He was born in York, England and named John Barry Prendergast. His family were in the cinema business, but it was during his National Service that he began performing as a musician. This led to the formation of the "John Barry Seven". Barry then met Adam Faith and composed songs and film scores on the singer's behalf.
It was almost a fluke that Barry was selected to write the theme for the first James Bond film, Dr. No, thus establishing himself as one of the foremost composers of film theme music.
John Barry is often compared and/or confused with John Williams.
John Barry's Film Scores