James Bond music
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 is 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" theme, and various songs such as Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", "Diamonds Are Forever", and "Moonraker", Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill", Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice", Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", Tina Turner's "GoldenEye", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does it Better", Garbage's "The World Is Not Enough", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only" and Madonna's "Die Another Day"".
James Bond Theme
Main article James Bond Theme
James Bond is Back
The briefest of "James Bond themes", this composition started off the title music of From Russia with Love. It was heard on the On Her Majesty's Secret Service film trailer.
007
"007" (sometimes referred to as the "007 Theme", not to be confused with the "James Bond Theme"), is an adventure theme composed by John Barry in 1963 for the Bond film, From Russia with Love.
"The John Barry Seven" had pop chart hit with a cover version of Elmer Bernstein's theme to The Magnificent Seven that featured seven beats repeated throughout the theme. Barry used seven beats throughout the 007 theme.
It became a secondary theme for the Bond films, being used in quite a few Bond movies, primarily during action scenes. Here are its most notable appearances:
- From Russia with Love — Played during the gypsy camp gunfight and also during Bond's theft of the Lektor decoder from the Russian embassy in Istanbul.
- 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 Bond battles four helicopters that attack him.
- Diamonds Are Forever — Played during Bond's destruction of Blofeld's Headquarters.
- Moonraker — Played during the Amazon river chase.
The theme has not been featured in its entirety in a Bond movie since its use in Moonraker.
This piece of music was also used by Philadelphia KYW-TV and Chicago WLS-TV television stations as the theme music for its evening news programs.
"Suspense" Motif
Like John Barry, David Arnold has left his own mark in the music of James Bond. In this case, he has established what can be called the "suspense motif", which is a descending, repetitive four-note motif that can be heard in most of the Bond movies he has scored, starting with Tomorrow Never Dies. It is usually an underlying motif playing under the main melody, and is usually orchestrated with piano trills, high strings, horns, blaring trumpets, and an underlying snare drum. This motif can be heard in:
- Tomorrow Never Dies — "Station Break", "*-3-Send", "Underwater Discovery"
- The World Is Not Enough — "Pipeline", "Submarine"
- Die Another Day — "Antonov"
- Casino Royale — "Miami International", "Dirty Martini", and very briefly in "African Rundown"
Composers (EON Productions)
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.
Next to Barry, David Arnold is the series' most regular composer. He has composed the score for the James Bond films since Tomorrow Never Dies, to the most recent entry, Quantum of Solace. His Barry-esque orchestrations combined with electronic rhythm elements gave the Brosnan era its musical identity.
Other major composers and record-producers include George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch and Éric Serra.
Official Music (EON Productions)
Official 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 - Paul McCartney's performance of "Live and Let Die" was the first James Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song; it reached #2 as a US single, and #7 on the UK charts.
Sheena Easton's performance of Bill Conti's "For Your Eyes Only" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, as did Carly Simon's performance of Marvin Hamlisch's (music) and Carole Bayer Sager's (lyrics) "Nobody Does It Better." Duran Duran and John Barry's "A View To A Kill" topped the singles charts in America (the only Bond theme to hit #1).
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. License to Kill has "If You Asked Me To" sung by Patti Labelle. 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. 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 main theme for The Living Daylights (1987) was originally assigned to the Pet Shop Boys who began work on the project but halted all recording when they learned that they would not be allowed to score the entire film. The project was turned over to a-ha. The Pet Shop Boys had already developed an instrumental for the title song which they later used as the backing track for the song "This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave" on their 1990 album Behaviour.Template:Fact
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 Marc Almond,Swan Lee, 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. There was also a version of Thunderball originally recorded by Johnny Cash intended for use in the film, but was dismissed in favor of Tom Jones. Cash's version of the song can be found on some compilation cds of Cash's music.
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.
- EON Productions intended to use a song entitled "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" by Shirley Bassey as the theme. It was re-recorded by Dionne Warwick until Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli insisted the theme song must include the title of the film and also decided that the lyrics should not start before the title of the film, "Thunderball" appears. A new song was composed and recorded in the eleventh hour titled "Thunderball", performed by Tom Jones. The melody of "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" remains a major component of the film score.
- Two different songs of "You Only Live Twice" were considered for the theme, one by Julie Rogers and the other by Nancy Sinatra. Only Sinatra's version was used.
- Neither "All Time High" (Octopussy), "You Know My Name" (Casino Royale), nor "Another Way to Die" (Quantum of Solace) features the title of its movie either in the song title or lyrics (although "Nobody Does It Better" features the line "The Spy Who Loved Me" in its lyrics, and "Another Way to Die" features the word "solace" in the second stanza.)
- "You Know My Name" is the first main theme to a Bond film that did not appear on the movie's official soundtrack album.
Official Secondary Songs
A number of Bond films include one (or more) additional songs in the soundtrack. 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 Diana Coupland |
| From Russia With Love | "From Russia With Love" (End Credits) | 1963 | Matt Monro |
| Thunderball | "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" | 1965 | Dionne Warwick and another version by Shirley Bassey (both versions neither in film nor on soundtrack) |
| 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 |
| For Your Eyes Only | "Make it Last All Night" | 1981 | Rage |
| A View To A Kill | "California Girls" (not on soundtrack) | 1985 | Gidea Park |
| The Living Daylights | "Where Has Everybody Gone?" "If There Was a Man" |
1987 | The Pretenders |
| Licence to Kill | "If You Asked Me To" "Wedding Party" "Dirty Love" |
1989 | Patti Labelle Ivory Tim Feehan |
| GoldenEye | "The Experience of Love" "James Bond Theme" (GoldenEye Trailer Version) |
1995 | Éric Serra Starr Parodi & Jeff Fair (used in teasers, not in film) |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | "Surrender" "James Bond Theme" |
1997 | k.d. lang Moby (not in film) |
| The World Is Not Enough | "Only Myself to Blame" "James Bond Theme" (End Title) "Sweetest Coma Again" (Japanese End Title) |
1999 | Scott Walker (not in film) David Arnold (not on soundtrack) LUNA SEA (only on Japanese soundtrack) |
| Die Another Day | "London Calling" "James Bond Theme (Bond vs. Oakenfold)" |
2002 | The Clash (not on soundtrack) Paul Oakenfold (not in film) |
- 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 Broccoli 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 The World Is Not Enough soundtrack album, and its melody, representing the Elektra King character, appears throughout the score, most prominently in the tracks "Casino" and "Elektra's Theme."
- 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 over a radio, and again over the closing titles.
Official Foreign Songs
Some songs have been dubbed for the foreign versions of the movies. (To be completed)
| Film | Original Title | Translated Title | Performer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Russia With Love | From Russia With Love | Bons baisers de Russie Die Wolga ist weit (not on DVD releases) |
Bob Asklof Ruth Berlé |
France Germany |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown ? | Savez-vous ce qu'il faut au sapin de Noël ? Wovon träumt ein Weihnachtsbaum im Mai? (on German DVD releases) |
Isabelle Aubret Katja Ebstein |
France Germany |
| Diamonds are Forever | Diamonds are Forever | Vivo di diamanti | Shirley Bassey | Italy |
Additional Music
| Film | Title | Score Composer |
|---|---|---|
| The Spy Who Loved Me | Lawrence of Arabia Theme Doctor Zhivago Theme (Music box) Concerto for Piano N°21 (Elvira Madigan)- Andante Air on the G String |
Maurice Jarre Maurice Jarre Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Johann Sebastian Bach |
| Moonraker | Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Theme The Magnificent Seven Theme |
John Williams Elmer Bernstein |
| A View To A Kill | The Four Seasons Swan Lake |
Antonio Vivaldi Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| The Living Daylights | 40th Symphony in G minor (1st movement) Finale-Act II-Le Nozze di Figaro String Quartet in D major Variations on a Rococo Theme |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| Goldeneye | Stand by your man (Minnie Driver) | Billy Sherrill / Tammy Wynette |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | It had to be you (Instrumental) | Gus Kahn / Isham Jones |
Unofficial Songs (Not EON Productions)
Unofficial Main Title Themes
| Film | Year | Score composer | Title song | Performed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Royale (unofficial film) |
1967 | Burt Bacharach | Casino Royale | Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass |
| Never Say Never Again (unofficial film) |
1983 | Michel Legrand | Never Say Never Again | Lani Hall |
- The closing credits of "Casino Royale" use a vocal version of "Casino Royale" sung by Mike Redway, who remains officially uncredited.
Unofficial Secondary Songs
| Film | Title | Year | Performed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Royale | "The Look of Love" | 1967 | Dusty Springfield |
| Never Say Never Again | "Une Chanson d'Amour" | 1983 | Sophie Della |
- 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.
Cover versions and spin-offs
James Bond music has inspired a number of cover albums in a variety of genres, including the 2007 album Mister Bond – A Jazzy Cocktail of Ice Cold Themes (lounge), Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project featuring David Arnold collaborating with several contemporary artists. The City of Prague Philarmonic recorded several albums with James Bond music and performs in premieres and special events of James Bond movies. Death metal cover band Ten Masked Men has included at least one Bond theme on each of their albums.
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 as well as Activision (since 2008) 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" | Elaine Paiva |
| The World Is Not Enough | 2000 | Don Veca | ||
| Agent Under Fire | 2001 | Don Veca | "The James Bond Theme" | |
| Nightfire | 2002 | Ed Lima, Jeff Tymoschuk | "Nearly Civilized" | Esthero |
| Everything or Nothing | 2004 | Sean Callery, Jeff Tymoschuk | "Everything or Nothing" | Mya |
| GoldenEye: Rogue Agent | 2004 | Paul Oakenfold | "If You're Gonna..." | Natasha Bedingfield |
| From Russia with Love | 2005 | Christopher Lennertz | "From Russia with Love" (instrumental remix) | |
| Quantum of Solace | 2008 | Christopher Lennertz | "When Nobody Loves You" | Kerli |
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.
| The James Bond films |
|---|
| Official films Dr. No | From Russia with Love | Goldfinger | Thunderball | You Only Live Twice | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Diamonds Are Forever | Live and Let Die | The Man with the Golden Gun | The Spy Who Loved Me | Moonraker | For Your Eyes Only | Octopussy | A View to a Kill | The Living Daylights | Licence to Kill | GoldenEye | Tomorrow Never Dies | The World Is Not Enough | Die Another Day | Casino Royale | Quantum of Solace |
| Unofficial films Casino Royale (1954 TV) | Casino Royale (1967 spoof) | Never Say Never Again |