I had a farm in Africa.

John Barry, composer of many movie scores, died yesterday in New York. He was 77 years old.

Barry composed the scores for many films, including most of the earlier James Bond movies from Dr. No (1962) to The Living Daylights (1987). The Bond films are his best known contribution to cinematic orchestral composition, but I remember him from his scores for Somewhere In Time (1980) and Out of Africa (1985). Back in my college days, I can recall hearing that lush orchestration booming out of my parents' stereo, or out of Eric's apartment. (Yes, we were drama queens. Still are.) Barry's music helped to solidify my love for the french horn, which played prominent roles in many of his orchestrations. His sappy melodies, reminiscent of Baptist church music in their chord-in-the-left-hand, melody-in-the-right-hand structure, helped to soothe many a bruised heart back in the day.

Here's some of his best work, in my opinion: