John Barnes passed away

We regret to let you know that John Barnes has passed away after a long illness.

John Barnes started working with Michael Jackson as a synthesizer and arranger on the 1984 Jacksons album ‘Victory.’ He went on to collaborate with Michael on the 1985 charity single ‘We Are The World,’ the 1986 3D Disney short film ‘Captain EO,’ and all major Michael Jackson albums from Bad, including being the musical director for the tour, to Blood On The Dance Floor.

• Bad (1987) – Synthesizer, Piano, Arranger, Programming, Vocal Arrangement, String Arrangements, Rhythm Arrangements
• Dangerous (1992) – Bass, Keyboards
• HIStory (1995) – Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards
• Blood on the Dance Floor (1997) – Synthesizer, Keyboards

John Barnes also worked with Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Toni Braxton and Diana Ross to name just a few. He was also the lead piano on the most famous Gloria Gaynor’s cult classic hit “I Will Survive”.

He started his career in the 70s at Motown recording for Marvin Gaye.

In 1982, Michael Jackson would come across a studio demo produced by Barnes and request a meeting. In an interview with The MJCast podcast, John recalls his first meeting with Michael Jackson, “Michael said I heard you can make your own sounds and play them. How many sounds can you make? And, I responded, ‘How much time do you have?’” The meeting lasted a few hours and was the beginning of a friendship and musical partnership with Barnes being hired as a core member of Michael Jackson’s team. Barnes’ first project with Michael Jackson was the production of Captain EO, a groundbreaking 3-D film written by George Lucas, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Michael Jackson (shown exclusively at Disney theme parks); John would then go onto produce the top-selling BAD album and overseeing the music direction of the subsequent world tour. Michael Jackson and John Barnes’s partnership would continue for over two decades until Jackson’s untimely death in 2009.

He worked also with Janet Jackson’s first album and with Jermaine Jackson.

• The Jacksons     Victory (1984)    Synthesizer, Arranger
• Original Soundtrack     Jacksons: An American Dream (1992)    Vocals, Producer
• Jacksons     Best Remixes (1998)    Keyboards, Fairlight
• Janet Jackson     Dream Street (1984)    Keyboards, Programming, Moog Synthesizer, Rhythm, Associate Producer, Drum Programming, Rhythm Arrangements, Moog Bass
• Jermaine Jackson     Jermaine Jackson (1984)    Bass, Keyboards
• Jermaine Jackson     You Said (1992)    Arranger, Synclavier
• Michael Jackson     Bad (1987)    Synthesizer, Piano, Arranger, Programming, Vocal Arrangement, String Arrangements, Rhythm Arrangements
• Michael Jackson     Dangerous (1992)    Bass, Keyboards
• Michael Jackson     HIStory: Past, Present and Future, (1995)    Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards
• Michael Jackson     Blood on the Dance Floor: History… (1997)    Synthesizer, Keyboards
• Michael Jackson     Bad [Bonus Tracks] (2001)    Synthesizer, Piano, Vocal Arrangement, String Arrangements, Rhythm Arrangements, Synthesizer Arrangements
• Michael Jackson     Greatest Hits: HIStory, Vol. 1 (2001)    Synthesizer, Keyboards, Vocal Arrangement
• Rebbie Jackson     Yours Faithfully (1998)    Synthesizer, Drum Programming
• Captain EO (1986) Arranger, Synclavier, Keyboards, Synthesizer

John Barnes was the father of two sons and a daughter John III, Darius, and Kristin. He has 4 grandchildren Kahlil, Ana, Jeffrey, and Darius Jr., and 1 great-granddaughter named Mai.

All our condolences to his family and friends and thank you for the magic!