"Nobody Does It Better" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

and the

theme song 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 ...

for the James Bond film '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977). Composed by

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...

with lyrics by

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...

, the song was produced by Richard Perry and performed by

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

. It was the first Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film since '' Dr. No'' (1962), although the phrase "the spy who loved me" is included in the lyrics. The song was released as a single from the film's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

, and became a major worldwide hit. Among the most successful Bond themes, the song spent three weeks at No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, kept out of the top spot by

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

's " You Light Up My Life". It hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart, where it stayed for seven weeks, becoming the No. 1

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

hit of 1977. The song was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, signifying sales of one million copies in the US. It also reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and was certified Silver by the BPI. The song received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

nominations for Best Original Song in 1978, losing both to "You Light Up My Life" from the 1977 film of the same title. At the 20th Annual Grammy Awards held in 1978, "Nobody Does It Better" received a nomination for Song of the Year, and Simon was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. In 2004, "Nobody Does it Better" was honoured by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

as the 67th greatest film song as part of their 100 Years Series. In 2012, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it the third-greatest

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 ...

theme song, while ''Billboard'' ranked it the second-greatest. In 2021,

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

crowned "Nobody Does it Better" the greatest James Bond Theme Song. The song has been performed live by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

and

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, whose lead singer,

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

, called it the "sexiest song ever written".

Background and composition

"Nobody Does It Better" is Carly Simon's longest-charting hit, as well as the most successful hit of hers that she did not write herself. Her earlier hit "

You're So Vain "You're So Vain" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released as a single in November 1972. The lyrics describe a self-absorbed lover, whose identity has long been a matter of speculation. Simon said the song refers to three ...

" spent three weeks at No. 1; however, its chart run was two months shorter than that of "Nobody Does It Better". The title of the theme was later used for Simon's 1998 greatest hits compilation, '' The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better''. Lyrically, "Nobody Does It Better" is a "lust-drunk anthem" about

(

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 ...

)'s sexual prowess. In a 1977 documentary on the making of '' The Spy Who Loved Me'',

said that the decision to ask Simon to perform the song was made after lyricist

remarked that the lyrics sounded "incredibly vain", in reference to Simon's 1972 song "You're So Vain".

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described "Nobody Does It Better" as a "typically inventive and bombastic"

theme song, stating that Simon sings it "as if she believed sincerely in the superhuman love powers of 007." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it is "strictly star material in every detail" and that it has "a good enough melody to stand on its own," even if it wasn't a James Bond theme song.

Accolades

Track listing

;7" single * "Nobody Does It Better" – 3:30 * "After the Storm" – 2:46

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals *

– conductor, orchestra, piano *

Laurence Juber Laurence Ivor Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English musician, fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He played guitar in the rock band Wings (band), Wings from 1978 to 1981. Biography Early life Born in Stepney, East London, Juber w ...

– guitar soloist * Chris Rae – second electric guitar * Bruce Lynch, Brian Odgers – bass guitar * Barry De Souza – drums * Jeffrey Porcaro – syndrums

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics of this song

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{authority control Rock ballads 1977 singles Carly Simon songs Me First and the Gimme Gimmes songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Love themes Songs from James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me (film) Songs written by Carole Bayer Sager Songs written by Marvin Hamlisch Elektra Records singles Pop ballads 1977 songs 1970s ballads Song recordings produced by Richard Perry