47-462: Monty Norman ( né Noserovitch ; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British film score composer and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the " James Bond Theme ", first heard in the 1962 film Dr. No . He was an Ivor Novello Award and Olivier Award winner, and a Tony Award nominee. Monty Norman was born on 4 April 1928 in Stepney in
94-477: A Fender Vibrolux amplifier. Flick was paid a one-off fee of £6 for recording the famous James Bond Theme motif. John Scott played the saxophone. Barry, who was paid £250 for his work, was surprised that his theme appeared so often in Dr. No . He was told by Noel Rogers, the head of United Artists Music, that though the producers would not give him any more money or a writing credit they would get in touch with him if there
141-625: A birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née
188-577: A man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
235-472: A disco sound, reflecting a style of music which was very popular at the time. The Spy Who Loved Me returned briefly to using the surf-rock guitar associated with the theme from the early days. One unusual instance occurred in Octopussy , when Bond's contact, who is disguised as a snake charmer , plays a few notes of the tune for Roger Moore's James Bond, presumably as a pre-arranged identification signal. This
282-576: A funereal orchestration with Bond's "burial" at sea sequence in Hong Kong harbour . A full orchestral version of the theme was used in the Little Nellie autogyro fight scene. The George Lazenby film On Her Majesty's Secret Service used a unique high-pitched arrangement with the melody played on a Moog synthesizer . The cue is called "This Never Happened to the Other Feller" and a similar recording
329-463: A hospital in Slough . He was 94, and suffered from an unspecified short illness prior to his death. Specific General Bibliography Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto
376-723: A synthesised arrangement by Éric Serra which plays the guitar riff on (almost indistinct) kettle drums. A more traditional rendition by John Altman is heard in the film during the tank chase in St. Petersburg . This version of the "James Bond Theme" is not included in the GoldenEye soundtrack. Additionally, Starr Parodi composed a version of the James Bond Theme for the 1995 trailer. David Arnold 's gun barrel arrangements in Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough dropped
423-400: A tuxedo (accompanied by a few bars of the bridge), after he has survived the poisoned martini, when he wins the final match at Casino Royale, when Bond is following Vesper Lynd , and when Bond speaks with M on the phone. At the end of Quantum of Solace , the theme appears with Craig's new official gun barrel sequence, unusually shown at the end of the film. The theme here is very similar to
470-496: Is an example of the tune being used as diegetic music . In Moore's last Bond film, A View to a Kill , the melody of the theme was played on strings. The first Bond film with Timothy Dalton , The Living Daylights , which was the last Bond film scored by Barry, used a symphonic version with the melody played on strings. This version of the Bond theme is notable for its introduction of sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with
517-586: Is miles better than the version I did". Released as a single, "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" charted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart , besting " Go "'s number 10 peak six years earlier to become, at the time, Moby's highest-peaking single on the chart. It also reached number one in Iceland and peaked within the top 20 in Finland, Ireland, and Switzerland. The song features two samples of dialogue from
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#1732876178981564-427: Is probably responsible for the controversy over the authorship of the "James Bond Theme" as listeners have come to know it. The "James Bond Theme" was recorded on 21 June 1962, using five saxophones , nine brass instruments , a solo guitar and a rhythm section. The guitar motif heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Vic Flick on a 1939 English Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe guitar plugged into
611-416: Is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote
658-555: The East End of London . His father, Abraham Noserovitch (anglicised to Norman), was a Jewish cabinet maker who immigrated to the United Kingdom from Latvia when he was a child; his mother, Ann (Berlyn), who was also Jewish, worked as a seamstress. He lived with his Jewish immigrant grandparents for the first few years of his life. As a child during World War II , Norman was evacuated to St Albans from London but later returned during
705-501: The UK Singles Chart on the week of 6–12 December 1962. Apart from the James Bond soundtracks themselves, John Barry re-recorded the James Bond Theme in 1966 for his CBS album The Great Movie Sounds of John Barry , which features driving percussion ostinati (with a prominent role for bongos ), as well as a piano and brass improvisation superimposed over the last few bars. For his 1972 Polydor album The Concert John Barry , he re-scored
752-460: The soundtrack , this track is named "Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd/Bond to Holland." When Roger Moore came to the role, the "James Bond Theme" became a string orchestra driven piece. In Live and Let Die , the James Bond theme was featured in a Funk -inspired version of the tune reflecting the music of Blaxploitation films popular at the time. The brief quote of the theme in the pre-credits music of The Spy Who Loved Me , titled "Bond 77", featured
799-438: The "James Bond Theme" and received royalties from 1962 until his death in 2022. Norman collected around £600,000 in royalties between 1976 and 1999. For Dr. No , Norman scored the film and the theme was arranged by John Barry , who would later go on to compose the soundtracks for eleven James Bond films. Courts have ruled that the theme was written by Norman, despite claims and testimony by Barry that he had actually written
846-411: The "James Bond Theme" appears not only in the gun barrel pre-title sequence, but as part of the main title theme and in the track "James Bond with Bongos". It is a slower, jazzier, somewhat punchier rendition than the original orchestration. The original Barry arrangement from Dr. No is heard during a check of Bond's room for listening devices . In Goldfinger , the "James Bond Theme" can be heard on
893-400: The "James Bond Theme". Though the "James Bond Theme" is identified with John Barry's jazz arrangement, parts of it are heard throughout Monty Norman's score for Dr. No in non-jazzy guises. Barry's arrangement is repeated ("tracked") in various scenes of the first Bond film. This is consistent with the account given by Barry and some of the film-makers, contained in supplementary material on
940-434: The "James Bond Theme". Daniel Craig 's first James Bond film, Casino Royale , does not feature the "James Bond Theme" in its entirety until the very end of the movie during a climactic scene. In Casino Royale , the main notes of the song " You Know My Name " are played throughout the film as a substitute for the "James Bond Theme". A new recording of the classic theme, titled "The Name's Bond…James Bond", only plays during
987-798: The Blitz . His mother gave him his first guitar (a Gibson ) when he was sixteen. As a young man he did national service in the Royal Air Force , where he became interested in pursuing a career in singing. He also worked as a barber during this time. During the 1950s and early 1960s, Norman was a singer for big bands such as those of Cyril Stapleton , Stanley Black , Ted Heath , and Nat Temple . He also sang in various variety shows, sharing top billing with other singers and comedy stars such as Benny Hill , Harry Secombe , Peter Sellers , Spike Milligan , Harry Worth , Tommy Cooper , Jimmy James , and Tony Hancock . One of his songs, "False-Hearted Lover",
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#17328761789811034-404: The Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies . It first appeared as the second track on I Like to Score , a compilation of Moby's songs used in films, and later featured as the fifteenth and final track on the Tomorrow Never Dies soundtrack album . Moby has said "It did feel a little strange remixing something that was perfect in its original state", further admitting that he "still thinks the original
1081-455: The DVD release of Dr. No : Barry was called in to make an arrangement of Norman's motif after Norman had completed the score. There is no information about the distinctive ostinati , countermelodies , and bridges introduced by Barry that are juxtaposed with Norman's motif in order to flesh out the arrangement. These added musical figures have become as recognizable to listeners as Norman's motif, which
1128-509: The English version was nominated for a Broadway Tony Award in 1961), and Expresso Bongo (which Time Out called the first rock and roll musical). Expresso Bongo , written by Wolf Mankowitz , was a West End hit and was later made into a 1960 film starring a young Cliff Richard . Norman's later musicals include Songbook (also known as The Moony Shapiro Songbook in New York ), which
1175-549: The Indian community in Trinidad . Norman showed his manuscript music from A House for Mr Biswas in a filmed interview and sang its lyrics. In 2005, Norman released an album called Completing the Circle that features "Bad Sign, Good Sign", the "James Bond Theme", and a similar-sounding song titled "Dum Di-Di Dum Dum". For these songs Norman added lyrics that explain the origin and history of
1222-501: The TV miniseries Dickens of London (1976). Norman worked for several years on his unpublished autobiography, titled A Walking Stick Full of Bagels. Norman is best known for writing the " James Bond Theme ", the signature theme of the James Bond franchise, and the score to the first James Bond film, Dr. No . Norman received royalty payments for the theme from 1962 on. However, as
1269-440: The arrangement by David Arnold . For every Bond movie which John Barry scored, he orchestrated a slightly different version of the Bond theme, as can be heard during the gun barrel sequence . These specialised Bond themes often reflected the style and locations featured in the movie, and the actor playing Bond. The "James Bond Theme" and its variations found in the movies are played during many different types of scenes. Early in
1316-497: The classic style in Casino Royale . It appears sparingly throughout the score itself, never in an immediately recognizable variation. David Arnold said in an interview on the DVD extras for Tomorrow Never Dies that the "James Bond Theme" is what he expects to hear as an audience member in action scenes, yet his scores for Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace only use it during the end credits. The next film, Skyfall , includes
1363-508: The end credits for Dr. No , Thunderball , On Her Majesty's Secret Service , The World Is Not Enough , Casino Royale , Quantum of Solace , Skyfall , and Spectre . In 2008, the original recording of "The James Bond Theme" by The John Barry Seven And Orchestra on the United Artists label was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . Monty Norman wrote and composed
1410-485: The end credits to signal the beginning of the character's new arc as the 21st century version of James Bond. Although that is the first time the theme is played in its entirety, the first bars of the song (the chord progression) appeared as a slow background music in seven moments throughout the movie: after Bond's conversation with M (during his flight), after winning the Aston Martin, when he makes his first appearance in
1457-400: The guitar melody line, jumping straight from the tune's opening to its concluding bars. An electronic rhythm was added to the gun barrel of The World Is Not Enough . The typical Bond guitar line can be heard during some action scenes. The Die Another Day gun barrel recalls the version of From Russia with Love but with a more techno -influenced rhythm. It also contains the guitar riff of
Monty Norman - Misplaced Pages Continue
1504-529: The melody of the "James Bond Theme" in several places. Norman collected around £485,000 or £600,000 in royalties between 1976 and 1999 for the use of the theme since Dr. No . Norman married actress Diana Coupland in 1956. Together, they had a daughter before divorcing in 1975. He later married Rina Caesari in 2000 or 2001. They remained married until his death. He was a worshipper at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue . Norman died on 11 July 2022 at
1551-475: The orchestra – at the time, a relatively new innovation. In Licence to Kill , the Bond theme was arranged by Michael Kamen using rock drums to symbolise a harder and more violent Bond. This gun barrel is the first one since Dr. No not starting with the Bond theme, but orchestral hits though the surf guitar makes returns soon after. The gun barrel of the Pierce Brosnan film GoldenEye opened with
1598-405: The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in every Eon Productions Bond film besides Casino Royale (played fully, instead, at the end of that 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 . It has been used as music over
1645-536: The producers were dissatisfied with Norman's arrangement, John Barry re-arranged the theme. Barry later claimed that it was actually he who wrote the theme, but Norman won two different libel actions against Barry's claim he was the composer, the last against The Sunday Times in 2001. In the made-for-DVD documentary Inside Dr. No , Norman performed a music piece that he wrote for an unproduced stage musical based on A House for Mr Biswas several years earlier, entitled "Bad Sign, Good Sign", that he claimed resembles
1692-513: The series, the theme provided background music to Connery's entrances. It was not until Goldfinger that John Barry began to use the theme as an action cue. Since then, the primary use of the "James Bond Theme" has been with action scenes. The first appearance of the "James Bond Theme" was in Dr. No . There it was used as part of the actual gun barrel and main title sequence. It was also used when Bond first introduces himself. In From Russia with Love ,
1739-455: The soundtrack in "Bond Back in Action Again" (gun barrel and pre-title sequence). The "James Bond Theme" for this movie is heavily influenced by the brassy, jazzy theme song sung by Shirley Bassey . Thunderball used a full orchestral version of the theme in the track "Chateau Flight". Another full orchestral version was intended for the end titles of the film. You Only Live Twice had
1786-475: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . James Bond Theme The " James Bond Theme " is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has been used in every Bond film since Dr. No in 1962. Composed in E minor by Monty Norman (with arrangements for film provided by John Barry and others),
1833-523: The theme again as part of a James Bond suite for full symphony orchestra, in this case the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . This more lush arrangement was to feature in his later Bond film scores, notably Octopussy . Over 70 cover versions of the "James Bond Theme" have been recorded by artists such as: American electronica musician Moby produced a remixed version of the theme entitled "James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)" for
1880-401: The theme as part of the harmony to Adele's vocals and is used as the chord progression, including a faint surf guitar riff. Also, in a similar way to Quantum of Solace , the gun barrel sequence is shown at the end of the film. The theme that plays along with the sequence and into the end credits is David Arnold's Casino Royale track "The Name's Bond…James Bond". Despite this, the film's score
1927-457: The theme. Norman consequently won two libel actions against publishers for claiming that Barry wrote the theme, most recently against The Sunday Times in 2001. Norman describes the distinctive rhythm of the guitar in the first few bars of the "James Bond Theme" as "Dum di-di dum dum". He said that it was inspired by "Bad Sign, Good Sign", a song he composed for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul 's novel A House for Mr Biswas , set in
Monty Norman - Misplaced Pages Continue
1974-799: Was also nominated for a Broadway Tony and won an Ivor Novello Award ; and Poppy (1982), which was also nominated for the Ivor Novello Award, and won the SWET award (renamed "the Laurence Olivier Awards " in 1984) for "Best Musical". His further film work included music for the Hammer movie The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), the Bob Hope Eon Productions movie Call Me Bwana (1963), and
2021-560: Was another Bond film made. Within the Bond films themselves, many different arrangements of the theme have been used, often reflecting the musical tastes of the specific times. The electric guitar version of the theme is most associated with the Sean Connery era although it was also used in some Roger Moore films, in Timothy Dalton 's final film Licence to Kill and in the Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig with
2068-466: Was composed by Thomas Newman , who also incorporated the "James Bond Theme" throughout the entire film. In Spectre , the theme appears at the beginning of the film as part of the opening gun barrel sequence, indicating a return to the franchise's classic era of 1962 to 2002 . The theme is used again in No Time to Die , in the tracks named "Gun Barrel" and "Back to MI6". A reworked, salsa-like version
2115-515: Was successful internationally. From the late 1950s, he moved from singing to composing, including songs for performers such as Cliff Richard , Tommy Steele , Count Basie , and Bob Hope , and lyrics for musicals and (subsequently) films. In 1957 and 1958, he wrote lyrics for the musicals Make Me an Offer , the English-language version of Irma la Douce (based on a 1956 French musical written by Alexandre Breffort and Marguerite Monnot ;
2162-593: Was used in "Cuba Chase". This is the only film in the Craig era that doesn't use the Bond theme in the credits, instead using " We Have All the Time in the World " from On Her Majesty's Secret Service . This is because of Bond's death at the end of the film. Additionally, the film's title track performed by Billie Eilish features a single trumpet solo interpolating the theme. The John Barry Orchestra recording peaked at number eleven on
2209-465: Was used over the film's end credits. The film has a downbeat ending and the explosive burst of the "James Bond Theme" at the film's very end suggests Bond will return in spite of the situation he finds himself in at the climax of this movie. With the return of Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever , the guitar made a comeback along with a full orchestral version during a hovercraft sequence. On
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