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The James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first
orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's Dr. No, although the actual
authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for many years. Barry
went on to compose the scores for eleven Bond films in addition to his uncredited contribution to Dr. No, and is
credited with the creation of "007", which was used as
an alternate Bond theme in several films, and the
popular orchestrated theme "On Her Majesty's Secret
Service". Both "The James Bond Theme" and "On Her
Majesty's Secret Service" have been remixed a number
of times by popular artists, including Art of Noise,
Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and the Propellerheads.
Barry's legacy was followed by David Arnold, in
addition to other well-known composers and record
producers such as George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael
Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch, and Eric Serra. Arnold is the
series' current composer of choice, and was recently
signed to compose the score for the his fourth
consecutive Bond film, Casino Royale.
The Bond films are known for their theme songs heard
during the title credits, sung by well-known popular
singers. Shirley Bassey performed three themes in
total, and is the only singer to have been associated
with more than one film. On Her Majesty's Secret
Service is the only Bond film with a solely
instrumental theme. The main theme for Dr. No is the
"James Bond Theme", although the opening credits also
include an untitled bongo interlude, and concludes
with a vocal Calypso-flavoured rendition of "Three
Blind Mice" entitled "Kingston Calypso" that sets the
scene. From Russia With Love also opens with an
instrumental version over the title credits (which
then segues into the James Bond Theme), but Matt
Monro's vocal version also appears twice in the film,
including the closing credits; the Monro version is
generally considered the film's main theme, even
though it doesn't appear during the opening credits.
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