The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

films and has featured in every

Eon Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started ...

Bond film since '' Dr. No'', released in 1962. Composed by

Monty Norman Monty Norman (''né'' Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British composer, musician and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the " James Bond Theme", first heard in t ...

(with arrangements for film provided by John Barry), the piece has been used as an accompanying

fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perf ...

to the gun barrel sequence in every Eon Bond film besides the 2006 reboot '' Casino Royale'' (played fully, instead, at the end of that film). 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'' (1963). It has been used as music over the end credits for ''Dr. No'', '' Thunderball'' (1965), '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ...

'' (1999), '' Casino Royale'' (2006), ''

Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy film and the twenty-second in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sequel to ''Casino Royale'' (2006). Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and ...

'' (2008), ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' (2012), and ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and wri ...

'' (2015).

Authorship and origin

wrote the "James Bond Theme" and received

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

from 1962 until his death in 2022. Norman collected around £600,000 in royalties between 1976 and 1999. For '' Dr. No'', Norman scored the film and the theme was

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

by John Barry, who would later go on to compose the soundtracks for eleven James Bond films. Courts have ruled that the theme was written by Norman, despite claims and testimony by Barry that he had actually written the theme. Norman has consequently won two

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

actions against publishers for claiming that Barry wrote the theme, most recently against ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in 2001. Norman describes the distinctive

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

of the guitar in the first few bars of the "James Bond Theme" as "Dum di-di dum dum". He said that it was inspired by "Good Sign, Bad Sign", a song he composed for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul's novel '' A House for Mr Biswas'', set in the Indian community in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. 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 Barry and some of the film-makers, 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, which is probably responsible for the controversy over the authorship of the "James Bond Theme" as listeners have come to know it. Also of note, the "James Bond Theme" introduction is very similar to a portion of Celia Cruz' ''Plegaria a La Roye'' as recorded in Cuba with La Sonora Matancera in 1954. The "James Bond Theme" was recorded on 21 June 1962, using five

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

s, nine brass instruments, a solo guitar and a rhythm section. The guitar motif heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Vic Flick on a 1939 English Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe guitar plugged into a Fender Vibrolux amplifier. Flick was paid a one-off fee of £6 for recording the famous James Bond Theme motif. John Scott played the saxophone. Barry, who was paid £250 for his work, was surprised that his theme appeared so often in ''Dr. No''. He was told by Noel Rogers, the head of United Artists Music, that though the producers would not give him any more money or a writing credit they would get in touch with him if there was another Bond film made.

Use in the James Bond films

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 An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

version of the theme is most associated with the

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

era although it was also used in some

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

films, in

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama '' The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence a ...

's final film ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursu ...

'' and in the Bond films starring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 ('' GoldenEye'', '' Tomorro ...

and

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

with the arrangement by David Arnold. 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 sequence. These specialised Bond themes often 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.

Sean Connery (1962–1967)

The first appearance of the "James Bond Theme" was in '' Dr. No''. There it was used as part of the actual gun barrel and main title sequence. In '' From Russia with Love'', the "James Bond Theme" appears not only in the gun barrel pre-title sequence, but as part of the main title theme and in the track "James Bond with Bongos". It is a slower, jazzier, somewhat punchier rendition than the original orchestration. The original Barry arrangement from ''Dr. No'' is heard during a check of Bond's room for listening devices. 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 Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

. '' 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 Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

. A full orchestral version of the theme was used in the ''Little Nellie''

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

fight scene.

George Lazenby (1969)

The George Lazenby film ''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to: * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 novel by Ian Fleming * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel ** ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (sou ...

'' used a unique high-pitched arrangement with the melody played on a

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

. The cue is called "This Never Happened to the Other Feller" and a similar recording was used over the film's end credits. The film has a downbeat ending and the explosive burst of the "James Bond Theme" at the film's very end suggests Bond will return in spite of the situation he finds himself in at the climax of this movie.

Sean Connery (1971)

With the return of Sean Connery in ''Diamonds Are Forever'', the guitar made a comeback along with a full orchestral version during a

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

sequence. On the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

, this track is named "Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd/Bond to Holland."

Roger Moore (1973–1985)

When

came to the role, the "James Bond Theme" became a string orchestra driven piece. In '' Live and Let Die'', the James Bond theme was featured in a

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

-inspired version of the tune reflecting the music of

Blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

films popular at the time. 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. ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' returned briefly to using the surf-rock guitar associated with the theme from the early days. One unusual instance occurred in ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by ...

'', when Bond's contact, who is disguised as a

snake charmer Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerou ...

, plays a few notes of the tune for Roger Moore's James Bond, presumably as a pre-arranged identification signal. This is an example of the tune being used as diegetic music. In Moore's last Bond film, ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

'', the melody of the theme was played on strings.

Timothy Dalton (1987–1989)

The first Bond film of

, ''

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...

'', 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 ''

'', the Bond theme was arranged by

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was bor ...

using rock drums to symbolise a harder and more violent Bond. This gun barrel is the first one since ''Dr. No'' not starting with the Bond theme, but orchestral hits though the surf guitar makes returns soon after.

Pierce Brosnan (1995–2002)

The

gun barrel A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pres ...

of the

film ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...

'' opened with a synthesised arrangement by Éric Serra which plays the guitar riff on (almost indistinct) kettle drums. A more traditional rendition by John Altman is heard in the film during the

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

chase in St. Petersburg. This version of the "James Bond Theme" is not included in the ''GoldenEye'' soundtrack. Additionally,

Starr Parodi Starr Parodi (born in Los Angeles, California) is an American composer, pianist, conductor, arranger, music director and former president of The Alliance For Women Film Composers. Parodi has won multiple BMI most performed music awards, Key Art ...

composed a version of the James Bond Theme for the 1995 trailer. David Arnold's gun barrel arrangements in ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

'' and ''

'' 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 typical Bond guitar line can be heard during some action scenes. The ''

Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film st ...

'' gun barrel recalls the version of ''From Russia with Love'' but with a more

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

-influenced rhythm. It also contains the guitar riff of the "James Bond Theme".

Daniel Craig (2006–2021)

'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 "You Know My Name" is the theme song of the 2006 James Bond film '' Casino Royale'', performed by American musician Chris Cornell, who wrote and produced it jointly with David Arnold, the soundtrack's composer. The film producers chose Cornell bec ...

" are played throughout the film as a substitute for the "James Bond Theme". A new recording of the classic theme, titled "The Name's Bond…James Bond", only plays during the end credits to signal the beginning of the character's new arc as the 21st century version of James Bond. Although that is the first time the theme is played in its entirety, the first bars of the song (the chord progression) appeared as a slow background music in seven moments throughout the movie: after Bond's conversation with M (during his flight), after winning the Aston Martin, when he makes his first appearance in a tuxedo (accompanied by a few bars of the bridge), after he has survived the poisoned martini, when he wins the final match at Casino Royale, when Bond is following Vesper Lynd, and when Bond speaks with M on the phone. At the end of ''

'', the theme appears with Craig's new official gun barrel sequence, unusually shown at the end of the film. The theme here is very similar to the classic style in ''Casino Royale''. It appears sparingly throughout the score itself, never in an immediately recognisable variation. David Arnold said in an interview on the DVD extras for ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' that the "James Bond Theme" is what he expects to hear as an audience member in action scenes, yet his scores for ''Casino Royale'' and ''Quantum of Solace'' only use it during the end credits. The next film, ''

'', includes the theme as part of the harmony to Adele's vocals and is used as the chord progression, including a faint surf guitar riff. Also, in a similar way to ''Quantum of Solace'', the gun barrel sequence is shown at the end of the film. The theme that plays along with the sequence and into the end credits is David Arnold's ''Casino Royale'' track "The Name's Bond…James Bond". Despite this, the film's score was composed by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

, who also incorporated the "James Bond Theme" throughout the entire film. In ''

'', the theme appears at the beginning of the film as part of the opening gun barrel sequence, indicating a return to the franchise's classic era of

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. The theme is used again in ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...

'', in the tracks named "Gun Barrel" and "Back to MI6". A reworked, salsa-like version was used in "Cuba Chase". This is the only film in the Craig era that doesn't use the Bond theme in the credits, instead using "

We Have All the Time in the World "We Have All the Time in the World" is a James Bond theme song sung by Louis Armstrong. Its music was composed by John Barry and the lyrics by Hal David. It is a secondary musical theme in the 1969 Bond film ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', t ...

" from ''

''. This is because of Bond's death at the end of the film. Additionally, the film's title track performed by

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

features a single trumpet solo interpolating the theme.

Chart performance

The John Barry Orchestra recording peaked at number eleven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on the week of 6–12 December 1962.

Cover versions

Apart from the James Bond soundtracks themselves, John Barry re-recorded the James Bond Theme in 1966 for his CBS album ''The Great Movie Sounds of John Barry'', which features driving percussion ostinati (with a prominent role for

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

), as well as a piano and brass improvisation superimposed over the last few bars. For his 1972 Polydor album ''The Concert John Barry'', he re-scored the theme again as part of a James Bond suite for full symphony orchestra, in this case the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. This more lush arrangement was to feature in his later Bond film scores, notably ''

''. Over 70

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the "James Bond Theme" have been recorded by artists such as: *

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock music ...

The Art of Noise Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music ...

* John Barry *

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as La ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

* Biddu *

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

(sampled in "Blue Feeling") * Stanley Black *

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...

* Frank Chacksfield * Crazy Frog (titled "The Crazybond") * Danny Davis * Taylor Davis *

Fanfare Ciocărlia Fanfare Ciocărlia is a twelve-piece Romani Balkan brass band from the northeastern Romanian village of Zece Prăjini. They are known for their fast, high-energy music with complex rhythms and high-speed staccato clarinet, saxophone, and tru ...

Ferrante and Teicher Ferrante & Teicher were a duo of American pianists, known for their light arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes as well as their signature style of florid, intricate, and fast-paced piano playing performances ...

Lannie Flowers Lannie Flowers is an American power pop musician from Kennedale, Texas. At age twelve, Lannie became infatuated with the guitar. He attempted to attend university, but eventually dropped out and pursued his dream of living life as a musician. La ...

Richard Fortus Richard Fortus (born November 17, 1966) is an American guitarist. He has been a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2001. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Fur ...

The Four Esquires The Four Esquires were an American vocal quartet from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The original four members were all students at the Boston University. Following the completion of their studies, they were signed in March 1956 by London R ...

(vocal version) *

Leroy Holmes Alvin LeRoy Holmes (September 22, 1913 – July 27, 1986) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor and record producer. Biography Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School, studied music at Northwestern Universi ...

* Johnny and the Hurricanes * George Martin Orchestra * Ray Martin *

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

* Meco *

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

* Hugo Montenegro * Franck Pourcel *

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

* Perez Prado *

Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar), Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen (keyboards, production), Jani Snellman (bass), Jaska Mäkinen (rhythm ...

The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

* Roland Shaw *

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

* Ed Starink *

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and ...

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American trombonist and jazz big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the ...

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of j ...

Moby's remix

American

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

musician

produced a remixed version of the theme entitled "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" for the Bond film ''

''. It first appeared as the second track on '' I Like to Score'', a compilation of Moby's songs used in films, and later featured as the fifteenth and final track on the ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' soundtrack album. Moby has said "It did feel a little strange remixing something that was perfect in its original state", further admitting that he "still thinks the original is miles better than the version I did". Released as a single, "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" charted at number eight on the

, besting " Go"'s number 10 peak six years earlier to become, at the time, Moby's highest-peaking single on the chart. It also reached number one in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

and peaked within the top 20 in Finland, Ireland, and Switzerland. The song features two samples of dialogue from the Bond films:

saying "Bond, James Bond" as heard in ''

'', and the conversation between Bond and

Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjective ...

in '' Goldfinger'': "Do you expect me to talk?" / "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die."

Track listings

* CD single # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 3:13 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 7:42 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 7:51 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 5:14 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 5:51 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 6:07 * 12-inch single # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 8:05 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 5:50 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 11:57

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Release history

Video games

* An

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses ...

recording of the song was used in James Bond's inaugural video game, ''

James Bond 007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

and other contemporary systems. *

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

recorded an 8-bit version for

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 an ...

and the first

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

version for

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

of the tune for '' James Bond 007: The Duel'' (known as 007 Shitou -007死闘- in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

.) * The opening gun barrel sequence for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

game '' GoldenEye 007'' uses a rock-influenced version of the theme. The game's soundtrack also makes recurring use of its motifs throughout, with corresponding variations in

, scale and

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

. * An original cover recording for the "James Bond Theme" was also created by

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...

for the video game '' Guitar Hero World Tour'' (a case of corporate synergy, as ''Guitar Hero'' publisher

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

also held the license to produce games based on the James Bond franchise at the time). Fortus later played the tune live with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

during their 2012 tour. * An electrified version of the theme is played in the credits of the ''GoldenEye 007'' game for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...