RIP To Monty Norman, The “Sound Of 007″…

It’s one of cinema’s most iconic theme songs, and the composer Monty Norman has sadly died…he was 94…

For those who need a quick refresher, here is the iconic them song that has opened each film since “Dr. No”….

According to an online obituary, Norman “got his start in show business as a big band singer in the 1950s, but by the end of the decade had pivoted to songwriting, penning tunes for, among others, Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele and Bob Hope.”

In 1958, he contributed to such West End musicals as the English-language version of Irma la Douce and Make Me An Offer, drawing the attention of James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli, who recruited Norman to compose the score for 1962’s Dr. No. 

According to the BBC, Norman reused a theme from one of his earlier, and unproduced, project, a stage version of VS Naipaul’s A House For Mr Biswas. The composition was initially called “Bad Sign Good Sign” but would soon become an indelible part of the Bond universe.

“My Name’s Bond…James Bond.”

From that moment, and 25 films later, that iconic theme has set us up for the adventures of James Bond 007…and each one also had a title credits song – sung by artists as varied as Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney and Adele…want to hear them all?

Click here for a terrific mashup and a look at the best and worst Bond themes:

Censored Bond Music!

Did you know that this guy, Alice Cooper, also wrote a Bond theme? But as you can see, he’s not to happy about how it turned out:

Well, that’s just one of many censored Bond theme songs…read about all of them by clicking on the story below:

RIP to Money Norman, who created a hunting theme song that has last for decades…

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