The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which 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 ...

of the

James Bond films James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David ...

and has been used in every Bond film, starting with '' Dr. No'' in 1962. Composed in

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...

Monty Norman Monty Norman ( Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British film score composer and singer. A contributor to West End theatre, West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first ...

, 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 (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...

to the gun barrel sequence in every

Eon Productions Eon Productions Limited 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. ''James Bond'' films Eon wa ...

Bond film besides '' 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''. 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 ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...

'', '' Casino Royale'', ''

Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy thriller film and the twenty-second in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Neal Purvis, Robe ...

'', ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy thriller 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, ...

'', 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 writt ...

''. In 2008, the original recording of "The James Bond Theme" by The John Barry Seven And Orchestra on the

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

label was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Authorship and origin

wrote and composed 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 or ...

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 by John Barry, who would later go on to compose the soundtracks for eleven

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

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 consequently won two

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

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

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'' 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 r ...

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 "Bad Sign, Good 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, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. 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 "Bad Sign, Good 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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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. 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 woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

s, nine

brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meaning "lip" and "sound", ...

, 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 electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

version of the theme is most associated with the

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

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 actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

films, in

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. He gained international prominence as the fourth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in '' The Living Dayli ...

's final film ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...

'' and in the Bond films starring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

and

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...

with the arrangement by

David Arnold David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997-2008), as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), ''Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998), '' Shaft'' (2000), '' 2 Fast 2 F ...

. 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'' in 1964 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. It was also used when

first introduces himself. 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. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

. '' Thunderball'' used 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'' had a funereal orchestration with Bond's "burial" at sea sequence in Hong Kong harbour. A full orchestral version of the theme was used in the '' Little Nellie''

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

fight scene.

George Lazenby (1969)

The

George Lazenby George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian retired actor. Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery, playing ...

film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' used a unique high-pitched arrangement with the melody played on a

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

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

sequence. On the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

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

Roger Moore (1973–1985)

When Roger Moore 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 ...

-inspired version of the tune reflecting the music of

Blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

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 Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

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 Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

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 List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...

'', when Bond's contact Vijay ( Vijay Amritaj), 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 dangerous ...

, 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 Diegetic music, also called source music, is music that is part of the fictional world portrayed in a piece of narrative media (such as a film, show, play, or video game) and is thus knowingly performed and/or heard by the characters. This is in ...

. In Moore's last Bond film, ''

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

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

Timothy Dalton (1987–1989)

The first Bond film with Timothy Dalton, '' 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 ''

'', 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, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

using

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

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 arms, 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 ...

of the Pierce Brosnan film ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

'' opened with a synthesised arrangement by

Éric Serra Éric Serra (; born 9 September 1959) is a French film composer, known as a frequent collaborator of director Luc Besson. He is a five-time César Award nominee, winning once for '' The Big Blue'' (1988). Early life Serra was born in Sain ...

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 battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

chase in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. This version of the "James Bond Theme" is not included in the ''GoldenEye'' soundtrack. Additionally, Starr Parodi composed a version of the "James Bond Theme" for the 1995 trailer.

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

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

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

Daniel Craig (2006–2021)

Daniel 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". 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 (

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

) during his flight, after winning the

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

, 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 Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's 1953 James Bond novel '' Casino Royale''. She was portrayed by Ursula Andress in the 1967 James Bond parody, which merely contained vague elements of the novel, and by Eva Green ...

(

Eva Green Eva Gaëlle Green (; ; born ) is a French British-based actress, known for appearing in blockbuster and independent films, in which she often portrays eccentric, villainous, and complex characters. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she ...

), 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 recognizable 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 during the title theme "

" 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, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...

, 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 to 2002. The theme is used again in ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'', 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 performed 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 Servic ...

" from ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. 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 and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

features a single trumpet solo interpolating the theme.

Chart performance

The John Barry Orchestra recording peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart 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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

album ''The Great Movie Sounds of John Barry'', which features driving percussion ostinati (with a prominent role for

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

), as well as a piano and brass improvisation superimposed over the last few bars. For his 1972

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

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, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

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

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 a British avant-garde synth-rock 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 mus ...

* 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 Lati ...

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 *

Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1945) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro ...

* 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 t ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

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

* Frank Chacksfield * Crazy Frog (titled "The Crazybond") * Danny Davis * Taylor Davis * Fanfare Ciocărlia * Ferrante and Teicher * Lannie Flowers * Richard Fortus * The Four Esquires (vocal version) * Leroy Holmes * 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 known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

* Meco *

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

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

(sampled in "Blue Feeling") *

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later ...

Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of 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 i ...

* 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 g ...

* The Selecter *

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 (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

* Ed Starink *

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and actor. He began as a session musician with The Wrecking Crew, a famous session band of the 1960s and 1970s, and was i ...

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

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American jazz trombonist and 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, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

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 came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

musician

produced a remixed version of the theme entitled "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" for the Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Dies''. 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 UK Singles Chart, 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 and peaked within the top 20 in Finland, Switzerland, and on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. The song features two samples of dialogue from the Bond films: Pierce Brosnan saying "Bond, James Bond" as heard in ''

'', and the conversation between Sean Connery, as Bond, and

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...

as Auric Goldfinger 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 * Australian CD single # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 3:23 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 6:07 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 5:50 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 7:50 # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 7:41 (NB: only 7:07 on the actual disc) # "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" – 7:44 * 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 bu ...

recording of the song was used in James Bond's inaugural 1984 video game, '' James Bond 007'' for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...

and other contemporary systems. *

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

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 in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

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

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 Sys ...

of the tune for the 1992 video game '' James Bond 007: The Duel'' (known as 007 Shitou −007死闘- in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

.) * The opening gun barrel sequence for the 1997

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

game '' GoldenEye 007'' uses a

-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 is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

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

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

for the 2008 video game ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment and the sixth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was launched in North A ...

'' (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 o ...

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 formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

during their 2012 Up Close and Personal 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, f ...

References

External links

"Bond theme writer wins damages." news.bbc.co.uk, March 19, 2001

The Sound of 007
a 2022 documentary on six decades of James Bond music. {{authority control 1960s instrumentals 1962 songs Elektra Records singles Liberty Records singles Mute Records singles Number-one singles in Iceland Rock instrumentals Songs from James Bond films Film music compositions UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles United Artists Records singles The Selecter songs