John Barry an Oscar winning English film score composer. He was best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the 007 series' distinctive style. Died Sunday January 30, 2011. He Was 77.

   In a career spanning almost 50 years, Barry received a number of awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won a BAFTA Award), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (for which he also won a Grammy Award).

   Mixing jazz sensibilities and rock 'n' roll rhythms together with show-style orchestral strings and brass, the 'Bond sound' was not quite like anything heard before or since, influencing scores of musicians to come - for instance, Quincy Jones would have been quite different if not for Barry; Mark Ronson simply wouldn't exist (admittedly, you may see that as a good thing). Plus, let's not forget that the Bond tunes of the '60s, all of their music written by Barry, weren't just among the most popular songs of the decade, but also helped push the careers of Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones and Nancy Sinatra into the stratosphere. Across his career, Barry scored more than 80 movies and produced unforgettable TV themes such as for the Roger Moore-Tony Curtis adventure series "The Persuaders!" (1971-72) and the telly spin-off of the movie "Born Free" (1966), the latter possessing another terrific film score and song for which he won an Oscar.