James Bond and the Music
This week, on October 5th, the James Bond film series clocked 60 years making it one of the longest running in history. Ian Fleming’s fictitious creation which highlights the operations and engagements of a British Intelligence Agent commonly referred to as “Bond”, 007 or M16 has become a significant fixture of popular culture with generic elements like the fascinating cars and car chases, outrageous stunts, innumerable explosions, deadly guns, exquisite wristwatches, sultry femme fatales or Bond girls and most importantly, the music themes.
The James Bond music themes are founded upon the creative inputs of British (Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Adele, etc, with Bassey making triple appearances) and American (Gladys Knight, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, etc) music artists, to create a multifaceted palette which combines a plethora of music idioms like pop, blues, soul, rock, etc. And of course, everyone has favourites and yours sincerely is no exception. They include: Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, Madonna and the pleasant falsetto of Sam Smith.
Speaking of Turner and Knight, the former’s fusion of R&B and pop elements in Golden Eye is remarkably theatrical and chilling. Her appealingly deep alto has always been resonant since listening to "We Are The World" on the USA For Africa album. She cues in with the part “We are all a part of God’s great big family” leaving you simultaneously stunned and speechless with her pearly lower range.
As concerns Knight, but for License to Kill, yours sincerely would probably have discovered and experienced the sublime contralto of the Empress of Soul, pretty late. Since watching her performance of the theme song in 1989, she has been one of my favourite female singers of all times. She belongs to music royalty and the words to describe her essence fail me. Ms Knight is absolutely unique and incredible, that is all I can say!
This post highlights some of the Bond music themes that we have come to love over the years. They are typically conservative, mid-tempo, melancholic and in most cases, textually describe the egomaniacal character of the iconic womanizer called Bond.
Generally, they manage to have a formulaic commonality as the orthodox James Bond sound signature for Turner in the 1990s, is similar to Bassey’s in the 1960s/70s. Enjoy!
Dr No (1962) - Byron Lee and the Dragonaires "Kingston Calypso".
Goldfinger (1964) - Shirley Bassey "Goldfinger" .
Thunderball (1965) - Tom Jones "Thunderball" .
You Only Live Twice (1967) - Nancy Sinatra "You Only Live Twice" .
Diamonds are Forever (1971) - Shirley Bassey "Diamonds are Forever".
Live and Let Die (1973) - Paul McCartney and Wings "Live and Let Die".
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Lulu "The Man with the Golden Gun".
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Carly Simon "Nobody Does It Better".
Moonraker (1979) - Shirley Bassey "Moonraker".
For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Sheena Easton "For Your Eyes Only".
Octopussy (1983) - Rita Coolidge "All Time High" .
A View To A Kill (1985) - Duran Duran "A View To A Kill".
The Living Daylights (1987) - A-ha "The Living Daylights".
License To Kill (1989) - Gladys Knight "License To Kill" .
Golden Eye (1995) - Tina Turner "Golden Eye".
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Sheryl Crow "Tomorrow Never Dies".
The World Is Not Enough (1999) - Garbage "The World Is Not Enough".
Die Another Day (2002) - Madonna "Die Another Day".
Casino Royale (2006) - Chris Cornell "You Know My Name".
Quantum of Solace (2008) - Jack White & Alicia Keys "Another Way To Die".
Skyfall (2012) - Adele "Skyfall".
Spectre (2015) - Sam Smith "Writing's On The Wall".
No Time To Die (2020) - Billie Eilish "No Time To Die".
[DISCLAIMER: None of the music content on this page belongs to me. They are merely reference points which serve the purpose of entertainment and awareness creation, only]
