RIP John Barry

[dcoscina]

Just found out that film score legend John Barry has passed away from a heart attack this morning. Barry penned many popular scores during his 40 year career such as Born Free, Midnight Cowboy, Dances with Wolves, Somewhere in Time, King Kong, The Black Hole, but will always be most well known for his Bond scores. Farewell maestro.

[bdr]

Very sad news. Incredible melodic sense but also loved his sense of harmony...the verse of 'Goldfinger' always killed me.

Two lesser celebrated themes but two of my favourites





oh one more favourite, this piece kills me.

[Frodo]

Thanks for posting the fitting tribute, gents.

davedempsey just posted an RIP for Bruce Jackson whose input and influence was critical in the music industry.

That these two losses came in almost simultaneously is a lot to digest, but we celebrate with gratitude for what Barry (and Jackson and a host of others) have done for us.

Besides James Bond, so much of Barry's music was part of my life from early on. As a kid, one doesn't always pay attention who writes the music. It's thought of as being done by the proverbial "they". Then you discover that one melody was written by John Barry or another one was-- and through the years your appreciation for what this man had to offer the music world only increases.

And so the story goes, and so the story ends-- as it must.

With grateful sorrow,
hobbit

[mhschmieder]

The really odd thing was that I was at a friend's gig where they covered a James Bond theme, then got home later that night to see the news of John Barry's death on the web.

My understanding is that he didn't write the theme but arranged it. I do recall that he was much enamoured of Bossa Nova at the time, and felt that adding some mild Brasilian influence atop a sort of Surf base would be evocative of the genre that Bond helped create.

Of course he wrote much else after that. I remember deliberately going to movies just because Barry had done the soundtrack -- he was my favourite film composer for 20+ years!

The obit that I saw in the BBC the other day states that he was a private man who really never left his village, being satisfied just to have clients for his work and to stay busy. No ego.

[bdr]

There's always been discussion about who wrote the Bond theme as it is attributed to Monty Norman who had the gig (he really kicked on after doing Dr. No didn't he!). I have heard John Barry say it was his tune, a piece he originally wrote for big band titled 'Bees Knee's', and lawsuits notwithstanding I'm inclined to believe him.