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Best Bond Themes
Oct. 5th, 2012 08:38 pm10. “The World Is Not Enough”—Garbage: Wins the prize for most underrated Bond theme, mostly because it was attached to the Bond film with Denise Richards. Plus, Garbage wasn’t mainstream enough for Top 40 radio nor was Bond hip enough for Garbage’s ‘90s post-grunge alternative audience. Oh well.
9. “All Time High”—Rita Coolidge: The problem “Octopussy” had was you weren’t going to get a tune with the word, “Oc-to-PUSSYY!!!” on any radio station in 1983. So they had to go with a theme song that doesn’t refer to the film’s title, performed by '70s lite rock fave Rita Coolidge. I've heard it's also featured in the recent hit comedy "Ted."
8. “For Your Eyes Only”—Sheena Easton: Hot off of her big 1981 hit, “Morning Train,” I'm pretty sure Easton is the only theme songster to actually appear in the opening sequence. This might have had something do with the fact she was 20 at the time and cute. “For Your Eyes Only” became a top 10 hit and scored an Oscar nomination.
7. “Thunderball”—Tom Jones: Brought to you by a guy who has as much swagger as 007. Did you know Tom Jones fainted from that final note? Wow.
6. “Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)”—Carly Simon: Even though this song was a big hit and it went on to win an Oscar nomination for Best Song, a lot of people don’t know it was from a James Bond movie unless they happen to be watching 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me.”
5. “Diamonds Are Forever”—Shirley Bassey: Bassey became the Bard of Bond after knocking it out of the park with “Goldfinger.” She also recorded a theme for “Thunderball” (that wasn’t used), “Moonraker,” and the breakaway production, “Never Say Never Again.” This one is almost as good as “Goldfinger.”
4. "A View To A Kill”—Duran Duran: I'm an old Durannie; how can I not love this song? The video gave the band the opportunity to ham it up as they often did, pretending to be spies. It was the last Bond theme to hit the Top 10 in the U.S. until Madonna's "Die Another Day" in 2002 and the only one to reach #1 on the charts.
3. “You Only Live Twice”—Nancy Sinatra: If there are only two Nancy Sinatra songs everybody knows, they are “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” and this one. It fits the Asian adventures in the film and frankly, it’s pretty. Okay, Lana Del Rey, you need to record a cover of this song!
2. “Live And Let Die”—Paul McCartney and Wings: Another Best Original Song Oscar nominee. While John Lennon was singing about utopias in those early post-Beatle years, Paul McCartney was singing about kicking @$$, as a Bond theme no less. Sir Paul wins.
1. “Goldfinger”—Shirley Bassey: It’s everything a Bond theme needs to be. It’s over-the-top, unforgettable, and great accompaniment to the inevitable opening sequence with chicks and guns. This defined the Bond theme song and made it one of the films' selling points.
9. “All Time High”—Rita Coolidge: The problem “Octopussy” had was you weren’t going to get a tune with the word, “Oc-to-PUSSYY!!!” on any radio station in 1983. So they had to go with a theme song that doesn’t refer to the film’s title, performed by '70s lite rock fave Rita Coolidge. I've heard it's also featured in the recent hit comedy "Ted."
8. “For Your Eyes Only”—Sheena Easton: Hot off of her big 1981 hit, “Morning Train,” I'm pretty sure Easton is the only theme songster to actually appear in the opening sequence. This might have had something do with the fact she was 20 at the time and cute. “For Your Eyes Only” became a top 10 hit and scored an Oscar nomination.
7. “Thunderball”—Tom Jones: Brought to you by a guy who has as much swagger as 007. Did you know Tom Jones fainted from that final note? Wow.
6. “Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)”—Carly Simon: Even though this song was a big hit and it went on to win an Oscar nomination for Best Song, a lot of people don’t know it was from a James Bond movie unless they happen to be watching 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me.”
5. “Diamonds Are Forever”—Shirley Bassey: Bassey became the Bard of Bond after knocking it out of the park with “Goldfinger.” She also recorded a theme for “Thunderball” (that wasn’t used), “Moonraker,” and the breakaway production, “Never Say Never Again.” This one is almost as good as “Goldfinger.”
4. "A View To A Kill”—Duran Duran: I'm an old Durannie; how can I not love this song? The video gave the band the opportunity to ham it up as they often did, pretending to be spies. It was the last Bond theme to hit the Top 10 in the U.S. until Madonna's "Die Another Day" in 2002 and the only one to reach #1 on the charts.
3. “You Only Live Twice”—Nancy Sinatra: If there are only two Nancy Sinatra songs everybody knows, they are “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” and this one. It fits the Asian adventures in the film and frankly, it’s pretty. Okay, Lana Del Rey, you need to record a cover of this song!
2. “Live And Let Die”—Paul McCartney and Wings: Another Best Original Song Oscar nominee. While John Lennon was singing about utopias in those early post-Beatle years, Paul McCartney was singing about kicking @$$, as a Bond theme no less. Sir Paul wins.
1. “Goldfinger”—Shirley Bassey: It’s everything a Bond theme needs to be. It’s over-the-top, unforgettable, and great accompaniment to the inevitable opening sequence with chicks and guns. This defined the Bond theme song and made it one of the films' selling points.
