Thunderball
Interpretare: Tom Jones
Movie: Thunderball
James Bond: Sean Connery
It’s something to have a name like Tom Jones, with an original song for the soundtrack of a movie, isn’t it?
But, at that time, Tom Jones was 25. He was still at the beginning of his career. He had just broken the ice with his song “It’s Not Unusual”. He was nothing more than a singer in fashion.
According to Tom Jones himself, during the recording, when he took the long final note, he closed his eyes and gave it his best shot. When he opened his eyes, the room was spinning. And he fainted 1)”Singer Tom Jones, ‘Reloaded’ And Remastered” – interview with Tom Jones, for NPR on December 11, 2003. You see, the music of James Bond is breathtaking – and not just for the beautiful women!
Initially, the main theme song was supposed to be “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, composed by Shirley Bassey and performed by Dionne Warwick. But the producer Albert Broccoli didn’t like the lyrics, which were making no reference to the movie title, so – just when the production of the movie was coming to an end – he requested the song be replaced with another. Otherwise, the beginning of the movie would have been this one:
As I was saying, the song interpreted by Tom Jones was the one chosen to be the main theme. It’s interesting to know that Johnny Cash also brought in a proposal. The movie could have begun with his voice singing 2)”The Music of James Bond” by Jon Burlingame, book published by Oxford University Press in 2012. Did no one tell him that the movie was not a western?!
In 1996, when the comedy “Spy Hard” appeared (with Leslie Nielsen playing Dick Steele, Agent WD-40), “Weird Al” Yankovic made a parody of the “Thunderball” song. And he made sure to make fun of every detail in particular.
- Introduction + James Bond theme
- 1962: Kingston Calypso (Dr. No)
- 1963: James Bond Is Back / From Russia with Love / James Bond Theme
- 1964: Goldfinger
- 1965: Thunderball
- 1967: You Only Live Twice
- 1969: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- 1971: Diamonds Are Forever
- 1973: Live and Let Die
- 1974: The Man with the Golden Gun
- 1977: Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
- 1979: Moonraker
- 1981: For Your Eyes Only
- 1983: All Time High (Octopussy)
- 1985: A View to a Kill
- 1987: The Living Daylights
- 1989: Licence to Kill
- 1995: GoldenEye
- 1997: Tomorrow Never Dies
- 1999: The World Is Not Enough
- 2002: Die Another Day
- 2006: You Know My Name (Casino Royale)
- 2008: Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace)
- 2012: Skyfall
- 2015: Writing's on the Wall (Spectre)
A surprising series of re-orchestrations that were originally classic songs, in heavy metal style
References
| ↑1 | ”Singer Tom Jones, ‘Reloaded’ And Remastered” – interview with Tom Jones, for NPR on December 11, 2003 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | ”The Music of James Bond” by Jon Burlingame, book published by Oxford University Press in 2012 |
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