Complete Guide To James Bond Songs

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The Sound of Spy-fi

Over the years, the public's ongoing fascination has waxed and waned -- but the James Bond franchise has always rode it through (relatively) on top. A big ingredient in 007's enduring success has been the musical contributions of some great composers and the occasional pop star. This lens is dedicated to the great songs that have been driving audiences to theaters time and time again.

James Bond Title Sequences (1962-1971)

Sean Connery and George Lazenby

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James Bond Title Sequences (1973-1985)

Roger Moore

1973 - James Bond - Live and let die: title sequence
by juanmurs | video info

123 ratings | 48,443 views
curated content from YouTube

James Bond Title Sequences (1985-2008)

Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig

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The "Lost" Songs

Alternate versions, closing credit songs, and tracks from unofficial Bond films

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Who's YOUR James Bond?

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Who wrote the James Bond Theme?

The opening seconds of 1962's Dr. No is one of the most famous opening sequences in film history: The viewer sees a series of circles on screen, only to quickly learn we are actually looking down a gun barrel. The man walking along, in our sights, whirls and shoots -- and we're bleeding!

Then that music kicks in, crisp and cool. Deadly. Everyone knows it. In the years since Dr. No, the "James Bond Theme" has appeared in all the official Bond films in different forms. The original piece is credited to Monty Norman, the main melody borrowed from his own earlier stage song "Bad Sign, Good Sign."

Reportedly, when producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli heard Norman's arrangement, they were dissatisfied -- and turned the song over to John Barry. The original theme as heard in Dr. No was performed by Barry and his orchestra in 1962. Barry's dark, alluring arrangement -- the sinister chords, the surf guitar, the counter-melody, the bridge -- are what elevated the song to legendary status. The "James Bond Theme" debuted at No. 47 in the UK Singles Chart and reached No. 13. It was on the charts for 13 weeks.

Although Barry did not write the primary melody for the "James Bond Theme," he clearly made his stamp on it. His influence remained a controversy for years and, on occasions, ended up in court. Norman won two libel actions against publishers for claiming that Barry was the composer, most recently against The Sunday Times in 2001.

Bond: The Hit Songs

Which were YOUR favorite Bond singles?

One of the hallmarks of the Bond films has been all the famous stars who have lined up to record a James Bond song.

"Goldfinger" performed performed by Shirley Bassey

(Goldfinger, 1964)4 points

"A View to a Kill" performed by Duran Duran

(A View to a Kill, 1985)4 points

"Live and Let Die" performed by Paul McCartney & Wings

(Live and Let Die, 1973)3 points

"Moonraker" performed by Shirley Bassey

(Moonraker, 1979)3 points

"The Look of Love" performed by Dusty Springfield

(Casino Royale, 1967)3 points

"You Only Live Twice" performed by Nancy Sinatra

(You Only Live Twice, 1967)2 points

"We Have All the Time in the World" performed by Louis Armstrong

(On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969)2 points

"Diamonds Are Forever" performed by Shirley Bassey

(Diamonds Are Forever, 1971)2 points

"Nobody Does It Better" performed by Carly Simon

(The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)2 points

"The Living Daylights" performed by a-ha

(The Living Daylights, 1987)2 points

"The World Is Not Enough" performed by Garbage

(The World Is Not Enough, 1999)2 points

"Thunderball" performed by Tom Jones

(Thunderball, 1965)1 point

"The Man with the Golden Gun" performed by Lulu

(The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974)1 point

"License to Kill" performed by Gladys Knight

(License to Kill, 1989)1 point

"GoldenEye" performed by Tina Turner

(GoldenEye, 1995)1 point

"Tomorrow Never Dies" performed by Sheryl Crow

(Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997)1 point

"Surrender" performed by k.d. lang

(Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997)1 point

"Die Another Day" performed by Madonna

(Die Another Day, 2002)1 point

"You Know My Name" performed by Chris Cornell

(Casino Royale, 2006)1 point

"Another Way to Die" performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys

(Quantum of Solace, 2008)1 point

"If There Was a Man" performed by The Pretenders

(The Living Daylights, 1987)1 point

"If You Asked Me To" performed by Patti LaBelle

(License to Kill, 1989)1 point

"Kingston Calypso" performed by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

(Dr. No, 1962)0 points

"From Russia With Love" performed by Matt Monroe

(From Russia With Love, 1963)0 points

"For Your Eyes Only" performed by Sheena Easton

(For Your Eyes Only, 1981)0 points

"All Time High" performed by Rita Coolidge

(Octopussy, 1983)0 points

"Never Say Never Again" performed by Lani Hall

(Never Say Never Again, 1983)0 points

Meet the film composers!

Over the past some 50 years, several composers have contributed to the sound of James Bond.
  • 1John Barry: From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), A View To a Kill (1985), and The Living Daylights (1987). Other notable scores include Born Free (1966), The Lion in Winter (1968), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), King Kong (1976), The Black Hole (1979), Somewhere in Time (1980), The Cotton Club (1984), Out of Africa (1985), Dances with Wolves (1990), and Chaplin (1992).
  • 2Burt Bacharach: Casino Royale (1967). Other notable scores include After the Fox (1966), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and Arthur (1981).
  • 3George Martin: Live and Let Die (1973). Other notable scores include A Hard Day's Night (1964), and Yellow Submarine (1969).
  • 4Marvin Hamlisch: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Other notable scores include Take the Money and Run (1969), The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), The Way We Were (1974), The Sting (1974), Ice Castles (1978), Seems Like Old Times (1980), Ordinary People (1980), Sophie's Choice (1982), A Chorus Line (1985), and Three Men and a Baby (1987).
  • 5Bill Conti: For Your Eyes Only (1981). Other notable scores include Rocky (1976), The Right Stuff (1983), The Karate Kid (1984), and Thomas Crown Affair (1999).
  • 6Michel Legrand: Never Say Never Again (1983). Other notable scores include The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Ice Station Zebra (1968), Summer of '42 (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), Gulliver's Travels (1975), The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976), Yentl (1983), Switching Channels (1988), Predator 2 (1990), Angels in the Outfield (1994), and Operation Dumbo Drop (1995).
  • 7Michael Kamen: Licence to Kill (1989). Other notable scores include The Dead Zone (1983), Brazil (1985), Highlander (1986), Lethal Weapon (1987), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), The Three Musketeers (1993), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), The Iron Giant (1999), X-Men (2000), and Frequency (2000).
  • 8Éric Serra: GoldenEye (1995). Other notable scores include Subway (1985), La Femme Nikita (1990), The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), and Wasabi (2001).
  • 9David Arnold: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008). Other notable scores include Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Shaft (2000),Changing Lanes (2002), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Amazing Grace (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).

John Barry vs. David Arnold

Which is the best Bond composer?

The two soundtrack composers who've scored the most films in the James Bond series are John Barry (12 of them) and David Arnold (5 so far -- and counting).

Which composer do YOU prefer?

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John Barry invented the mold -- everyone else has been just trying to copy him.

goo2eyes says:

Bill Conti with his For your Eyes only is my fave but since you only mentioned John Barry and David Arnold, I choose John.

Tipi says:

John Barry seems to be the gold standard!

reasonablerobinson says:

Its John for me

David Arnold may be following in Barry's footsteps, but he's added his own stamp.

SaintFrantic says:

David Arnold

 

John Barry soundtracks

What was YOUR favorite Bond score by John Barry?

You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice

Music by Various Artists, lots of Good Music!!2 points

From Russia with Love [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

From Russia with Love [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

After the surprise success of 1962's Dr. No, the producers more...1 point

Goldfinger [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Goldfinger [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

titol-ogoldfingercompositore-john barry etichettae more...1 point

Thunderball [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Thunderball [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

If Goldfinger proved that the James Bond franchise more...1 point

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

This sixth installment of the James Bond cycle was more...1 point

Diamonds Are Forever [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Diamonds Are Forever [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

titolo-diamonds are forevercompositore-john barry more...1 point

David Arnold Soundtracks

What's YOUR favorite Bond score by David Arnold?

Tomorrow Never Dies: Music From The Motion Picture

Tomorrow Never Dies: Music From The Motion Picture

Where the previous Bond installment, Goldeneye, profited more...1 point

The World Is Not Enough (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The World Is Not Enough (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The obvious marquee name here is Garbage--and the more...1 point

Die Another Day

Die Another Day

James Bond has never been cooler - and neither has more...1 point

Casino Royale [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Casino Royale [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Now in its fifth decade, the James Bond film series more...1 point

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace continues the high octane advent more...1 point

Your Favorite Sean Connery

Which Connery Bond flicks are your favorites?

Goldfinger

Goldfinger

From the opening bomb blast outside a steamy night more...4 points

You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice

When an American space capsule is swallowed up by more...3 points

Diamonds Are Forever

Diamonds Are Forever

Superspy James Bond (Sean Connery) gets tangled up more...3 points

Dr. No (Special Edition)

Dr. No (Special Edition)

Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie rema more...2 points

From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (REPACKAGED) - DVD Movie2 points

Thunderball

Thunderball

The thrills never let up as James Bond dives into more...2 points

Never Say Never Again

Never Say Never Again

Sean Connery is back for his final performance as more...1 point

Your Favorite Roger Moore

Which of the Moore Bonds are your favorites?

Moonraker

Moonraker

A Boeing 747 carrying a US space shuttle on loan t more...3 points

Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die

No Description Available.Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure more...2 points

The Man With The Golden Gun

The Man With The Golden Gun

Scaramanga is a hit-man who charges a million doll more...2 points

The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me

Nobody does it better than Bond, and he proves it more...2 points

For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only

James Bond is thrust into one of his most riveting more...2 points

Octopussy

Octopussy

In search of the killer of a fellow secret agent 0 more...2 points

A View to a Kill

A View to a Kill

Roger Moore makes his the final appearance as the more...1 point

Further Reading

More places on Squidoo to learn about James Bond

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  • agoofyidea Oct 22, 2011 @ 9:00 pm | delete
    Great lens. I love the James Bond songs. Unlike other movie music they really stand out.
  • Yawapi Oct 22, 2011 @ 12:37 pm | delete
    This is great! My little brother and I loved to watch James Bond marathons when we were little. Thanks for bringing up some good memories!
  • JDWheeler Oct 20, 2011 @ 8:15 am | delete
    Great collection of videos. When they have a Bond marathon on TBS, cancel all my appointments, that's what I'm doing all day.
  • landscaper61 Oct 19, 2011 @ 9:15 pm | delete
    Outstanding lens. I loved it all.
  • goo2eyes Oct 18, 2011 @ 8:23 am | delete
    i love bond movies with sean connery and also pierce brosnan.
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CDs

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christopherwell

Chris Well is a novelist and magazine editor. Chris and his wife make their home in Tennessee, where he's hard at work on a variety of fiction project... more »

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