The 8 Best James Bond Themes
Adele’s new jam is up there, but she’s got a lot of competition. She pretty much stomped all over Madonna and Chris Cornell’s themes, though.
8. Garbage, “The World Is Not Enough” [1999]
Bond themes are a useful way of getting a sense of how pop music conveys glamour and gravitas in any given cultural moment. So, in the late Nineties you get a quasi-trip-hop number from Garbage…
7. Duran Duran, “A View To Kill” [1985]
..and in the mid-Eighties, this ultra-slick new wave tune from Duran Duran.
6. Jack White and Alicia Keys, “Another Way To Die” [2008]
Jack White and Alicia Keys’ contribution to the Bond canon is strong and plays to their respective strengths, but it kinda screams “I AM A JAMES BOND THEME” at you in a way a lot of the others don’t. Despite that, what a great riff!
5. Adele, “Skyfall” [2012]
Where the White/Keys tune is very eager to live up to high expectations, this new one by Adele is so effortlessly elegant and awesome that it’s just obvious from the first listen that it’s one of the all-time greats.
4. Nancy Sinatra, “You Only Live Twice” [1967]
This one is a classic; if you hear those opening bars you are just immediately transported to Bond’s world.
3. Shirley Bassey, “Diamonds Are Forever” [1971]
Here’s another that just immediately puts you in the mood for 007. Younger folks will know this one better as the basis for Kanye West’s “Diamonds of Sierra Leone,” but the original is just a flawless piece of music.
2. Carly Simon, “Nobody Does It Better” [1977]
This is arguably the best song to be a Bond theme, but unlike Bassey and Sinantra’s themes, it doesn’t immediately signal the Bond vibe. But that’s only a minor complaint.
1. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Live And Let Die” [1973]
McCartney’s theme is pretty much unbeatable. It’s an excellent piece of songwriting, and it perfectly captures the campy thrill of the franchise.
HOT ON
More Buzz
- Judd Hayes thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Win
- teryhung The 8 Best James Bond Themes
- Moiax The 8 Best James Bond Themes and thinks it’s Fail
-
- Carlosknightiii The 8 Best James Bond Themes
-
- joeb11 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
-
- rhpiske91187 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Win
-
michaelp43 8 months agoUps for mentioning Garbage, but not having Goldfinger on this list immediately makes it irrelevant.
-
-
- MsSkeet The 8 Best James Bond Themes and thinks it’s Win
- Fiji Wiji The 8 Best James Bond Themes
-
OMGitsShan 8 months agoNumber 6 and number 8 have no relevance on this list. I can’t even hum them off the top of my head = forgettable. All the rest I can. FYI Goldfinger & Goldeneye should have made the list.
-
-
VictorWard 8 months agoA (for all intents and purpoes) random list of 8 songs with no explanation of why they were chosen and no insight as to what makes them “the best” Bond themes, presented in traffic-baiting list form with YouTube videos in lieu of original content and an eye-catching title to draw people in. Also, obvious omissions and unlikely inclusions (from artists BuzzFeed readers are more likely to know about) to generate “heated discussion” and more traffic. Nice work, Matthew!
-
-
- erinl13 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
- nonpromqueen thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Win
- artmantosmasbatei The 8 Best James Bond Themes and thinks it’s Win
- adamseese thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Win
- BlueWingX thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
-
- omara4 The 8 Best James Bond Themes and thinks it’s Win
- The 8 Best James Bond Themes is starting to get hot on Facebook Share It
- jcpdiesel21 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
-
-
- Steelytony thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
- eduardol thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
-
- jonathana8 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
- blondeassassin thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
-
-
- Artemis03 thinks The 8 Best James Bond Themes is Fail
- The 8 Best James Bond Themes is starting to get hot on Twitter Tweet It
-
![[link]](http://s3-ak.buzzfed.com/static/images/public/icons/external-link2.png){kind=icon}
Special Reactions
Your Reaction?
GET STARTED