In the early years around 1962 to 1964, Barry played in several R&B groups. Some of the musicians he had the opportunity to work with included, but were not limited to Donald “Duck” Dunn, Wayne Jackson, Don Nix, and Mike Leech among many others. Around 1963 Barry joined the Marty Willis combo. The band played R/B, swing and standards at the Night Lighter Club in downtown Memphis. Barry belonged to the Memphis Musicians union for several years and got the chance to play a lot of really good swing and standard music. During this time, he played for several years with Rene Koopman, one of Memphis’ premier piano players.

In the later 60’s, Barry got the chance to tour with the Bill Black Combo. As is common knowledge, this popular and world-renowned band played a real variety of songs, which included rock, blues, country and rock-a-billy. Also at this time, Barry started playing with several different rock groups and this lasted into the 70’s. One of these groups, Country Funk, got the chance to open for Steppenwolf and The Byrds at the Memphis Coliseum. Another of these groups, Omaha, featured Jimi Jamison as its lead vocalist. The fact that Jamison went on to fame with the group “Survivor” is now history!

After the 70’s, Barry settled into playing with different local groups around the Memphis area. One group he worked with for seven years in the 90’s was Reba and the Portables. This band played rock, blues and R&B all around the Memphis area. Since around 2004 he has been with Jazmine, which features jazz vocalist, T.J. Graham. The band plays a wide variety of swing, Latin, standards, ballads and original music written by the group’s bassist, John Lightman. In the spring of 2007, Barry, John and T.J. worked with nine other well-known professional musicians on a CD project. The CD, entitled, “Small Day Tomorrow” was produced by John Lightman and features T. J. Graham. It is a really great selection of standard swing and ballads with a touch of Latin.

As you can see, Barry has played a wide variety of music. In his own words, “I love all types of music and I hope that I can continue playing for many more years.”