James Bond Soundtrack: Composers and Songs for All 25 Films

Ten composers have scored the 25 EON Bond films, and John Barry wrote the most, with 11 of the 25 scores. Monty Norman opened the series on Dr. No (1962), directed by Terence Young, and the James Bond Theme from that film, performed by the John Barry Orchestra and composed by Monty Norman, is the instrumental that carries the character's name. Dr. No had a reported UK premiere on 7 October 1962 and a reported US release on 8 May 1963.

Barry took over from From Russia with Love, where Matt Monro sang the title song, and he scored Goldfinger (1964), directed by Guy Hamilton, along with Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Moonraker, Octopussy, A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights.

Seven composers scored only one EON film each: Monty Norman on Dr. No, George Martin on Live and Let Die, Marvin Hamlisch on The Spy Who Loved Me, Bill Conti on For Your Eyes Only, Michael Kamen on Licence to Kill, Éric Serra on GoldenEye and Hans Zimmer on No Time to Die.

David Arnold then scored five films in a row, from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) through The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). Thomas Newman followed with Skyfall (2012), directed by Sam Mendes, and Spectre (2015).

Did Hans Zimmer do 007? Yes, Hans Zimmer scored No Time to Die (2021), directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, and it is the only EON film in the series credited to him.

The two non EON Bond films were scored by Burt Bacharach (Casino Royale (1967)) and Michel Legrand (Never Say Never Again, 1983). Neither counts toward the 25 official EON films. The 1967 film features The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield, and Never Say Never Again features the title song by Lani Hall.

The songs that define the James Bond series are the instrumental James Bond Theme, Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey, Live and Let Die by Wings, Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon, Skyfall by Adele and No Time to Die by Billie Eilish.

The early run set the pattern. Dr. No pairs the James Bond Theme with Jump Up by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Matt Monro sang the title song for From Russia with Love, and Shirley Bassey sang the title song for Goldfinger, then returned for Moonraker. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is remembered for We Have All the Time in the World by Louis Armstrong.

The 1970s widened the field. Live and Let Die carries three notable tracks: the title song by Wings (Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney), a version by B. J. Arnau in the nightclub scene, and Just a Closer Walk with Thee by the Olympia Brass Band. Lulu sang the title song for The Man with the Golden Gun, and Carly Simon sang Nobody Does It Better for The Spy Who Loved Me.

The 1980s brought pop acts to the credits. Sheena Easton sang the title song for For Your Eyes Only, Rita Coolidge sang All Time High for Octopussy, and Duran Duran recorded the title song for A View to a Kill, alongside California Girls by Gidea Park with Adrian Baker. The Living Daylights has the title song by a-ha plus two tracks by The Pretenders, If There Was a Man and Where Has Everybody Gone? Licence to Kill features the title song by Gladys Knight and If You Asked Me To by Patti LaBelle.

Sheryl Crow sang the title song for Tomorrow Never Dies, with Surrender by k.d. lang beside it. Garbage sang the title song for The World Is Not Enough, with Only Myself to Blame by Scott Walker, and the soundtrack album is titled The World Is Not Enough. Madonna recorded the title song for Die Another Day.

The Craig era moved the song to center stage. Adele's Skyfall won the Oscar for best original song on 24 February 2013, which TheWrap reported as the first Bond theme to win, and its album is titled Skyfall (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Sam Smith sang Writing's on the Wall for Spectre, and Billie Eilish sang the title song for No Time to Die.

For a ranking of the title songs, see James Bond theme songs, and to match each song to its film in sequence, use James Bond movies in order.