James Bond Theme

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Cover of the soundtrack of the film Dr. No, in which the "James Bond Theme" premiered. It is written by Monty Norman and performed by John Barry & Orchestra.

The "James Bond Theme" is a jazz instrumental tune. It is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and is featured in every "official" (EON Productions) 007 film since Dr. No in one form or another. The piece was used as a sort of introductory fanfare in conjunction with the gun barrel sequence in every James Bond film except the 2006 version of Casino Royale and Dr. No, the latter using it as the main title track after the gun barrel, and the former in the end credits.

The "James Bond Theme" has been used as part of the actual opening credit sequence only 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 and most recently for Casino Royale in 2006.

Monty Norman has been credited with writing the "James Bond Theme", and has received royalties since 1962. For Dr. No, the tune was orchestrated 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.

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. 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 explains the origin and history of the "James Bond Theme".

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 theme music from the 1967 television series The Prisoner.

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 Parodi/Fair for GoldenEye, 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.

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. Most mid-to-late period Moore films as well as Timothy Dalton's first, Barry-scored film The Living Daylights, used a symphonic version with the melody played on strings. 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 gun barrel 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 gun barrel 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 gun barrel of The World Is Not Enough. The Die Another Day gun barrel recalls the version in From Russia with Love but with more techno-influenced rhythm. It also contains the typical guitar line of the "James Bond Theme". The brief quote of the theme in the pre-credits music of The Spy Who Loved Me, titled "Bond 77", featured a distinctive funky disco sound, reflecting a style of music which was very popular at the time.

For every Bond movie which John Barry scored, he orchestrated a slightly different version of the Bond theme, as can be heard during the gun barrel sequences. These specialised Bond themes reflected the style and locations featured in the movie, and the actor playing Bond.

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" (gun barrel 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" with another full orchestral version in the end titles of the American release of the film. You Only Live Twice featured a funereal orchestration with Bond's burial at sea sequence in Hong Kong harbour. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the traditional guitar line of the "James Bond Theme" was replaced by synthesizers. This new arrangement reflected the more violent and younger George Lazenby in the role of Bond. 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." When Roger Moore came to the role, the "James Bond Theme" became a string orchestra driven piece.

The tune has been inserted into many of the films' soundtracks at various places as part of an action sequence. One unusual instance, which broke the "fourth wall" in reverse, occurred in Octopussy, when a snake charmer played a few notes of the tune for Roger Moore's James Bond.

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" which is one of the best known James Bond melodies never to have been used in a Bond film.

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 latest 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. This is not uncommon in Bond movies.

In From Russia with Love, John Barry did not intend 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.

[edit] Composers (EON Productions)

[edit] Cover versions

Over 70 cover versions of the "James Bond Theme" have been recorded by artists such as:

• Ray Barretto
• Biddu
• Stanley Black
• Al Caiola
• Ferrante and Teicher
• Frank Chacksfield
• Count Basie
• Johnny and the Hurricanes
• Ray Martin
• Cannibal Corpse
• Meco
• Hugo Montenegro
• Perez Prado
• Billy Strange
• The Ventures
• John Zorn
• bond
• The Skatalites

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