"James Bond Theme" | ||||
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Cover of the soundtrack of the film Dr. No, which premiered the "James Bond Theme"
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Song by John Barry & Orchestra from the album Dr. No | ||||
Released | 1962 | |||
Recorded | CTS Lansdowne Recording Studios | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Length | 01:48 | |||
Label | United Artists, reissued on Liberty Records | |||
Writer(s) | Monty Norman | |||
Dr. No track listing | ||||
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The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No, released in 1962. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond 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 (1963). It has been used as music over the end credits for Dr. No, Thunderball (1965), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015).
The tune uses a surf rock style guitar riff. At the time of the first film's release, surf rock was a major craze.
Monty Norman has been credited with writing the "James Bond Theme", and has received royalties since 1962. Norman collected around £485,000 in royalties between the years 1976 and 1999. For Dr. No, the tune was arranged by John Barry, who would later go on to compose the soundtracks for eleven James Bond films. Courts have ruled twice that the theme was written by Monty Norman, despite claims and testimony by Barry that he had actually written the theme. Norman has consequently won two libel actions against publishers for claiming that Barry wrote the theme, most recently against The Sunday Times in 2001.