From Madonna to Adele: Stars and songs that Bond

Ellie Goulding sparked off a major frenzy in musicverse recently when she tweeted ‘Live and let die’ (the iconic song by Sir Paul McCartney & Wings for a Bond film) and posted a picture of herself in the recording studio — apparently “too excited to sing”. Not too long ago, the 28-year-old Brit singer’s bestie, Sam Smith had hinted that Ellie might be singing for the upcoming Bond flick, Spectre.If indeed Ellie sings the number, she will be joining the league of legends such as Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Duran Duran, Nancy Sinatra, Madonna and more. We take a look at some of the celebrated Bond theme songs and their stars over the years. Like Bond says, “We aim to please.”
Shirley Bassey: Goldfinger
She happens to hold the record for most James Bond themes by a singer (three songs), which should tell you why she’s our favourite Bond singer. Although Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979) were chartbusters, her most popular number has to be Goldfinger (1964), which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Sir Paul McCartney & Wings: Live and let die
Live And Let Die (1973) happens to be one of the most popular Bond songs of all times for several reasons! It was Roger Moore’s first Bond film, which also featured the legendary rockstar, Sir Paul McCartney; the latter collaborated with his Beatles producer, George Martin, for this song. What more could anyone ask for!

Tina Turner: Goldeneye
It’s well-known that U2 stars Bono and The Edge specially collaborated to pen this song for Turner when they learnt she would be singing the Bond theme. But despite the strong lyrics and dramatic music arrangement, it was Turner’s golden voice that made Goldeneye (1995) an iconic number.

Tom Jones: Thunderball
He’s one of the very few male singers to have sung a Bond theme, but nevertheless, with Thunderball, he captured the spirit of Bond perfectly. It is believed that Jones fainted in the studio while recording the final notes of this song. Later the singer had admitted, “I closed my eyes and I held the note for so long, when I opened my eyes the room was spinning.”

READ: Shirley Bassey wants RiRi to focus on singing instead of wearing skimpy outfits
Duran Duran: A view to a kill
Once again, the Bond makers roped in one of the biggest English pop/rock bands of the 1980s to sing the theme song. A View To A Kill (1985) acquired fame because it happened to be the first Bond song that people could dance to, and it made it to the top spot on charts!

Sheryl Crow: (Tomorrow never dies)
Both these Bond theme songs gained popularity for all the wrong reasons. Although Crow’s song was nominated for the Best Original Song at the 55th Golden Globe Awards, it was slammed by critics for being “whiny”. And Madge, because she had to sing a Bond theme in her illustrious career, invoked Sigmund Freud — not her best move. But, nevertheless, the song was loved by her fans.

Jack White & Alicia Keys: Another way to die
This is one of the few Bond themes that doesn’t have the film’s title in it. But, incidentally, it compiles several words from other Bond titles in the lyrics — ‘golden’, ‘finger’ and ‘solace’ being some of them. Also, it is the first duet Bond theme song and bagged a Grammy Awards nomination in 2009.

Adele: Skyfall
The voice, the lyrics, the dark notes — nothing could go wrong with this song and nothing did. Adele fittingly won accolades across the world for this orchestral pop song. Skyfall (2012) also made history by becoming the first Bond theme to win at Golden Globes, the Brit Awards and the Academy Awards. Need we say more?

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Listen to songs of Shirley Bassey on Gaana.com
WATCH: Shirley Bassey "This Is My Life"