During the “blink and you’d miss it” In Memoriam segment of the 83rd Academy Awards televised celebration last night, the producers of the event missed an opportunity to pay proper homage to one of Hollywood’s most beloved and innovative soundtrack composers.
As Celine Dion began warbling her tear-jerking rendition of “Smile,” the very first face shown on the screen behind her was none other than five-time Academy Award winning composer John Barry, who passed away of cardiac arrest on January 30, 2011.
Many fans unfortunately missed his half-second tribute, and it may have been more appropriate for the segment to include something from Barry’s own catalogue, such as “Born Free” or “We Have All the Time In the World,” rather than an incidental tune that was connected to no one in that montage. However, it is probably ‘good enough’ that they included him at all, which unfortunately cannot be said for the likes of Ingrid Pitt, Corey Haim, Fess Parker, Maury Chaykin, Art Linkletter, and Peter Graves.
And while the producers decided to have another “Great Moments in Black History” moment with Halle Berry for Lena Horne, they could have very easily whipped up a simple medley of some of Barry’s more notable themes during his 40+ years in the business.
So rather than continue to complain, here is my own little tribute to the man with the golden baton.
What many people know about John Barry is his boisterous penchant for theming, which not only made him a household name with his James Bond film scores (he did 11 of them), but also forged the mold for all spy movie music to come ever since.
Barry is also known for his many awards and nominations. He won five Oscars: DANCES WITH WOLVES, OUT OF AFRICA,THE LION IN WINTER, and two for BORN FREE (score and song). He was also nominated for CHAPLIN (but lost to Alan Menken’s ALADDIN), MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (and lost to Michel Legrand’s SUMMER OF ‘42).
He won four Grammys, for DANCES WITH WOLVES, OUT OF AFRICA, THE COTTON CLUB, and MIDNIGHT COWBOY, and was nominated for BORN FREE (but lost to Maurice Jarre’s DOCTOR ZHIVAGO) and GOLDFINGER (but lost to The Sherman Brothers’ MARY POPPINS).
Barry was even awarded a Razzie for Worst Original Score in 1982 for THE LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER (but to be fair, the Razzie committee had it in for that film and nominated it in every category they could!)
What people might not be aware of are some other interesting facts about Barry’s life and his early accolades.
It was almost as if fate had a design for him to excel in the field of motion picture music, based solely on heredity! Barry’s mother was a concert pianist and his father owned a movie theater chain, so his early live was surrounded by both music and movies.
His band, The John Barry Seven had a hit with the single “Walk, Don’t Run,” which would later be a defining hit single for American surf rock band, The Ventures. His score for BEAT GIRL (1960) was the first British soundtrack album ever to be released on vinyl. And the GOLDFINGER soundtrack actually knocked The Beatles’ A HARD DAY’S NIGHT off the top of the Billboard album charts in America and subsequently earned Barry a gold record.
He was also among the first composers to integrate synthesizers into a film score, in 1969’s ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE. It was also for that film that Barry wrote the song “We Have All the Time in the World,” which would be Louis Armstrong’s last single before his death.
But what exactly was it about Barry’s music that enchanted people the world over for more than four decades? It ultimately boiled down to the way his music made the listener feel. It had soul; it almost seemed to have a life of its own. Barry, in an uncanny, metaphysical way, was able to translate palpable emotion into sound.
In the liner notes for Intrada’s 2010 CD release of THE DEEP, Barry was quoted as saying, “I love writing sad music. I think it’s wonderful when you can write music and break people’s hearts with it.”
And throughout the years, many people (peers and journalists alike) found it impossible to become mesmerized by Barry’s work. Here is a sampling of quotes about his seemingly limitless abilities:
“In a score that is by turns both tender and sweeping, John has also captured the heartbreak and humour, the irreverence, romance and drama that are so much a part and parcel of this extraordinary story.” ~ Richard Attenborough of CHAPLIN in 1992.
“With his score for THE DEEP (1977), the composer would be writing music that would immortalize him as a master of melancholy romance, its somber, oceanic, majestically unfurling themes the hallmark of the mature Barry.” ~ Jon Burlingame in the liner notes for Intrada’s 2010 release of THE DEEP
“Barry’s highly unorthodox approach was perfectly suited to the 007 films, always emphasizing style and excitement over the darker emotions that only bubbled beneath the surface.” ~ Jeff Bond in the liner notes for the 2003 edition of GOLDFINGER
“Somehow, Barry had managed to make an orchestra that never numbered more than fifty sound like twice that many.” ~ Saturday Review’s Arthur Knight of ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
“Everything John did defined what spy music should be... I am profoundly saddened by the news but profoundly thankful for everything he did for music and for me personally.” ~ David Arnold on Twitter
Upon the news his passing on January 30th, composer David Arnold (who has successfully maintained the mantle as the current James Bond film composer) launched an online campaign to try to get “We Have All the Time in the World” to chart as an iTunes single. It can be downloaded here.
Everyone who has experienced the work of John Barry has his/her own favorites, and in an effort to put this onto a personal level, here is my list of ten favorite John Barry soundtracks:
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER KING KONG OCTOPUSSY THE DEEP THE LION IN WINTER THE BLACK HOLE BODY HEAT THE LAST VALLEY THE TAMARIND SEED
John Barry was a true music legend, and he will be missed.
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