The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years, many of which are now considered classic pieces of cinematic music. The best known of these pieces of music was the ubiquitous "James Bond Theme." Many other pieces of instrumental music have also become identified with the series, such as "The 007 Theme", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and various theme songs such as Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds Are Forever", Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice", Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does it Better" (from The Spy Who Loved Me) and Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill".
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Contents
- 1 The "James Bond Theme"
- 2 007
- 3 Composers
- 4 Main title themes
- 5 Video games
- 6 References
- 7 External links
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The "James Bond Theme"
"James Bond Theme" premiered in the film
Dr. No written by Monty Norman and performed by the John Barry Orchestra
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films, being featured in every film since Dr. No in one form or another. The piece is used in conjunction with the James Bond gun barrel sequence as the film's initial introduction.
Monty Norman has been credited with writing the "James Bond Theme", and has received royalties since 1962. For Dr. No, the song was orchestrated by John Barry who would later go on to compose the soundtrack for 11 future Bond films. Courts have ruled twice that the theme was written by Monty Norman despite claims and testimony by Barry that he had actually written the theme. Norman has consequently won two libel actions against publishers for claiming that Barry wrote the theme, most recently against The Sunday Times in 2001. It is generally acknowledged that Barry came up with the arrangement used in Dr. No.
Norman describes the distinctive rhythm in the first few bars of the "James Bond Theme" as "Dum di-di dum dum". He claims that it was inspired by the song "Good Sign Bad Sign" sung by Indian characters in A House for Mr Biswas, a musical he composed based on a novel by V.S. Naipaul set in the Indian community in Trinidad. In 2005, Norman released an album called Completing the Circle that features "Good Sign Bad Sign", the "James Bond Theme," and a similar sounding song titled "Dum Di-Di Dum Dum." For these songs Norman added lyrics that explains the origin and history of the "James Bond Theme."
The distinctive guitar riff heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Vic Flick, who would later play guitar on the original recording of Ron Grainer's famous theme music from the 1967 television series, The Prisoner.
The "James Bond Theme" has been used or adapted in a number of non-Bond films including The Beatles' film Help!, and Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. It has also been remixed by Moby for Tomorrow Never Dies, by Paul Oakenfold for Die Another Day, and by The Art of Noise, among many others. It is also the signature tune of the all-female pop-influenced classical string quartet, Bond.
Within the Bond films themselves, many different arrangements of the theme have been used, often reflecting musical tastes of the times. The electric guitar version of the theme is most associated with the Sean Connery era although it was also used in some Roger Moore films. Most mid-to-late period Moore films as well as Timothy Dalton's first, Barry-scored film The Living Daylights, used a symphonic version with the melody played on strings. The George Lazenby film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service used a unique high-pitched arrangement with the melody played on a Moog synthsizer. The gun barrel of the Pierce Brosnan film GoldenEye opened with a synthesized arrangement by Eric Serra (a more traditional rendition by John Altman is heard in the film during the tank chase in St. Petersburg; this version of the "James Bond Theme" is not included in the GoldenEye soundtrack). David Arnold's gun barrel arrangements in Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough dropped the melody line jumping straight from the tune's opening to its concluding bars. The The World Is Not Enough gun barrel has a electonical rhythm in it. The Die Another Day gun barrel sounds like the version in From Russia with Love but with more techno-influenced rhythm. It also contains the typical "James Bond guitar".
A second piece of music called "The James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman for use in Dr. No prior to the composition of the more famous piece of music. A blues melody, this earlier version was not used but was included in the soundtrack album, as was a fast-paced variation called "Twisting with James" which is one of the best known James Bond melodies never to have been used in a Bond film.
007
"007" (sometimes referred to as "The 007 Theme"), is an adventure theme composed by John Barry in 1963 for the Bond film, From Russia with Love.
"007" is made up of a sharp guitar line with brass and strings. The theme appears in five James Bond films:
- From Russia with Love — Played during Bond's theft of the Lektor decoder from the Russian embassy in Istanbul and his subsequent escape, and later during the boat chase.
- Thunderball — Played when Bond runs from SPECTRE during a parade and when he joins the climactic underwater fight
- You Only Live Twice — Played during the flight of "Little Nellie" before he battles four helicopters that attack him.
- Diamonds Are Forever — Played during Bond's destruction of Blofeld's HQ
- Moonraker — Played during the Amazon river chase.
This piece of music was also used by Philadelphia television station KYW-TV as the theme music for its evening news program.
Composers
The biggest contribution to the James Bond series, save for the "James Bond Theme", are works from John Barry. In addition to his uncredited contribution to Dr. No, Barry composed eleven Bond soundtracks and is credited with the creation of "007" (dominated by brass and percussion) and the popular orchestral theme On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Other major composers and record-producers include George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch, Eric Serra, and the current composer David Arnold. Arnold has composed the last three Bond soundtracks and has been contracted again for the twenty-first James Bond film, Casino Royale.
Main title themes
The James Bond film franchise is notable for its distinctive theme songs, often performed by the top singers of the day. Some themes have been more popular than others - Sheena Easton's performance of Bill Conti's "For Your Eyes Only" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, Duran Duran and John Barry's "A View To A Kill" topped the singles charts in America (the only Bond theme to hit #1), whereas Madonna's theme for "Die Another Day", despite being the best-selling Bond theme in nearly 20 years, was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (2002) in addition to a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
The main theme for Dr. No is the "James Bond Theme," although the opening credits also include an untitled bongo interlude, and concludes with a vocal Calypso-flavored rendition of "Three Blind Mice" titled "Kingston Calypso" that sets the scene and is repeated throughout the film. Because of this, Dr. No is the only film to have two opening themes.
Several of the later films have alternative theme songs, often during the closing credits. The Living Daylights (1987) featured The Pretenders performing "If There Was A Man," composed by John Barry with Chrissie Hynde. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) included k.d. lang's "Surrender" during the closing credits, a song which was originally proposed by composer David Arnold to be the title sequence theme instead of the Sheryl Crow title song, but was replaced when the producers wanted a bigger name for the song. The "Surrender" theme is heard throughout the score while the melody of Sheryl Crow's song is not used again during the film.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) featured an instrumental theme tune, something which remains unique amongst the post-From Russia With Love Bond films, and included a vocal theme in the form of Louis Armstrong's performance of "We Have All the Time in the World", written by John Barry and Hal David.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) each resulted in alternative theme songs which were submitted to the producers, but never used. Alice Cooper's alternative theme for The Man with the Golden Gun appeared on his 1973 album Muscle of Love while the Blondie version of For Your Eyes Only can be found on 1982's The Hunter. Several artists, some of them already involved with David Arnold's Shaken and Stirred Bond compilation project, were asked to submit theme songs for Tomorrow Never Dies. Pulp's "Tomorrow Never Lies" – dating from a time when this was the film's title – was released as a b-side on their 1997 single "Help the Aged", and on the vinyl version of their 1998 album This is Hardcore. Another contender by Saint Etienne, entitled simply "Tomorrow Never Dies," turned up on their Built on Sand album, with the liner notes revealing that Pierce Brosnan kept the master tape of the song. Other artists who submitted Tomorrow Never Dies themes included The Cardigans and Space. Sheryl Crow's theme was ultimately used.
The originally intended theme song for Thunderball was entitled "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" a reference to a nickname given to Bond by an Italian journalist in 1962. Halfway through the scoring process, it was decided that having a title song that wasn't the name of the film would not work, so "Thunderball" was commissioned. "Mr. Kiss-Kiss, Bang-Bang" still plays a prominent role in the score, however, the actual track sang by Dionne Warwick was not released till the 1990s.
Welsh singer Shirley Bassey has performed the most Bond themes – she recorded the themes to Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker. Bassey also recorded her own version of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" for Thunderball, but her version was replaced by Dionne Warwick's rendition. Likewise, Bassey's original recording wasn't released until 1992 where both vocal renditions finally found their way onto a collector's CD set.
An alternative but never used title song for You Only Live Twice, sung by Julie Rogers was also not released until the 30th anniversary of the cinematic James Bond and can only be found on this aforementioned CD.
| Film |
Year |
Score composer |
Title song |
Performed by |
| Dr. No |
1962 |
Monty Norman |
"James Bond Theme"
"Kingston Calypso" |
John Barry orchestra
Monty Norman orchestra |
| From Russia with Love |
1963 |
John Barry |
"From Russia with Love" |
John Barry orchestra |
| Goldfinger |
1964 |
John Barry |
"Goldfinger" |
Shirley Bassey |
| Thunderball |
1965 |
John Barry |
"Thunderball" |
Tom Jones1 |
| You Only Live Twice |
1967 |
John Barry |
"You Only Live Twice" |
Nancy Sinatra2 |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service |
1969 |
John Barry |
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" |
John Barry orchestra |
| Diamonds Are Forever |
1971 |
John Barry |
"Diamonds Are Forever" |
Shirley Bassey |
| Live and Let Die |
1973 |
George Martin |
"Live and Let Die" |
Paul McCartney & Wings |
| The Man with the Golden Gun |
1974 |
John Barry |
"The Man with the Golden Gun" |
Lulu |
| The Spy Who Loved Me |
1977 |
Marvin Hamlisch |
"Nobody Does It Better" |
Carly Simon |
| Moonraker |
1979 |
John Barry |
"Moonraker" |
Shirley Bassey |
| For Your Eyes Only |
1981 |
Bill Conti |
"For Your Eyes Only" |
Sheena Easton |
| Octopussy |
1983 |
John Barry |
"All-Time High"4 |
Rita Coolidge |
| A View to a Kill |
1985 |
John Barry |
"A View to a Kill" |
Duran Duran |
| The Living Daylights |
1987 |
John Barry |
"The Living Daylights" |
a-ha |
| Licence to Kill |
1989 |
Michael Kamen |
"Licence to Kill" |
Gladys Knight |
| GoldenEye |
1995 |
Eric Serra |
"GoldenEye" |
Tina Turner |
| Tomorrow Never Dies |
1997 |
David Arnold |
"Tomorrow Never Dies" |
Sheryl Crow |
| The World Is Not Enough |
1999 |
David Arnold |
"The World Is Not Enough" |
Garbage |
| Die Another Day |
2002 |
David Arnold |
"Die Another Day" |
Madonna |
| Casino Royale |
2006 |
David Arnold |
"You Know My Name" |
Chris Cornell |
The unofficial main themes:
| Film |
Year |
Score composer |
Title song |
Performed by |
Casino Royale
(unofficial film) |
1967 |
Burt Bacharach |
"Casino Royale" |
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass3 |
Never Say Never Again
(unofficial film) |
1983 |
Michel Legrand |
"Never Say Never Again" |
Lani Hall |
- Note 1: EON Productions intended to use a song entitled "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" by Dionne Warwick as the theme, but Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli insisted the theme song must include the title of the film. The melody of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" remains a major component of the film score.
- Note 2: Two different songs of this title were considered for the theme, but only Sinatra's version was used.
- Note 3: The film's closing credits use a vocal version of "Casino Royale" sung by Mike Redway, who remains officially uncredited.
- Note 4: "All Time High" is the first main theme tune not to feature the title of the movie either in the song title or lyrics ("Nobody Does It Better" features the line "The Spy Who Loved Me" in its lyrics. "Casino Royale," with the song "You Know My Name" also does not contain the name of the film.)
Secondary songs
A number of Bond films include one (or more) additional songs in the soundtrack. As noted above, some of these pieces of music, such as "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong, have gone on to become as well-known as the main themes, while other songs remain exclusively linked to the movie in which they appear.
| Film |
Title |
Year |
Performed by |
| Dr. No |
"Jump Up"
"Under the Mango Tree" |
1962 |
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires
Monty Norman A |
| From Russia with Love |
"From Russia with Love" |
1963 |
Matt MonroB |
| Thunderball |
"Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" |
1965 |
Dionne Warwick
(not included in film) |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service |
"We Have All the Time in the World"
"Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" |
1969 |
Louis Armstrong
Nina |
| The Living Daylights |
"Where Has Everybody Gone?"
"If There Was a Man" |
1987 |
The Pretenders |
| Licence to Kill |
"If You Asked Me To" |
1989 |
Patti Labelle |
| GoldenEye |
"The Experience of Love" |
1995 |
Eric Serra |
| Tomorrow Never Dies |
"Surrender" |
1997 |
k.d. lang |
| The World Is Not Enough |
"Only Myself To Blame" |
1999 |
Scott Walker
(not included in film) |
The unofficial secondary songs:
| Film |
Title |
Year |
Performed by |
Casino Royale
(unofficial film) |
"The Look of Love" |
1967 |
Dusty Springfield |
Dionne Warwick's performance of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is never actually heard in Thunderball; it was originally to have been the opening credits theme, but this was changed when Albert Broccolli decreed the theme had to include the title of the film. The melody of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is heard throughout the film; Warwick's version was finally released in the 1990s.
The original end title theme to The World Is Not Enough was "Only Myself To Blame", composed by David Arnold and Don Black, and sung by Scott Walker, but was left out of the final film and replaced by an Arnold arrangement of the "James Bond Theme". "Blame" was, however, left on the ...Not Enough soundtrack album.
The soundtrack to the 1967 spoof Casino Royale also included two short comedic songs sung in a 1920s style. One led into an instrumental version of "Look of Love" and began with the line "James Bond playing at Casino Royale..."; later, this tune was reprised as "Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale" which lead into a lyrical version of the theme sung by Mike Redway that played over the closing credits.
- Note A: According to the liner notes on the early 2000s re-issue of the soundtrack, this song was originally considered for the movie's theme song, but it was decided to commission a more action-oriented piece of music.
- Note B: Matt Monro's vocal rendition of "From Russia with Love" is often considered the official theme song for that film, even though the opening credits use an instrumental version that also incorporates the "James Bond Theme." Monro's version isn't heard until about 15 minutes into the movie, and again over the closing titles.
Video games
With the increase in audio quality for video game consoles and personal computers, in addition to the continued popularity of computer and video games, publisher Electronic Arts has included opening themes and film-style credit sequences to some of its more recent James Bond video game spin offs.
| Video game |
Year |
Score composer |
Title song |
Performed by |
| GoldenEye 007 |
1997 |
Graeme Norgate and Grant Kirkhope |
|
|
| Tomorrow Never Dies |
1999 |
Tommy Tallarico |
"Tomorrow Never Dies" |
Sheryl Crow |
| The World Is Not Enough |
2000 |
Don Veca |
|
|
| Agent Under Fire |
2001 |
Don Veca |
|
|
| Nightfire |
2002 |
Ed Lima |
"Nearly Civilized" |
Esthero |
| Everything or Nothing |
2004 |
Sean Callery |
"Everything or Nothing" |
Mya |
| GoldenEye: Rogue Agent |
2004 |
Paul Oakenfold |
|
|
| From Russia with Love |
2005 |
Christopher Lennertz |
"From Russia with Love" (instrumental remix) |
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References
- Listology.com's rating of the James Bond Theme Songs #1
- Listology.com's rating of the James Bond Theme Songs #2
External links
- montynorman.com
- Detailed account of a court proceeding between Monty Norman and John Barry re: The "James Bond Theme", including musicological breakdowns of the theme itself.
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| James Bond music |
| Title themes |
| Official films: John Barry orchestra "The James Bond Theme" | Monty Norman orchestra "Kingston Calypso" | John Barry orchestra "From Russia with Love" | Shirley Bassey "Goldfinger" | Tom Jones "Thunderball" | Nancy Sinatra "You Only Live Twice" | John Barry orchestra "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" | Shirley Bassey "Diamonds Are Forever | Paul McCartney & Wings " Live and Let Die" | Lulu "The Man with the Golden Gun" | Carly Simon "Nobody Does It Better" | Shirley Bassey "Moonraker" | Sheena Easton "For Your Eyes Only" | Rita Coolidge "All-Time High" | Duran Duran "A View to a Kill" | a-ha "The Living Daylights" | Gladys Knight "Licence To Kill" | Tina Turner " GoldenEye" | Sheryl Crow "Tomorrow Never Dies" | Garbage "The World Is Not Enough" | Madonna "Die Another Day" | Chris Cornell "You Know My Name" |
| Unofficial films: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass "Casino Royale" | Lani Hall "Never Say Never Again" |
Categories: James Bond music | Theme music
