Introducing John Barry

John Barry Prendergast (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was an English composer and conductor of film music. He composed the soundtracks for 11 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, and also arranged and performed the "James Bond Theme" to the first film in the series, 1962's Dr. No.

He wrote the scores to the award winning films Midnight Cowboy, Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, in a career spanning over 50 years.

Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. This started a successful association between Barry and Eon Productions which lasted for 25 years.

He received many awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter, Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa. Barry completed his last film score, Enigma, in 2001 and recorded the successful album Eternal Echoes the same year (...)

Source of the introducing: WIKIPEDIA.

Some movie soundtracks by John Barry may be found on this page.