10 Best James Bond Songs That Were REJECTED (And Why)
3. Johnny Cash - Thunderball
Rejected because: It wasn't British enough
Having refused to make use of Mr Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang late in the day, executives at MGM opened themselves up to any chancer who might be willing to pen a song that was actually called Thunderball to fit over the credits of the film of the same name. Enter Bond superfan Johnny Cash.
Cash wasn't approached by MGM, but rather came to them with his own take on Thunderball. While John Barry may have struggled to write a song about a superweapons project, Cash made it look easy with an energetic country rock tribute to the "fury of the mighty Thunderball". In fact, Cash's lyrics are far closer to the actual plot of the movie than either Mr Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang or the Tom Jones Thunderball.
Cash's song, which eventually saw the light of day on 1978 compilation Johnny & June, may share a trumpet fanfare with the official Thunderball but has very little else in common with it.
This version of Thunderball genuinely slaps like a classic Cash song should. Indeed, with its propulsive guitar rhythm, it sounds a whole lot more "Johnny Cash" than "Bond theme" and therein lies its downfall. United Artists wanted jazzy swinging 60s Britain, not something that would have made an awesome theme for a western, so stuck with the song John Barry wrote for Jones.