By Lee Pfeiffer
John Barry, one of the last of the great film composers who came to prominence in the 1960s, has died at age 77. Barry had been suffering ill health for a number of years and had not scored a movie since 2001. Barry came to fame in the early 1960s with his band The John Barry Seven, which scored a number of hits on the UK charts. However, it was when he turned to composing film scores that his career soared. Barry was hired to arrange composer Monty Norman's score for the first James Bond film Dr. No in 1962. His memorable version of the Bond theme remains one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the world. The success of the Bond theme led to long-standing legal disputes between Barry and Norman about who should be listed as the composer of record on the piece. Norman prevailed, but few doubt it was the Barry touch that made the theme so memorable. Barry was then hired to write the score for the the next Bond film From Russia With Love, leading to a long-term association with the series through The Living Daylights in 1987. Barry's theme songs for the Bond movies, often written with top lyricists and recorded by prominent singers and rock bands, became substantial hits.
Barry expanded beyond the Bond franchise with a stunning number of acclaimed film scores. Among them: Zulu, The Ipcress File, Born Free, Walkabout, The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, The Deep, Somewhere in Time, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves. He was awarded five Oscars, though curiously he was never nominated for a Bond film. He had intended to return to the franchise to write the score for GoldenEye in 1995, but negotiations with MGM fell through and Barry chose not to work on the film. Barry is one of the legendary composers of his era, such as Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith, who have built loyal followings. Barry's talents were not limited to movies. He also composed scores for stage musicals and albums not relating to motion pictures. For more click here