Instrumental, and yet another platinum disc for album sales. What a comeback! The same year he received the BMI's Richard Kirk Award for career achievement and BASCA's Jimmy KennedyAward for lifetime achievement. Always quick to quip that such things seem handed out early, the decade went on to prove him correct with memorable scores for: the aforementioned Chaplin, Indecent Proposal (1993), My Life (1993/I), The Specialist (1994), The Scarlet Letter (1995), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), Mercury Rising (1998), and Swept from the Sea (1997).
The last of those began an ongoing series of albums from the Decca label as a result of a contract signed in 1997. Intended to give the composer the opportunity of developing a variety of projects, it did so immediately with the release of 'The Beyondness Of Things'. Barry describes the album as "personal thoughts put into a dramatic context." While each piece stems from that description, such as 'The Day The Earth Fell Silent' being a response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the album can't help but conjure cinematic images in the mind - just as Sydney Pollack promises it will.
Then came Playing by Heart (1998), a tribute to many of the composer's jazz idols from the fifties such as Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan, Bud Shank and Chet Baker. Both these Decca releases were given virtuoso performances by Barry and the English Chamber Orchestra to sell-out audiences at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1998 and 1999.
The decade kept the awards and honours rolling in with a lifetime achievement award at the Gstaad International Music & Film Festival in 1996, then being inducted into the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriter's Hall Of Fame in 1998. And then in 1999 he received the Frederick LoeweAward at The Palm Springs International Film Festival, a Music Industry Trust Award, and an O.B.E. from Her Majesty The Queen for services to music. There were also two biographies published detailing his career - 'A Sixties Theme' by Eddi Fiegel, and the sumptuously put together "John Barry - A Life in Music" by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker, and Gareth Bramley.
Even if the likes of Fatboy Slim, Jennifer Lopez and Robbie Williams need to sample his earlier works to progress their own careers, it's unfortunate that as of 2006 Barry appears to have retired from the business. His last film score was for Enigma (2001) and although his stage musical, "Brighton Rock", had a short run in London in 2004, he shows no sign of re-emerging into the world of film music. However, he continues to appear at concerts of his own music, often making brief appearances at the podium. In November 2007, Christine Albanel, the French Minister for Culture, appointed him Commander in the National Order of Arts and Letters. The award was made at the eighth International Festival Music and Cinema, in Auxerre, France, when, in his honour, a concert of his music also took place.
In August 2008 he was working on a new album, provisionally entitled Seasons, which he has described as "a soundtrack of his life." A new biography, "John Barry: The Man with The Midas Touch", by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker, and Gareth Bramley, was published in November 2008.IMDb Mini Biography By: Paul Tonks
Mini Biography
John Barry was born in York, England in 1933, and was the youngest of three children. His father, Jack, owned several local cinemas and by the age of fourteen, Barry was capable of running the projection box on his own - in particular, The Rialto in York. As he was brought up in a cinematic environment, he soon began to assimilate the music which accompanied the films he saw nightly to a point when, even before he'd left St. Peters school, he had decided to become a film music composer. Helped by lessons provided locally on piano and trumpet, followed by the more exacting theory taught by tutors as diverse as Dr Francis Jackson of York Minster and "Bill" William Russo, formerly arranger to Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, he soon became equipped to embark upon his chosen career, but had no knowledge of how one actually got a start in the business. A three year sojourn in the army as a bandsman combined with his evening stints with local jazz bands gave him the idea to ease this passage by forming a small band of his own. This was how The John Barry Seven came into existence, and Barry successfully launched them during 1957 via a succession of tours and TV appearances. A recording contract with EMI soon followed, and although initial releases made by them failed to chart, Barry's undoubted talent showed enough promise to influence the studio management at Abbey Road in allowing him to make his debut as an arranger and conductor for other artists on the EMI roster.
A chance meeting with a young singer named Adam Faith, whilst both were appearing on a stage show version of the innovative BBC TV programme, "Six-Five Special" (1957), led Barry to recommend Faith for a later BBC TV series, "Drumbeat" (1959), which was broadcast in 1959. Faith had made two or three commercially unsuccessful records before singer / songwriter Johnny Worth (Johnny Worth), also appearing on Drumbeat, offered him a song he'd just finished entitled What Do You Want? With the assistance of the JB7 pianist, Les Reed, Barry contrived an arrangement considered suited to Faith's soft vocal delivery, and within weeks, the record was number one. Barry (and Faith) then went from strength to strength; Faith achieving a swift succession of chart hits, with Barry joining him soon afterwards when the Seven, riding high on the wave of the early sixties instrumental boom, scored with Hit & Miss, Walk Don't Run and Black Stockings.
Faith had long harboured ambitions to act even before his first hit record and was offered a part in the up and coming British movie, Wild for Kicks (1960), at that time. As Barry was by then arranging not only his recordings but also his live Drumbeat material, it came as no surprise when the film company asked him to write the score to accompany Faith's big screen debut. It should be emphasised that the film was hardly a cinematic masterpiece. However, it did give Faith a chance to demonstrate his acting potential, and Barry the chance to show just how quickly he'd mastered the technique of film music writing. Although the film and soundtrack album were both commercial successes, further film score offers failed to flood in. On those that did, such as Never Let Go and The Amorous Prawn, Barry proved highly inventive, diverse and adaptable and, as a result, built up a reputation as an emerging talent. It was with this in mind that Noel Rogers, of United Artists Music, approached him in the summer of '62, with a view to involving him in the music for the forthcoming James Bond film, Dr. No.
He was also assisted onto the cinematic ladder as a result of a burgeoning relationship with actor/writer turned director Bryan Forbes, who asked him to write a couple of jazz numbers for use in a club scene in Forbes' then latest film, The L-Shaped Room. From this very modest beginning, the couple went on to collaborate on five subsequent films, including the highly acclaimed Séance On A Wet afternoon, King Rat and The Whisperers. Other highlights from the sixties included five more Bond films, Zulu, Born Free (a double Oscar), The Lion In Winter (another Oscar) and Midnight Cowboy.
In the seventies he scored the cult film, Walkabout (Jenny Agutter), The Last Valley (Caine / Sharif), Mary, Queen Of Scots (Oscar nomination), wrote the theme for TV's The Persuaders (Roger Moore & Tony Curtis), a musical version of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, the hit musical Billy (with Michael Crawford - ran for 2 and a half years). Then, in 1974, he made the decision to leave his Thameside penthouse apartment for the peace of a remote villa he was having built in Majorca. He had been living there for about a year, during which time he turned down all film scoring opportunities, until he received an invitation to write the score for the American TV movie, Eleanor & Franklin. In order to accomplish the task, he booked into the Beverly Hills Hotel for six weeks in October 1975. However, during this period, he was also offered Robin And Marian & King Kong, which caused his stay to be extended. He was eventually to live and work in the hotel for almost a year, as more assignments were offered and accepted. His stay on America's West Coast eventually lasted almost five years, during which time he met and married his wife, Laurie, who lived with him at his Beverly Hills residence. They moved to Oyster Bay, New York and have since split their time between there and a house in Cadogan Square, London.
After adopting a seemingly lower profile towards the end of the seventies, largely due to the relatively obscure nature of the commissions he accepted, the eighties saw John Barry re-emerge once more into the cinematic limelight. This was achieved, not only by continuing to experiment and diversify, but also by mixing larger budget commissions of the calibre of Body Heat, Jagged Edge, Out Of Africa (another Oscar) and The Cotton Club with smaller ones such as the TV movies, Touched by Love (1980) and Svengali. Other successes included: Somewhere In Time, Frances, three more Bond films, the thriller, Jagged Edge and Peggy Sue Got Married.
After serious illness in the late eighties, Barry returned with yet another Oscar success with Dances With Wolves (1990) and was also nominated for Chaplin (1992). Since then he scored the controversial Indecent Proposal, My Life, Ruby Cairo, Cry The Beloved Country and has made compilation albums for Sony (Moviola and Moviola II) and non-soundtrack albums for Decca ('The Beyondness Of Things' & 'Eternal Echoes').
In the late nineties he made a staggeringly successful return to the concert arena, playing to sell-out audiences at the Royal Albert Hall. Since then he has appeared as a guest conductor at a RAH concert celebrating the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor and made brief appearances at a couple of London concerts dedicated to his music. In 2004 he re-united with Don Black to write his fifth stage musical, Brighton Rock, which enjoyed a limited run at The Almeida Theatre in London.
He continues to appear at concerts of his own music, often making brief appearances at the podium. In November 2007, Christine Albanel, the French Minister for Culture, appointed him Commander in the National Order of Arts and Letters. The award was made at the eighth International Festival Music and Cinema, in Auxerre, France, when, in his honour, a concert of his music also took place.
In August 2008 he was working on a new album, provisionally entitled Seasons, which he has described as "a soundtrack of his life." A new biography, "John Barry: The Man with The Midas Touch", by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker, and Gareth Bramley, was published in November 2008.IMDb Mini Biography By: Geoff Leonard
Spouse
Laurie Barry (3 January 1978 - present) 1 child Jane Sidey (1969 - 1971) (divorced) Jane Birkin (1965 - 1968) (divorced) 1 child Barbara Pickard (1959 - 1963) (divorced) 1 child Trivia
Has scored 11 of the James Bond films and his influence was very much heard in the first, Dr. No (1962), via his work on The James Bond Theme.
On Tuesday June 25, 2002, he was confirmed as an Honorary Freeman of the City of York in a special ceremony at the city's Assembly Rooms. He received his award from City of York Council at a special luncheon at the Assembly Rooms where he once used to play trumpet in a jazz band on Saturday nights in the 1950s.
On Friday June 28, 2002, at The James Bond Celebrity Golf Classic and Gala Dinner, held at the prestigious Stoke Poges, Stoke Park Club, Barry received the prestigious GoldenEye award, for his contribution to the music of James Bond. The award was courtesy of The Ian Fleming Foundation.
He was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honors List for his services to music.
Children: Suzanne (with Barbara Pickard), Sian (with Ulla Larsson), Kate Barry (with Jane Birkin) and JonPatrick (with Laurie Barry).
Was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at the Odeon Theatre, Leicester Square, London, February 12, 2005, becoming the first composer to receive the honour.
His "We Have All the Time in the World," sung by Louis Armstrong, from the soundtrack of the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- in which 007 weds -- was found in 2005 to be the third most popular choice for UK just-married couples' first dance (after Bryan Adams and The Carpenters).
Presented with the Music Industry Trusts' Award in 1999 for his outstanding contribution to the British music industry.
Japanese film and television composer Shirô Sagisu has acknowledged Barry's work as an influence; in fact, one of Shirô's compositions for "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995) is a blatant homage to a theme called "007" which appears in almost every James Bond film scored by Barry.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.
Counts Goldfinger (1964) as his personal favorite of all his 007 scores.
At one point during the inception of his song "Goldfinger," Barry approached fellow-composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse about writing the lyrics. Barry proceeded to play the first few bars and both men sang: "... wider than a mile ..." (from Henry Mancini's "Moon River"). The first three notes of both songs have identical melodies.
When Barry won Oscars for "Best Music, Original Music Score" and "Best Music, Original Song" from Born Free (1966), not only was it his first Oscar victory, it was also the first time an Englishman had won both those particular categories. Barry first heard of his wins from friend (and future "Phantom of the Opera" star) Michael Crawford who'd seen the ceremonies on TV in New York and called him in the UK with the news.
Made many recordings with Johnny De Little, including the film themes "The Knack" and "Days of Wine & Roses".
The BBC frequently uses his film themes and cues during documentaries or factual programmes such as Top Gear, Countryfile etc.
To date (2009), the composer holds the record for the most James Bond scores - a total of 12. Barry also holds the record for the most consecutive 007 scores (the first 7 movies in the series).
Early in his career the composer owned an E-Type Jaguar car.
Federico Fellini once confessed to an interviewer that Barry's Goldfinger (1964) was his favorite movie score.
Met his fourth wife Laurie through 007 producer Barbara Broccoli.
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possible-san
Shocking news.
It is very regrettable.Thank you, John Barry.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/entertainment/182568/1/John-Barry-Somewhere-in-timeAnd, thank you, the Superman (Christopher Reeve).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GY6BYD3s28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZx9sjEh1uE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YedfxNKow
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Band on the Run
The opening of the James Bond films is so iconic. When I hear the music, it instantly triggers in me what I will soon see, along with the continuity of all the past bond films. It is traumatic when they change actors.
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Terry
Jerry Goldsmith once said in an interview that if he were to make a movie the composer he'd hire to score it would be John Barry because nobody could capture the inherent essence and emotional truth of a movie better.
Alas, we've lost both Goldsmith and Barry.