Music of the James Bond series
Since its inception in 1962, the James Bond film series from Eon Productions has featured many musical compositions, many of which are now considered classic pieces of British film music. The best known piece is the "James Bond Theme" composed by Monty Norman. Other instrumentals, such as "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and various songs performed by British or American artists such as Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice", Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only", Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill", Gladys Knight's "Licence to Kill", and Tina Turner's "GoldenEye" also became identified with the series.
Three Bond songs have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song: "Skyfall" by Adele, "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith and "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish. Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" and Eilish's "No Time To Die" are the only Bond themes to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, while Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" is the only Bond song to have reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Music from Eon Productions
"James Bond Theme"
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No, released in 1962. The piece is used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in every Eon Bond film prior to Casino Royale."James Bond Is Back"
The briefest of "James Bond themes", this composition starts off the "Opening Titles" music of From Russia with Love. It can be heard in the trailer for the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as well as in the pre-title sequences of Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day. WLS used the theme in the mid-1960s for its secret agent radio serial program "The Wild Adventures of Peter Fugitive" that appeared on The Art Roberts Show."007 Theme"
"007 Theme", also known as "007 Takes the Lektor", 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 included 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 throughout the series, primarily during action scenes. Its most notable appearances are:
- From Russia with Love – played during the gypsy camp gunfight and also during James Bond 's theft of the Lektor decoder from the Russian embassy in Istanbul.
- Thunderball – played briefly in a climactic underwater fight; a similar but different theme of seven beats is played when Bond runs from SPECTRE during a parade and during the climax.
- 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 Ernst Stavro Blofeld 's Headquarters.
- Moonraker – played during the Amazon River chase.
This piece of music was also used by Al Primo, the news director at KYW-TV in Philadelphia for its long-time theme to Eyewitness News, and was adopted by other Group W stations in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Boston and San Francisco as well as other non-Group W stations, including WLS-TV in Chicago. The theme was also sampled by Big Audio Dynamite for the 1986 song "Sightsee M.C!" from their album ''No. 10, Upping St.''
"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, often repetitive four-note motif that can be heard in all of the Bond films he has scored. This motif can be heard in:- Tomorrow Never Dies – "Station Break", "*-3-Send", "Underwater Discovery"
- The World Is Not Enough – "Pipeline", "Remember Pleasure", "Torture Queen", "Submarine"
- Die Another Day – "Death of Moon", "Iced Inc", "Antonov"
- Casino Royale – "Miami International", "Dirty Martini", and very briefly in "African Rundown"
- Quantum of Solace – briefly in "Time to Get Out", and twice in "Perla de las dunas"
Composers
Next to Barry, David Arnold is the series' most regular composer. He composed the scores for five Bond films: Tomorrow Never Dies through Quantum of Solace. His orchestrations combined with electronic rhythm elements gave the Pierce Brosnan era its musical identity. John Barry recommended Arnold to producer Barbara Broccoli when she took over the Bond films from her father, Albert R. Broccoli.
Other major composers and record-producers include George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch, Éric Serra, Thomas Newman and Hans Zimmer. Each of these composed for only one Bond film, with the exception of Newman. The departures from John Barry had various causes; sometimes Barry declined in order to avoid paying double income tax—US and UK. Barry died in 2011. Sometimes the director of a Bond film had worked with the composer of his choice on other films – the latter happened to Thomas Newman with Skyfall and Spectre.
| Film | Year | Score composer |
| Dr. No | 1962 | Monty Norman |
| From Russia with Love | 1963 | John Barry |
| Goldfinger | 1964 | John Barry |
| Thunderball | 1965 | John Barry |
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | John Barry |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | John Barry |
| Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | John Barry |
| Live and Let Die | 1973 | George Martin |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | John Barry |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Moonraker | 1979 | John Barry |
| For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | Bill Conti |
| Octopussy | 1983 | John Barry |
| A View to a Kill | 1985 | John Barry |
| The Living Daylights | 1987 | John Barry |
| Licence to Kill | 1989 | Michael Kamen |
| GoldenEye | 1995 | Éric Serra |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | David Arnold |
| The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | David Arnold |
| Die Another Day | 2002 | David Arnold |
| Casino Royale | 2006 | David Arnold |
| Quantum of Solace | 2008 | David Arnold |
| Skyfall | 2012 | Thomas Newman |
| Spectre | 2015 | Thomas Newman |
| No Time to Die | 2021 | Hans Zimmer |
Title themes
The "James Bond Theme" is the main theme for Dr. No, and has featured in all the Eon Productions Bond films in different versions. The theme has also featured on the gun barrel sequences at the beginning of the films. The original theme was written by Monty Norman, and was performed by John Barry and his orchestra in 1962. In the opening credits of Dr. No, two other pieces were played: an untitled bongo interlude and a Calypso-flavored rendition of "Three Blind Mice", titled "Kingston Calypso". Due to this, Dr. No is the only film to have more than one opening theme. The "James Bond Theme" reached 13 in the UK Singles Chart, and remained in the charts for 13 weeks.The opening credits of From Russia with Love were accompanied by an instrumental version of the main theme, arranged by John Barry and written by Lionel Bart. A single by The John Barry Orchestra reached 39 in the U.K. At the film's end, a vocal version by English singer Matt Monro is heard. This song spent 13 weeks in the U.K. charts, peaking at 20.
Goldfinger was the third soundtrack composed by John Barry, and this time the theme song had lyrics written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. The soundtrack reached 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent 70 weeks on the charts. It also peaked at 14 on the UK Albums Chart, and received the Bond series first Grammy Award nomination, Best Original Score from a Motion Picture or Television Show at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards.
Welsh singer Shirley Bassey is the only singer to perform more than one Bond theme – 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 and it was rumoured that her song "No Good About Goodbye" from her 2009 album The Performance was intended for Quantum of Solace, however David Arnold said "No Good About Goodbye" was never intended as a Bond song.
Paul McCartney and Wings' performance of "Live and Let Die" was the first Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 46th Academy Awards; it reached 2 as a U.S. single on the Billboard Hot 100, and 9 on the U.K. charts. George Martin's work in the song won the Grammy for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists at the 16th Annual Grammy Awards.
Marvin Hamlisch's and Carole Bayer Sager's "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 50th Academy Awards, as did Bill Conti's "For Your Eyes Only" at the 54th Academy Awards, which was performed by Sheena Easton in the film For Your Eyes Only.
It was not until the 2013 Oscars that a Bond theme song finally won the Academy Award for Best Original Song: the theme song from Skyfall by Adele at the 85th Academy Awards. Thomas Newman's score also got the first nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Score in the series since Hamlisch's own for The Spy Who Loved Me, while winning the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Adele's song also won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" from Spectre and Billie Eilish's "No Time to Die" from the film of the same name would also win Oscars for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards and 94th Academy Awards respectively.
Duran Duran and John Barry's "A View To A Kill" topped the singles charts in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the only Bond theme to hit 1 in the United States. No James Bond theme had topped the charts in the UK until Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" entered the charts at number one on 2 October 2015.
Several of the later films have alternative theme songs, often during the closing credits. The Living Daylights featured The Pretenders performing "If There Was a Man," composed by John Barry with Chrissie Hynde. Licence to Kill has "If You Asked Me To" sung by Patti LaBelle. GoldenEye featured Éric Serra's "The Experience of Love". Tomorrow Never Dies 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. This harks back to the Thunderball soundtrack, where "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was originally proposed as the opening credits music, only to be replaced by the eponymous title track as sung by Tom Jones.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service featured an instrumental theme tune, something which remains unique amongst the post–From Russia with Love 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.
| Film | Year | Score composer | Title song | Composed by | Performed by | UK peak position | US peak position |
| Dr. No | 1962 | Monty Norman | "James Bond Theme" | Monty Norman | John Barry & Orchestra; Monty Norman | 13 | — |
| Dr. No | 1962 | Monty Norman | "Kingston Calypso Arrangement of "Three Blind Mice" | Monty Norman | Byron Lee and the Dragonaires | — | — |
| From Russia with Love | 1963 | John Barry | "Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme" | John Barry Lionel Bart Monty Norman | John Barry | 20 | — |
| Goldfinger | 1964 | John Barry | "Goldfinger" | Leslie Bricusse Anthony Newley John Barry | Shirley Bassey | 21 | 8 |
| Thunderball | 1965 | John Barry | "Thunderball" | John Barry Don Black | Tom Jones | 35 | 25 |
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | John Barry | "You Only Live Twice" | John Barry Leslie Bricusse | Nancy Sinatra | 11 | 44 |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | John Barry | "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" | John Barry | The John Barry Orchestra | — | — |
| Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | John Barry | "Diamonds Are Forever" | John Barry Don Black | Shirley Bassey | 38 | 57 |
| Live and Let Die | 1973 | George Martin | "Live and Let Die" | Paul McCartney Linda McCartney | Paul McCartney & Wings | 9 | 2 |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | John Barry | "The Man with the Golden Gun" | John Barry Don Black | Lulu | — | — |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Marvin Hamlisch | "Nobody Does It Better" | Marvin Hamlisch Carole Bayer Sager | Carly Simon | 7 | 2 |
| Moonraker | 1979 | John Barry | "Moonraker" | John Barry Hal David | Shirley Bassey | — | — |
| For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | Bill Conti | "For Your Eyes Only" | Bill Conti Mick Leeson | Sheena Easton | 8 | 4 |
| Octopussy | 1983 | John Barry | "All Time High" | John Barry Tim Rice | Rita Coolidge | 75 | 36 |
| A View to a Kill | 1985 | John Barry | "A View to a Kill" | John Barry Duran Duran | Duran Duran | 2 | 1 |
| The Living Daylights | 1987 | John Barry | "The Living Daylights" | John Barry Pål Waaktaar | A-ha | 5 | — |
| Licence to Kill | 1989 | Michael Kamen | "Licence to Kill" | Narada Michael Walden Jeffrey Cohen Walter Afanasieff | Gladys Knight | 6 | — |
| GoldenEye | 1995 | Éric Serra | "GoldenEye" | Bono The Edge | Tina Turner | 10 | 102 |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | David Arnold | "Tomorrow Never Dies" | Sheryl Crow Mitchell Froom | Sheryl Crow | 12 | — |
| The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | David Arnold | "The World Is Not Enough" | David Arnold Don Black | Garbage | 11 | — |
| Die Another Day | 2002 | David Arnold | "Die Another Day" | Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï | Madonna | 3 | 8 |
| Casino Royale | 2006 | David Arnold | "You Know My Name" | David Arnold Chris Cornell | Chris Cornell | 7 | 79 |
| Quantum of Solace | 2008 | David Arnold | "Another Way to Die" | Jack White | Jack White Alicia Keys | 9 | 81 |
| Skyfall | 2012 | Thomas Newman | "Skyfall" | Adele Paul Epworth | Adele | 2 | 8 |
| Spectre | 2015 | Thomas Newman | "Writing's on the Wall" | Sam Smith Jimmy Napes | Sam Smith | 1 | 71 |
| No Time to Die | 2021 | Hans Zimmer | "No Time to Die" | Billie Eilish Finneas O'Connell | Billie Eilish | 1 | 16 |
- A song titled "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" sung by Shirley Bassey was originally slated to be the theme song of Thunderball. It was re-recorded by Dionne Warwick, but Albert R. Broccoli insisted the theme song must include the film's title and also decided that the lyrics should not start before the film's title Thunderball appears on-screen. A new song was composed and recorded at 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.
- The songs "Three Blind Mice", "All Time High", "You Know My Name", "Another Way to Die" and "Writing's on the Wall" do not feature the title of its film either in the song title or lyrics. While not named after the film, "Nobody Does It Better" does feature the line "the spy who loved me" in its lyrics.
- "You Know My Name", "Skyfall", and "Writing's on the Wall" do not appear on their respective films' soundtrack albums, having been released as standalone singles instead.
- "No Time to Die" was released in February 2020 when the movie was scheduled to be released in April 2020. The movie release was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic to Fall of 2021.