The Music of James Bond

The story of the music that accompanies the adventures of Ian Fleming's intrepid Agent 007 is one of surprising real-life drama. In The Music of James Bond, author Jon Burlingame throws open studio and courtroom doors alike to reveal the full and extraordinary history of the sounds of James Bond, spicing the story with a wealth of fascinating and previously undisclosed tales.

Burlingame devotes a chapter to each Bond film, providing the backstory for the music-- including a reader-friendly analysis of each score --and highlighting musical influences and trends such as John Barry's distinctive sounds for such early scores as Goldfinger and Thunderball, Marvin Hamlisch's disco touch in The Spy Who Loved Me, and the electronica approach that proved disastrous in GoldenEye. Just as important, the book brims with behind-the-scenes anecdotes. We learn about the decades-long controversy over authorship of the "James Bond Theme"; how Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis almost sang the title song for Moonraker; and how top artists like Tom Jones, Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, the Pretenders, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Madonna were enticed to record for Agent 007. Burlingame shares the untold stories of how Eric Clapton played guitar for Licence to Kill but saw his work shelved and how Amy Winehouse very nearly co-wrote and sang the theme for Quantum of Solace.

New interviews with many Bond songwriters and composers, coupled with extensive research as well as fascinating and previously undiscovered details--including tales of temperamental artists, unexpected hits and surprising convergences of great music with unforgettable images--make The Music of James Bond a must read for 007 buffs and all popular music fans.

Jon Burlingame is one of the nation's leading writers on the subject of music for film and television. He writes regularly for Daily Variety and teaches film-music history at the University of Southern California. His other work has included three previous books on film and TV music; articles for other publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Premiere and Emmy magazines; and producing radio specials for Los Angeles classical station KUSC.