10 Greatest James Bond Themes In The History of the Franchise

1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - John Barry

This is the big one. The standard to which all others shall be judged, and to think: it has no lyrics (at least none released to the public), it€™s simply titled after the film itself, and its opening sequence mostly rehashes photos of old villains and silhouetted ladies making up the symbol of England€™s monarchy. And yet, that€™s all we need to convince us that James Bond is the ultimate hard spy. A man who€™ll always protect Queen and country, serving his nation with pride and dignity, while protecting it from those who would do it harm. No words are needed to convey that, for all John Barry needs is an awesome horn section dominating an already masterful arrangement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRJnK-uWbfQ It€™s not €œthe€ James Bond theme, that would be the theme from Dr. No, seeing as it was the first and most memorable tune presented. However, that doesn€™t mean it shouldn€™t be a very close Second, if not tied with that theme for the honor. Not to mention, it€™s immensely hummable, and memorable enough to not only inspire The Propellerheads and David Arnold to remix it in the late 90€™s; but to also be used in the ad campaign for The Incredibles. Which also owes a huge debt to John Barry, as he dropped out of scoring the film but inspired Michael Giacchino to riff on his various Bond themes as his replacement.
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Mike Reyes may or may not be a Time Lord, but he's definitely the Doctor Who editor here at What Culture. In addition to his work at What Culture, Mr. Reyes writes for Cocktails and Movies, as well as his own personal blogs Mr. Controversy and The Bookish Kind. On top of that, he's also got a couple Short Stories and Novels in various states of completion, like any good writer worth their salt. He resides in New Jersey, and compiles his work from all publications on his Facebook page.