IN MEMORY OF FILM SCORE COMPOSER JOHN BARRY 1933-2011

Very sad new for fans of film music.

Very sad to hear of Barry’s passing; the age is too young, but the numbers are certainly appropriate for the man who helped give James Bond his classic aural signature.
The BBC reports:

Composer John Barry, famous for his work on Born Free, Midnight Cowboy and the James Bond films, has died aged 77 of a heart attack.

Born John Barry Prendergast in 1933, the York-born musician first found fame as leader of the John Barry Seven.

His arrangement of Monty Norman’s James Bond theme led to him composing scores for 11 films in the series, among them Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.

His work saw him win five Oscars, while he received a Bafta fellowship in 2005.

Barry’s arrangement and subsequent embellishments of Norman’s original tune over the years become a perfect example of a piece of music instantly defining a cinematic character.

This absolutely correct. Just watch this video of Bond over the years married to a piece of Barry's bond music and you will see how he defined the character of James Bond.


 

I have two favorite John Barry scores from the James Bond series and here is excerpts from each of them.

You Only Live Twice.



A View To A Kill (Be sure to listen to the whole track.)



Who can forget the score to The Black Hole!



Thanks for all the great scores John! Rest In Peace!