John Barry

John Barry was a British composer whose film music helped establish the sound of James Bond. He arranged and orchestrated Monty Norman’s “James Bond Theme” for Dr. No, then composed the scores for eleven Bond films, beginning with From Russia with Love.

For Goldfinger, Barry also wrote the title song’s music, with lyrics by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse and a performance by Shirley Bassey. His Bond scores combined elements of jazz, pop and orchestral writing to support action, romance and suspense. Beyond the series, his wider film career brought five Academy Awards. He died in 2011.