James Bond Theme
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and is featured in every "official" (EON Productions) 007 film since Dr. No in different versions. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in every James Bond film except for Casino Royale.
The "James Bond Theme" has accompanied the opening titles twice, as part of the medley that opens Dr. No and then again in the opening credits of From Russia with Love. It has been used as music over the end credits for Dr. No, Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The World Is Not Enough, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace.
Authorship and origin
Monty Norman has been credited with writing the "James Bond Theme", and has received royalties since 1962. For Dr. No, the tune was arranged by John Barry who would later go on to compose the soundtracks for eleven James Bond films. Courts have ruled twice that the theme was written by Monty Norman despite claims and testimony by Barry that he had actually written the theme. Norman has consequently 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.Template:Fact
Norman describes the distinctive rhythm of the guitar in the first few bars of the "James Bond Theme" as "Dum di-di 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. Norman showed his manuscript music from A House for Mr Biswas in a filmed interview and sang its lyrics. In 2005, Norman released an album called Completing the Circle that features "Good Sign Bad Sign", the "James Bond Theme," and a similar sounding song titled "Dum Di-Di Dum Dum." For these songs Norman added lyrics that explain the origin and history of the "James Bond Theme".
Though the "James Bond Theme" is identified with John Barry's jazz arrangement, parts of it are heard throughout Monty Norman's score for Dr. No in non-jazzy guises. Barry's arrangement is repeated ("tracked") in various scenes of the first Bond film. This is consistent with the account given by some of the film makers themselves and Barry contained in supplementary material on the DVD release of Dr. No. Barry was called in to make an arrangement of Norman's motif after Norman had completed the score. There is no information about the distinctive ostinati, countermelodies, and bridges introduced by Barry that are juxtaposed with Norman's motif in order to flesh out the arrangement. These added musical figures have become as recognizable to listeners as Norman's motif itself, which is probably responsible for the controversy over the authorship of the "James Bond Theme" as listeners have come to know it.
The 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 theme music from the 1967 television series The Prisoner. Vic was paid a one-off fee of £6 for recording the famous James Bond Theme riff.
Use in the James Bond movies
Within the Bond films themselves, many different arrangements of the theme have been used, often reflecting the musical tastes of the specific times. The electric guitar version of the theme is most associated with the Sean Connery era although it was also used in some Roger Moore films and in the Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. For every Bond movie which John Barry scored, he orchestrated a slightly different version of the Bond theme, as can be heard during the gunbarrel sequences. These specialised Bond themes reflected the style and locations featured in the movie, and the actor playing Bond.
The "James Bond Theme" and its variations found in the movies are played during many different types of scenes. Early in the series, the theme provided background music to Connery's entrances. It was not until Goldfinger that John Barry began to use the theme as an action cue. Since then, the primary use of the "James Bond Theme" has been with action scenes.
The era of Sean Connery (1962 – 1967, 1971)
The first appearance of the "James Bond Theme" was in Dr. No. There it has been used as part of the actual gunbarrel and main title sequence.
In From Russia with Love, the "James Bond Theme" appears in the track "James Bond with Bongos". It is a slower, jazzier rendition than the original orchestration.
In Goldfinger, the "James Bond Theme" can be heard on the soundtrack in "Bond Back in Action Again" (gunbarrel and pre-title sequence). The "James Bond Theme" for this movie is heavily influenced by the brassy, jazzy theme song sung by Shirley Bassey.
Thunderball featured a full orchestral version of the theme in the track "Chateau Flight". Another full orchestral version was intended for the end titles of the film.
You Only Live Twice featured a funereal orchestration with Bond's burial at sea sequence in Hong Kong harbour.
With the return of Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever, the guitar made a comeback along with a full orchestral version during a hovercraft sequence. On the soundtrack this track is named "Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd/Bond to Holland."
The era of George Lazenby (1969)
The George Lazenby film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service used a unique high-pitched arrangement with the melody played on a Moog synthesizer.
The era of Roger Moore (1973 – 1985)
When Roger Moore came to the role, the "James Bond Theme" became a string orchestra driven piece. The brief quote of the theme in the pre-credits music of The Spy Who Loved Me, titled "Bond 77", featured a disco sound, reflecting a style of music which was very popular at the time. Likewise, in Live and Let Die, the James Bond theme was featured in a Funk-inspired version of the tune reflecting the music of Blaxploitation films popular at the time.
The tune has been inserted into many of the films' soundtracks at various places as part of an action sequence. In the last Bond films of Roger Moore, the melody of the theme was played on strings.
One unusual instance occurred in Octopussy, when a snake charmer played a few notes of the tune for Roger Moore's James Bond; an example of diegetic music.
The era of Timothy Dalton (1987 – 1989)
Timothy Dalton's first film The Living Daylights, which was the last Bond film scored by Barry, used a symphonic version with the melody played on strings. This version of the Bond theme is notable for its introduction of sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with the orchestra - at the time, a relatively new innovation.
In Licence to Kill, the Bond theme was arranged by Michael Kamen using rock drums to symbolize a harder and more violent Bond. This gunbarrel is the first one since Dr. No not starting with the Bond theme but orchestral hits.
The era of Pierce Brosnan (1995 – 2002)
The gunbarrel of the Pierce Brosnan film GoldenEye opened with a synthesized arrangement by Éric Serra. A more traditional rendition by John Altman is heard in the film during the tank chase in St. Petersburg. This version of the "James Bond Theme" is not included in the GoldenEye soundtrack.
David Arnold's gunbarrel arrangements in Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough dropped the guitar melody line, jumping straight from the tune's opening to its concluding bars. An electronic rhythm was added to the gunbarrel of The World Is Not Enough. The typical Bond guitar line can be heard during some action scenes.
The Die Another Day gunbarrel recalls the version of From Russia with Love but with more techno-influenced rhythm. It also contains the guitar riff of the "James Bond Theme".
The era of Daniel Craig (2006 – present)
Craig's first James Bond film, Casino Royale, does not feature the "James Bond Theme" in its entirety until the very end of the movie during a climactic scene. In Casino Royale, the main notes of the song "You Know My Name" are played throughout the film as a substitute for the "James Bond Theme" to represent Bond's journey of becoming a "00" agent. A new recording of the classic theme only plays during the end credits to signal the beginning of the character's new arc as the 21st Century version of James Bond.
In the end of Quantum of Solace, the theme appears with Craig's new official gunbarrel sequence.
Composers (EON Productions)
| Film | Year | Score composer |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. No | 1962 | Monty Norman John Barry (arrangement) |
| From Russia with Love | 1963 | John Barry Monty Norman (Death of Dr. No) |
| Goldfinger | 1964 | John Barry |
| Thunderball | 1965 | |
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | |
| Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | |
| 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 | |
| The Living Daylights | 1987 | |
| Licence to Kill | 1989 | Michael Kamen |
| GoldenEye | 1995 | Éric Serra John Altman (arrangement) |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | David Arnold |
| The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | |
| Die Another Day | 2002 | |
| Casino Royale | 2006 | |
| Quantum of Solace | 2008 |
Use in other media
The "James Bond Theme" has been used or adapted in a number of non-Bond films including The Beatles' film Help! and Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. It has also been remixed by Starr Parodi and Jeff Fair for the GoldenEye theatrical trailers, by Moby for Tomorrow Never Dies, by Paul Oakenfold for Die Another Day, and by Art of Noise, among many others. It is also the signature tune of the all-female pop-influenced classical string quartet, Bond.
Cover versions
Over 70 cover versions of the "James Bond Theme" have been recorded by artists such as:
- John Barry several different versions than the original soundtrack
- Ray Barretto
- Count Basie
- bond
- Biddu
- Stanley Black
- Al Caiola
- Cannibal Corpse
- Frank Chacksfield
- Danny Davis
- Ferrante and Teicher
- Leroy Holmes
- Johnny and the Hurricanes
- Ray Martin
- Meco
- Hugo Montenegro
- Perez Prado
- Roland Shaw
- The Skatalites
- Billy Strange
- The Ventures
- John Zorn
- Moby
- The Art of Noise
An original cover recording for the "James Bond Theme" was also created as Downloadable content for the video game Guitar Hero World Tour (a case of corporate synergy, as Guitar Hero publisher Activision also holds the license to produce games based on the James Bond franchise).
Miscellaneous Information
- A second piece of music 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".
- In From Russia with Love, John Barry did not intend on using the version of the "James Bond Theme" recorded for Dr. No at all. It was later edited in by producers when Bond first checks into his hotel in Istanbul and is shown his room. This happened on two further occasions: in You Only Live Twice, during the Little Nellie flight scene, and in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, when it was edited into the climatic fight scene at Piz Gloria. John Barry was the only composer to shy away from using the "James Bond Theme" recorded for Dr. No, even though he is credited with making the 'definitive' orchestration of the theme.