Greetings, intrepid readers! M. H. Barton here with another blog on the art and craft of storytelling. Today’s topic? How to create an attention-grabbing opening for your story that hooks the audience from the get-go. This is one of the most difficult things for authors and storytellers, as opening chapters frequently go through significant changes over many rounds of edits and revisions. Ian Fleming had a knack for this in his James Bond novel series, but the subsequent film franchise took story openings to a whole new level. The movies always begin with a cold opening, usually an action sequence of some sort, but perhaps even more memorable than these scenes are what comes next: the theme songs.
I’m such a fan of how the Bond theme songs have changed over the years. They encompass so many different musical styles and are basically a who’s who of some of the most successful singers of all time. Still, not all Bond songs are created equal. Some are forgettable, some are too stylistically different, and some are just flat-out ridiculous. Still, there are a select few that truly rise to the top. They fit the mood of their respective film, feature an incredible vocalist, and are so iconic that they stick in your ear long after the song has ended. Today, I’ll count down, in my opinion, the top ten of these elite movie theme songs. Of note, I won’t be including “The James Bond Theme,” as it’s instrumental only and by far the most iconic of them all. Also, the quality of the film itself is largely irrelevant, as a subpar Bond film can still have an excellent theme song. With that said, let’s see which songs are truly worthy of Bond, James Bond.
Number Ten: “Nobody Does it Better” by Carly Simon
This ballad opened The Spy Who Loved Me, one of Roger Moore’s more memorable outings as Bond. The song was also the first theme song since Dr. No to not share its title with the film it opens, something that’s become a bit more common in recent years. Commercially, this remains one of the top Bond songs, spending three weeks at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Performance-wise, Simon is delightfully sultry, even if the lyrics aren’t particularly deep. I mean, the entire song is basically a lust letter to the sexual prowess of Bond himself, though Simon manages to keep the innuendos relatively subtle. It works well overall, as the driving force behind the film itself is the tension between Bond and his Soviet partner, Anya Amasova. Their tension isn’t purely sexual, either – when Anya finds out Bond is the one who killed her former lover, she proclaims she will do the same to him once their mission is complete. It’s a fitting performance that sets the tone for this excellent Bond film.
Number Nine: “License to Kill” by Gladys Knight
Poor Timothy Dalton may not be the best Bond out there, but his second and final outing gave us an excellent theme song. Originally, Eric Clapton was asked to write and perform the theme for this film, but Gladys Knight’s song won out in the end. A powerful, brassy number harkening back to some of the Bond classics of the 60s and 70s, Knight holds nothing back in her performance. Any other singer going this hard would be lampooned for it, but Knight makes it work as few others could. And that opening trumpet line! Holy crap, that earworm will stick with you for days. This might be a so-so Bond film, but it sure isn’t due to the theme song.
Number Eight: “Thunderball” by Tom Jones
Eon Productions had a notoriously difficult time with the title song for this film of the same name. They had originally hired Shirley Bassey to sing a song titled “Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” but the entire song was scrapped by United Artists because the film’s title was not featured anywhere in the lyrics. With Bassey unavailable, “Thunderball” was hastily written for the great Tom Jones to perform. Thankfully, Tom gave it his all, quite literally. Per subsequent interviews, he admitted that he held the final note of the song as long as he could before passing out. Talk about dedication! The song itself was important, as it established a pattern of brassy power anthems to open these films. This was, after all, only the second Bond film to feature a singer in its theme song, despite being the fourth film overall. While it comes up a bit short in comparison to some of its contemporaries in the series, many future Bond songs owe much to the precedents reaffirmed here in “Thunderball.”
Number Seven: “You Only Live Twice” by Nancy Sinatra
The Bond film that followed Thunderball took a very different risk in its title song. Rather than follow the previous trend of brassy power anthems, they wrote a song that was much more subdued and romantic in style. It was a strange concept for such a comparatively violent film, but it’s surprisingly fitting. Bond fakes his death in the opening of the film and spends much of the story trying to keep his cover so he can more easily figure out who is trying to start another world war. He even goes through a fake marriage to keep up the ruse! Anyway, this different type of song might not have been successful if Cubby Broccoli’s first choice of singer had accepted – Frank Sinatra. Thankfully, the Chairman of the Board declined, opening the door for his daughter to deliver an iconic performance. Without Nancy Sinatra’s sweet voice singing the haunting lyrics, I doubt this song would ever have stood a chance of making this list. Yet here it is, thanks to the right performer at the right time.
Number Six: “A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran
We’ll skip ahead to the 80s for this next pick, and there isn’t a more 80s Bond song than this guilty pleasure by Duran Duran. As Bond would be leaving Roger Moore behind after this film, the character began a period of transition into a newer, more modern age, which fits well with Duran Duran’s synth-pop style. It’s energetic, enjoyable, and just the right amount of trippy with its lyrics, which explains why it became one of the band’s biggest hits of all time. In fact, as of 2022, this song remains the only Bond song to reach number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100. What else can I say? The film itself got pretty cartoony and campy in its style, but this song is the only one that could successfully open such a movie. It’s pure fun, plain and simple.
Number Five: “GoldenEye” by Tina Turner
Many artists have tried their best to imitate Shirley Bassey’s iconic Bond style over the years, but nobody came as close to succeeding as Tina Turner. This, as it turns out, was a much-needed aspect of this film. In 1995, Bond films had been on a six-year hiatus with this next release featuring many changes. Pierce Brosnan as Bond, Judy Dench as M, Cubby Broccoli no longer producing, and the first Bond film not to be based on one of Ian Fleming’s novels. Then, there was the biggest change of all – it being the first Bond film made since the end of the Soviet Union. This was a new world for James Bond, and the audience needed some semblance of familiarity to cling to before diving into this modern Bond film. Tina Turner’s stellar performance of this power number gave us exactly that. She was the perfect reassurance at the opening of the film and sent a message to the audience – Don’t worry, this is still the James Bond you know and love. The world may have changed, but the core of what makes James Bond great remained the same, as this song helped prove.
Number Four: “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton
Here in the middle of Roger Moore’s time in the tuxedo, James Bond had gotten sillier and campier with each film. After the insanely ridiculous Moonraker, Eon Productions wisely brought the series back to its roots with For Your Eyes Only. Sheena Easton’s beautiful performance of the opening song played a big role in this, delivering a sensual ballad with just enough powerful moments to remind the audience of why they fell in love with these films and characters, to begin with. Still, the song was a bit of a risk, as Easton was not yet a music star. This song was the one that blew the doors of her career wide open. The title sequence is also unique in that it is the only Bond theme song to feature the singer performing the song as a part of the sequence. Not that it was a bad thing – Sheena Easton is gorgeous and has incredible artistic expression in her delivery, helping her fit right in with this Bond title song. It remains a great personal favorite of mine to this day.
Number Three: “Skyfall” by Adele
Now, we’re getting into the truly elite Bond songs. Adele’s performance of this power ballad is moody and dark, which is an absolute requirement. After all, the audience has just witnessed Bond’s supposed death in the scene immediately preceding the title sequence. The song is somber and morbid at the start, before growing into something with an amazing amount of life and depth by the time it reaches the climax. Combine that with the mysterious lyrics which hint at the story and plot of the film, and you have an instant classic – such a classic that Adele became the first person to win an Academy Award for her performance of a Bond theme song. I can literally find no fault in any part of this piece of music. The only reason I have it ranked third is that it hasn’t been around nearly as long as my top two picks. But who knows? Adele’s contribution to the Bond franchise could very well stand the test of time and eventually rise even higher in the rankings one day. For now, sadly, this is as high as I can justify putting this masterpiece.
Number Two: “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey is the undisputed queen of Bond theme songs, and for good reasons. Nobody has performed more than one theme song, but Dame Shirley Bassey has done not one, not two, but THREE songs! That alone is huge. Still, of her three performances, this one is undoubtedly the greatest. Goldfinger is considered by most to be the best film in the franchise, and its theme song is the perfect way to open it. The lyrics make it clear that the film’s larger-than-life villain is perhaps the biggest threat Bond has ever encountered. This promise is kept, as Goldfinger’s character features prominently throughout the story, contrasting with previous villains who either remained hidden or didn’t interact directly with Bond until the end of the film. This story is all about Bond versus Goldfinger, and the song perfectly sells that. And this isn’t even mentioning the incredible vocal performance of Bassey, plus the other elements that would become customary in many Bond songs. From the powerful brass instrumentals and bombastic vocal performance to the story contained in the lyrics, this perfect song set the standard for what a Bond song should be. It could very easily be number one, and I nearly placed it there, but one song took just enough risks to steal the crown away.
Before we get to the top pick, let’s do a few…
Honorable Mentions
“Diamonds are Forever” – Another wonderful song by Shirley Bassey, but not quite as magical as her first outing.
“Writing’s on the Wall” – Sam Smith won an Academy award for this one in the film SPECTRE, though I don’t find it nearly as iconic as “Skyfall.”
“No Time to Die” – Billie Eilish found success with this song, making it the third straight Bond song to win an Academy Award.
And just for fun, how ‘bout some…
Dishonorable Mentions
“Moonraker” – Yawn, not even Shirley Bassey could save this utterly boring song to an even worse Bond film.
“The Man with the Golden Gun” – Yikes, Lulu’s chance to do a Bond song was not a good one at all, being little more than three minutes of uncreative innuendo.
“Die Another Day” – Perhaps the biggest name to ever do a Bond song, Madonna proves that star power is nothing if the song’s lyrics and music suck.
And with that, we arrive at…
Number One: “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney and Wings
While many Bond songs sought to imitate or pay homage to Shirley Bassey, others took risks to go in a different direction. Paul McCartney took all the right risks in this incredible number, combining moody slow sections with fast-paced rock ‘n’ roll interludes. It was a perfect blending of the past and the future, at least as it was seen in the 70s. Even the lyrics are perfect, speaking about the loss of innocence. This turns out to be a central plot point, as it’s the loss of virginity for the female lead, Domino, that forces her to change sides and join with Bond. Even the title is perfect, as it ends up being the best job description for what James Bond does. Not to mention that this was the first Bond song to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. While this has become almost a foregone conclusion in today’s environment, it was completely unheard of in 1973. It took a former Beatle to break this ground, even if he didn’t ultimately win. It’s such a close call between “Goldfinger” and “Live and Let Die,” but this song was so transformative for the series that I had to put it on top.
And that’s going to do it for this ranking! I hope my musings were helpful in your own efforts to give your story a proper opening. What do you think? Did I get it right? Totally wrong? I’d love to hear from you in the comments, or you can reach out directly. Feel free to mention if you have any ideas or requests for future entries. I’ve got an active running list of ideas, but I’m always open to more. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a like and share this post on social media. And to stay up to date on future blog posts, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter on my website. Until the next story!
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