A good theme song goes a long way towards making a movie truly feel cinematic. Since Goldfinger, tone-setting credit sequences have promised glamour, danger, excitement and beautiful women. Bond theme songs have been an intrinsic part of building this image. Like Bond movies themselves, the themes exist at various stages of quality, yet always reflect the pop cultural trends of the times when they were made.
A definitive ranking of every James Bond theme song to date. Remember I’m ranking the songs, not the movies.
23. Die Another Day – Madonna
This should have been a match made in Heaven, right? On one hand, you’ve got a pop icon famed for reinvention. On the other hand, we have a franchise that started as a trend setter, that since the 70’s has co-opted new influences in movie culture.
The actual combination is shockingly bad. This song is unforgivably uncatchy coming from a pop-artist with decades of success. Even worse, it’s jagged, digital surfaces don’t have the verve to be daring, nor the chillness to be relaxing. Back on the Ray of Light album, Madonna had a lot of success blending nineties dance pop with her voice. 5 years later, you’d have never known it.
22. Another Way to Die – Jack White and Alicia Keyes
The elements by themselves are enticing: Jack White dealing out rough and ready blues riffs. Alicia Keyes on co-lead vocals, memorably tinkling the ivories on the post-chorus.
However, the song doesn’t have the sinew to join up these elements into a whole the completely works. I remember thinking how slapdash and incomplete the transitions sounded. Listening to it again, part of it might be the fault of the production. It makes Jack White’s guitar tone too loud to be pop or 70’s blues rock, but too hollow to be good metal or good alternative.
Listening to it now, it’s a little better than I remembered, but listening to it next to other Bond songs, and I think it’s pretty clear why this one ends up here.
21. License to Kill – Gladys Knight
Smooth (if forgettable) verses lead to a chorus that both reference the title of the movie, and fit in romantic sentiments pitched at Gladys typical audience. Not the best Bond theme ever, but more agreeable than the ones mentioned before. The key thing making this all worthwhile was Gladys’ slinky vocal turn.
License to Kill is nothing like the film it’s attached to, but as far as soft rock tie-ins to an action movie go, its better than it needed to be.
20. Moonraker – Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey was never meant to sing this song, and even reading about them trying to find someone to actually sing it sounds exhausting. According to Wikipedia, Eon productions originally wanted Frank Sinatra, but then asked Johnny Mathis to sing it instead. He didn’t like the finished song for some reason, and left the project.
Kate Bush also didn’t want to do it, and at this point, the film’s release date was coming up. So John Barry apparently got Shirley Bassey on the phone, and they were very lucky she said yes.
As for the song itself? Its alright. Bassey’s voice is counterpointed by absolutely decadent strings during the verses. And even though she was a last minute choice, Bassey ably demonstrates why she was the only singer who has sung 3 Bond songs. Of the ones she sung, this was the worst, but its not the worst Bond has ever had.
Its also notable that this is song was the second title song in a row to be a ballad, a trend we’re going to talk about later.
19. The Man With the Golden Gun – Lulu
This song is a conundrum. Lulu was a vocal powerhouse. She’s giving it all she’s got. (No word on if she charged a million a shot though) The song makes a pleasingly brazen impression.
Yet nobody will ever choose it as their favourite Bond song. I do have a slight fondness for it, and I admit that I occasionally get the verse stuck in my head.
This is one of several Bond themes that tell us about the villain of the piece. I think it pairs up well with its namesake film. The trumpet and guitar parts remind me of 70’s Hong Kong Kung Fu films. Appropriate, considering that I’ve always thought of The Man With the Golden Gun as “Kung Fu Bond”.
18. From Russia With Love – Matt Monro
I think a lot of modern viewers forget this one. That’s because the protoyptical opening sequence has an instrumental version. You only get to hear the vocal version during the end credits.
As for the song itself, it’s a pleasing slice of lounge jazz that sounds like it would have actually been playing at night clubs while Sean Connery tried to pick women up. Matt Monro had a golden voice.
17. Writing’s on the Wall – Sam Smith
Sam Smith co-wrote this contemporary stab at 60’s style orchestral pop. I think the verses are melodic and sensitive without being too maudlin, and I like the way Smith belts the pre-chorus.
I’m not really a fan of the descending falsetto of the chorus, but its memorable, and better crafted than some of the previous items on this list.
One thing though: Spectre’s brilliant opening credit sequence enhances the song so well, that listening in isolation is a waste of time for me.
16. All Time High – Rita Coolidge
This is by far the most adult contemporary, lounge jazz Bond song to date. The saccharine soprano sax solo. The sparse beat until the first verse is over. The way the first drum roll leads into the chorus. The strings John Barry orchestrates to accompany the chorus are really lovely though, and sell the romance to that the songs lyrics are aiming for.
This song hasn’t had the same pop culture life as other softer Bond songs like Nobody Does It Better or For Your Eyes Only. It did serve as the basis for a hilarious failed make-up scene in Ted.
15. Tomorrow Never Dies- Sheryl Crow
James Bond films are such quintessentially British productions that the first time I heard this song, it was a bit of a shock.
Do James Bond songs have twangy guitar arpeggios? Yes. Do they have orchestral interludes post-chorus. Yes. Why did this one feel slightly out of place?
It all comes down to Sheryl Crow’s voice, and her treatment of the guitar parts. She does nothing to disguise the drawl of her voice. The verse progression is performed with the unhurried nonchalance of Americana. When Crow bellows the chorus, it sounds like something you’d hear in a dive bar in Texas or California.
The whole package shouldn’t have worked as well as it did.
14. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – John Barry
The only James Bond movie post-Goldfinger to have an instrumental opening theme. The theme itself is a driving piece of post-mod pop with a moving bass line and a well-integrated mellotron. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’s theme added real danger to the film’s memorable ski chase.
13. Goldeneye – Tina Turner and The Edge
When Goldeneye hit theaters, it was the first James Bond movie in 6 years. It was under pressure to deliver, and an energizing opening action sequence led to Tina Turner strutting her stuff in stereo. (Yes, that is U2’s The Edge you can see with a co-writing credit)
The song was an obvious attempt to put a 90’s pop gloss on songs like Thunderball and Goldfinger. It has a good chorus, even if you can hear Turner straining a little during the bridge. So while not the best offer on tap, Turner’s swagger gave truth to the notion James Bond had returned.
12. Thunderball – Tom Jones
Announcing itself with thundering brass, Thunderball represents the boisterousness of 60’s Bond. Although its sandwiched between two superior colossi of Bond theme, you can hear Tom Jones giving it his all. That’s what makes this particular piece of orchestral pop arresting.
According to legend, Jones hit the final note of the song so hard he passed out while recording. The extravagance, the scope, and the sheer chutzhpah of this tune fit what was the largest scaled Bond adventure to date. (Also, the highest earning entry of the series, adjusted for inflation).
11. The Living Daylights – A-Ha
If you guessed that the same group that recorded Take On Me did this song, you’d be right. If you think that Take On Me is better…you’re still right. That being said, The Living Daylights is a slick and enjoyable keyboard driven number.
If a hypothetical viewer was watching all the Bond films in order for the first time, they might also guess that A-Ha were modeling this song after Duran Duran’s previous success. I’d agree. However, I’ll argue later in this article that this was not the first time (nor would it be the last) that Bond’s music supervisor’s tried to create stylistic continuity between different tunes in different Bond movies.
This might have been especially important considering that The Living Daylights was the movie that introduced Timothy Dalton as Bond.
10. For Your Eyes Only – Sheena Easton
This was the third consecutive ballad written to open a Roger Moore Bond. Lyrically, this song and The Writings on the Wall could get into a sticky sap fight together.
Giving this one an advantage: It’s slightly more up-tempo, and Easton’s voice fits better with the music. Also, the romantic naiveté of the lyrics become more compelling when you consider them coming from Melina’s somewhat less jaded perspective.
9. The World is Not Enough – Garbage
On one hand, this sounds almost nothing like the band’s normal material. On the other hand, this song is such a perfect example of a group crafting material to meet an assignment. The combination of typical Bond elements (twangy guitar, melodic strings) with Shirley Manson’s full throated voice make for a very tuneful combination.
The lyrics are pure Bond villain megalomania. “The World is not enough/ But its such a perfect place to start/my love. / And if you’re strong enough/then we can take the world apart/my love”. It’s easy to read the lyrics from the perspective of Elektra King, the movie’s villainess.
For my money, it’s the best tune of the Brosnan era.
8. You Know My Name – Chris Cornell
Casino Royale was the second Bond that I saw in theaters. As I sat down next to my family, I had one thought in my mind: I’m open to a new Bond, but he had to prove himself.
The black and white intro sequence got my attention. Chris Cornell then kicked the energy up a notch with this confidant, upbeat rocker that still included brass and arpeggiatted guitars. The whole package rocked harder than any Bond theme before or since.
It was the perfect companion to a Bond movie where the fights were more vicious, the consequences more personal, than they had been in most Bond movies past.
I was sold on Craig than, and this title song made it feel good that James Bond had returned. RIP to Mr. Cornell, but thank you for all your songs, including this one.
7. Diamonds Are Forever – Shirley Bassey
Tinkling synths set up a beguiling atmosphere, over which Bassey croons the name of the song. “…they’re all I need to please me. / They can stimulate and tease me, /They won’t leave in the night, /I’ve no fear that they might desert me. “. Then the brass enters.
While more subtle than the famous 60’s Bond theme songs, its more layered, fleet-footedly shifting from balled to a seriously funky groove for the chorus. Bassey still proves she could still belt with the best of them at the end.
It’s fitting and poetic that Shirley Bassey got to sing on two James Bond about rare resources that people kill other people over. Listening to the results, its easy to see why some people consider her the definitive Bond singer.
6. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon
Carly Simon was a major part of a wave of 70’s confessional soft-rock songwriters. As such she specialized in softer, more personal emotions, so the idea of choosing her to write a Bond theme might have seemed a little bit strange at the time.
Simon’s music didn’t really fit the dangerous part of Bond’s world, but you know where it did fit? The glamourous, romantic part of it. Instead of writing lyrics that vaguely outlined the story, or which talked about the bad guy, she chose to focus on the perspective of a woman loved by Bond.
Nobody Does It Better was a great success, and it worked so well that the next three Bond songs were also ballads. It was almost as if all the composers and producers were like “Did this work for the Spy Who Loved Me? Great, let’s make more of that. We know audiences have loved before, and they’ll probably love it again”.
Yet as the title of this song suggests, Simon still does a soft rock Bond song better than anyone before or since
5. A View to A Kill – Duran Duran
In 1985, Bond was going to come back again. While still profitable, the box office returns of the Moore series had been trending downward since Moonraker.
As stated previously in this piece, post Spy Who Love Me Bond songs had been in a holding pattern for 6 years, offering re-writes of Nobody Does it Better’s template.
In this light, it’s easy to read Broccoli’s decision to hire hot new wave group Duran Duran as an attempt to make the series musically exciting again.
The end product is an interesting contradiction. One of the most boring and tension less Bond films ever had on of the most exciting Bond songs.
This is also one of the themes that references the name of the movie, along with vague statements about leading a dangerous lifestyle. Yet the synths have bite, and the vocals conviction. The music video was also pretty cutting edge at the time, and is still worth a watch.
4. Skyfall – Adele
“Skyfall is where we start/1000 miles and poles apart…”
Yes, this song was made to be a contemporary version of the tune Goldfinger. What matters are the results, and they hit they mark they were aiming for. Scarred yet resolute, sensual yet dangerous, this song hints at all the various elements of Bonds world.
The lyrics more directly reflect the story then the usually do. Making reference of endings, and going back to where things began, which are all relevant to the movie in question.
Also, Adele was the right singer to bring this to life, a 20 something with a full-throated voice and now the most dominant part of Britain’s 21st century R&B revival.
Skyfall is the best Bond song of the Craig era. In fact, there are only three tunes that do it better.
3. You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra
The descending violin run that opens this song is gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It’s coy, romantic, and mysterious. Its as grand as the volcano hideout where Blofeld makes his home.
I still find myself whistling it when I’m thinking of music that’s cinematic. Nancy Sinatra’s superb vocal tone, combined with the backing of the 60 piece orchestra, is what people typically think of when they think of Bond themes. Even though it’s 50 years old in 2017, it helped set the template songs like Skyfall attempt to follow.
Earlier when I mentioned Thunderball, I said there were 2 colossi of 60’s Bond that it fell short of. This is one of those. To fall short of this much elegance is no disgrace, and to aspire to learn from it is noble.
It also gets credit as one of the most sampled and covered James Bond songs ever, memorably used in Mad Men’s season 5 finale The Phantom.
2. Live and Let Die – Paul and Linda McCartney
This choice might be a little controversial. Most people agree this is one of the great ones, but the second best one ever? Why?
Do you like your Bond songs to have dimension? It has 4 distinct movements within the space of 3 minutes and 12 seconds. It starts as a piano ballad, before Sir Paul emphatically delivers the anthemic chorus. Dynamic tribal percussion creates tension upon which the strings glide, like the angry alligators that try to eat Bond in Louisiana.
It has that Dixie-land bridge, followed by repeating the post-chorus interlude. Then that beautiful string bridge allows the song a smooth transition to the second verse. In short, the song hops between musical traditions the way Bond hops between countries. It all congeals beautifully.
Do you want a Bond song that sounds a little bit wounded? The first verse states “When you were young/ and your heart was an open book/You used to say/ Live and let live.” This is a very clever allusion to the fact that James Bond’s life has been molded by childhood tragedy. In the changing world we live in, Bond found ways to survive, by killing.
It’s very general, but applies well to the movie, and to the series as a whole.
1. Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey
“Goldfinger / He’s the man, /the man with the Midas touch. / A spider’s touch/ Such a cold finger…”
Were you singing along in your head when you read that? That’s why its the other Titan of 60’s Bond theme. Look upon it’s grandeur and despair.
Here the lyrical focus is on Auric Goldfinger, a glamourous, greedy, and dangerous man whose only love is the first syllable of his name. The brass chords answer’s Bassey’s voice and drive the chorus, hitting like a karate chop from Oddjob. The whole thing hums with danger and decadence.
Some people will say that choosing this song is too safe. I even sympathize with the argument. If you’re talking orchestral pop Bond, it is the best. It is also unquestionably the most iconic Bond song, and the most iconically linked to Bond. That is why it sits playing a golden harp.