The world of cinema has lost one of its true greats today. Composer John Barry has died of a heart attack, aged 77.
Born John Barry Prendergast in 1933, Barry was perhaps best known for this work on James Bond (he composed a staggering 11 soundtracks for the long-running franchise), and his style and compositions became synonymous with everything that was cool and sophisticated about that era. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in particular is an incredible representation of his work, with its lush, sweeping soundscape.
In a career which spanned almost 50 years, Barry received a number of awards for his work, including five Academy Awards – two for Born Free, and wins for The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves. He also supervised the music and composed the score for the award-winning 1969 feature Midnight Cowboy.
The prolific composer (his IMDb page list 110 films!) was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998 and awarded an OBE for his services to music, the year after.
