Barry De Vorzon, born 31 July 1934 in New York City, was an American composer whose work spanned film, television and pop music. After early success as a songwriter in the late 1950s, De Vorzon’s first charting single was "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached Number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 1 on the Country chart. In 1960 he co‑wrote "Dreamin'" for Johnny Burnette, which peaked at Number 11. The 1960s saw De Vorzon founding Valiant Records and producing hits for artists such as The Cascades, while he also recorded his own material with Barry and the Tamerlanes. His breakthrough in film scoring came in 1970 with the soundtrack for R.P.M., followed by Bless the Beasts & Children (1971) and Dillinger (1973). The 1976 theme "Nadia's Theme" for The Young and the Restless reached Number 8 on the U.S. Top 40 and earned a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement in 1977. De Vorzon composed music for major films including The Warriors (1979), The Ninth Configuration (1980) and The Exorcist III (1990), and contributed to television scores for Simon & Simon and S.W.A.T. His work remains a notable part of 1970s and 1980s American film music.
