004. Diamonds Are Forever



The second-best Shirley Bassey theme, and you can probably guess from the previous entry that Moonraker doesn’t outrank it in my book. (That’s a hint, as if you needed one.) Kanye West sampled it for “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” but perhaps even more intriguing is this tidbit from Wikipedia: “In an interview for the television programme James Bond's Greatest Hits composer John Barry revealed that he told Bassey to imagine she was singing about a penis.” And this was many years before Goldmember.

003. Live and Let Die



I’ll admit this is a sentimental favorite. Live and Let Die was the first Bond I saw in theaters – yes, I was part of the generation that had to be convinced Roger Moore wasn’t the James Bond for the ages – and the soundtrack album was one of the first LPs I purchased with my allowance. It still holds up, though, and I must correct the Times piece on one factual matter: Sir Paul isn’t singing “in this ever-changing world in which we live in,” it’s “if this ever-changing world in which we’re livin’.” OK, so it’s not much better, but give him credit for “You gotta give the other fella hell.”

002. You Only Live Twice



It’s too bad Frank Sinatra never got around to recording a ring-a-ding-ding Bond theme, but his daughter Nancy acquitted herself nicely with this haunting entry. It’s not clear whether John Barry told her to imagine she was singing about a penis. But you can bet he’d never tell Frank that. (Yes, I’m vamping now. I really have nothing to say about “You Only Live Twice” except that it’s stuck in my head now.)

001. Goldfinger



Well, of course. Shirley Bassey’s first Bond theme set the template for all that would follow. It’s the brassiest, it’s the bombastic-est, it’s simply the Bondest. Choose it at your next karaoke outing. You’ll make a lot of new friends.

Part One