Definitive Ranking Of The James Bond Theme Songs Part I: 25-15
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2022 marked the 60th anniversary of the James Bond franchise. And we are all familiar with the men behind Bond, Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig. And we are familiar with the cars and the double entendre-named-woman but just as equally recognizable is the music. We are all familiar with the main theme originally composed by John Barry back in 1962, but each film has had an equally iconic main theme to the movie. The song was typically tied into the title of the movie and normally was a credits sequence with lots of style and flash. Although some were a little cheeky, it set the tone for the film and showed us how exotic the Bond world could be to the audience. But what is the best song of the series? Here’s how we see it in this first part of a three-part series.
25. Dr. No - Underneath The Mango Tree By Monty Norman
While never really credited as the title song to the film, this song played just as much throughout the film as John Barry’s theme and was even sung by Honey Ryder in a now iconic scene where she comes out of the ocean. Producers of the film wanted this to be an ongoing theme considering the lush tropical locales the Bond films went to, but thankfully was scrapped for the more iconic title songs we get now.
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24. Quantum of Solace – Another Way To Die By Jack White And Alicia Keys
The only duet on the list and the only duet theme. It tried to blend the alt-rock stylings of Jack White with the smooth R&B/Soul of Alicia Keys, who both were in their element in 2008. However, we get a confusing mismatch where Alicia Keys is underutilized, and Jack White is outperformed.
23. Moonraker – Moonraker By Shirley Bassey
The first mention of Shirley Bassey in this list. When producers Albert Broccoli and team saw the success of a little-known space film called Star Wars, they decided to send Bond into space. But, unfortunately, the theme can put you to sleep, and if you can tell me what a Moonraker is, I would be forever grateful.
22. Die Another Day – Die Another Day By Madonna
Madonna is a household name and a musical icon, and having her sing a Bond theme should be a no-brainer, but unfortunately, it was a poorly written song with musical plays that poorly ages this song, and frankly, when you hear Madonna chant “Sigmund Freud,” I think you may have lost your listening audience.
21. No Time To Die – No Time To Die By Billie Eilish
Yes, this song is an Oscar winner, but frankly, this song is just an absolute bore from the first note. I give it credit as the words to the song mirror the action within the movie and the ultimate end to Craig’s Bond, but her delivery was not enough to keep me engaged.
20. The Living Daylights – The Living Daylights By A-Ha
Two years after their one-hit wonder, A-Ha was tasked with singing the theme to first-time Bond, Timothy Dalton. The beat was excellent, and the tune was catchy, considering this is from the almost-forgotten Bond movies.
19. GoldenEye – GoldenEye By Tina Turner
After a lengthy hiatus of 7 years, Pierce Brosnan was bringing Bond back to the screen. And with his triumphant return Bono and The Edge of U2 fame wrote and scored a theme song sung by the godmother of Soul, Tina Turner. It is a great song and was a throwback to the days of Shirley Bassey’s songs, but points were deducted for lyrics like, “You’ll never know how much I watched you from the shadows as a child,” while is a cool line actually has NOTHING to do with the movie.
18. The World Is Not Enough – The World Is Not Enough By Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson from Garbage, who played on the theme song but was not credited, tried to sing her heart out. The theme definitely played as a better throwback to the early days of the Bond franchise, and it makes me long to hear that throwback in the future.
17. The Man With The Golden Gun – The Man With The Golden Gun By Lulu
I don’t know who Lulu was or was in the musical scene around 1974, but she knew how to sing. The theme could also act as an exposition dump on the character of Scaramanga, the villain in the movie.
16. Octopussy – All Time High By Rita Coolidge
While the title is not a straight transfer of the movie title, Coolidge pulls off a smooth title track though, which, paired with the sequence playing over the credits, definitely made this high on the list and like she says, “I was looking for a distraction for an hour or two.”
15. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – We Have All The Time In The World By Louis Armstrong
This was famed jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s last recording, and what a way to end his career. The song was powerful and summarized the feelings and emotions. Bond went through in this dark and underappreciated film in the franchise.
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