Complete Guide To James Bond Songs
Ranked #6,448 in Music, #177,876 overall | Donates to Room to Read
The Sound of Spy-fi
James Bond Title Sequences (1962-1971)
Sean Connery and George Lazenby
James Bond Title Sequences (1985-2008)
Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig
The "Lost" Songs
Alternate versions, closing credit songs, and tracks from unofficial Bond films
Who's YOUR James Bond?

Who wrote the James Bond Theme?
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.
"Live and Let Die" performed by Paul McCartney & Wings
(Live and Let Die, 1973)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 World Is Not Enough" performed by Garbage
(The World Is Not Enough, 1999)2 points
"The Man with the Golden Gun" performed by Lulu
(The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974)1 point
"Tomorrow Never Dies" performed by Sheryl Crow
(Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997)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
"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
"Never Say Never Again" performed by Lani Hall
(Never Say Never Again, 1983)0 points
Meet the film composers!
- 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?

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?
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]
titol-ogoldfingercompositore-john barry etichettae more...1 point
Thunderball [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
If Goldfinger proved that the James Bond franchise more...1 point
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]
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
Where the previous Bond installment, Goldeneye, profited more...1 point
The World Is Not Enough (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The obvious marquee name here is Garbage--and the more...1 point
Die Another Day
James Bond has never been cooler - and neither has more...1 point
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 continues the high octane advent more...1 point
Your Favorite Sean Connery
Which Connery Bond flicks are your favorites?
You Only Live Twice
When an American space capsule is swallowed up by more...3 points
Diamonds Are Forever
Superspy James Bond (Sean Connery) gets tangled up more...3 points
Dr. No (Special Edition)
Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie rema more...2 points
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?
Live and Let Die
No Description Available.Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure more...2 points
The Man With The Golden Gun
Scaramanga is a hit-man who charges a million doll more...2 points
The Spy Who Loved Me
Nobody does it better than Bond, and he proves it more...2 points
For Your Eyes Only
James Bond is thrust into one of his most riveting more...2 points
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
Guestbook: Secret Agents, sign in!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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landscaper61
Oct 19, 2011 @ 9:15 pm | delete
- Outstanding lens. I loved it all.
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goo2eyes
Oct 18, 2011 @ 8:23 am | delete
- i love bond movies with sean connery and also pierce brosnan.
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CDs
Buy the songs in these anthology collections
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Buy the Bond films on DVD
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Buy the Bond films on Blu-ray
by 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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![The Living Daylights [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BeLYj3nAL._SL75_.jpg)
![From Russia with Love [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nFS87UaxL._SL75_.jpg)
![Goldfinger [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xzG5UElmL._SL75_.jpg)
![Thunderball [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZusWdc4jL._SL75_.jpg)

![Diamonds Are Forever [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gk4gXyVSL._SL75_.jpg)

![Moonraker [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZzPWTEzTL._SL75_.jpg)





![Casino Royale [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-XOpQIaBL._SL75_.jpg)














