The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years, many of which have become considered classic pieces of cinematic music. The best known of these pieces of music was the ubiquitous "The James Bond Theme". Many other pieces of 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 Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die".

The James Bond Theme

"The James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films, being featured in every original film since Dr. No. Courts have ruled twice that it was written by Monty Norman, although John Barry has testified several times and claims that he was actually the one who wrote the theme. The classic version of "The James Bond Theme" was orchestrated by Barry for the first James Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962.

Norman describes the distinctive rhythm in the first few bars of "The James Bond Theme" as "Dum de-de-dum-dum, dum dum dum, dum de-de dum dum, dum 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. He performs "Good Sign Bad Sign" in the documentary Inside Dr. No and the melody is virtually identical to the later James Bond Theme.

Norman has been credited with writing "The James Bond Theme", and has received royalties since 1962. He has 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.

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" was later adapted by Ken Thorne for brief use in The Beatles' film Help!. It has also been redone by Eric Serra for GoldenEye, by Moby for Tomorrow Never Dies, and by Paul Oakenfold for Die Another Day.

A second piece of music also 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 heavy bass 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 joins the climactic underwater fight
• You Only Live Twice — Played during the flight of "Little Nelly"
• Diamonds are Forever — Played during Bond's destruction of Blofeld's HQ
• Moonraker — Played during the Amazon river chase

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 orchestrated 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

One of the most lucrative elements of the James Bond film franchise is its many distinctive theme songs. Ever since the early 1960s, audiences have thrilled to the colorful, surreal, and often erotic opening credits sequences, accompanied by songs performed by some of the top singers of the day. Some themes have been more popular than others (for example, "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, while Madonna's theme for "Die Another Day" was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (2002).

Even in the 1990s, at a time when most motion picture productions have abandoned opening credits sequences, the James Bond franchise retains this signature feature.

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" entitled "Kingston Calypso" that sets the scene and is repeated throughout the film. Because of this, Dr. No is the only film to have two theme songs although numerous films have alternative theme songs such as 1997's "Surrender" by k.d. lang for Tomorrow Never Dies and the 1969 song "We Have All The Time In The World" by Louis Armstrong for the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Matt Monro's vocal rendition of "From Russia With Love" is usually considered the official theme song for that film, even though the opening credits use an instrumental version that also incorporates "The James Bond Theme." Munro's version isn't heard until about 15 minutes into the movie, and again over the closing titles.

Note 2: 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 3: Two different songs of this title were considered for the theme, but only Sinatra's version was used.

Note 4: The film's closing credits use a vocal version of "Casino Royale" sung by an uncredited vocalist.

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", 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.

References

• Listology.com's rating of the James Bond Theme Songs

External links

• montynorman.com