26. Chris Cornell – “You Know My Name”
Daniel Craig’s first outing as 007 was a hard reboot for the series, but Chris Cornell’s Casino Royale theme song didn’t match the film’s bold new vision for the globetrotting spy. Instead of offering a memorable Bond song, we got what sounds like a forgettable track from a late-’90s grunge rock compilation of theme song covers.
25. Tom Jones – “Thunderball”
Tom Jones seems like the perfect vocalist for a James Bond tune. Coming off the heels of 1964’s Goldfinger (which introduced the opening credits song, sung by Shirley Bassey), Thunderball put another Welsh singer—this time a man—behind the mic. But it simply sounds like a rehash of its predecessor, an unremarkable ballad about a man who strikes “like thunderball,” which… doesn’t actually make any sense.
24. Lulu – “The Man With the Golden Gun”
Lulu’s pop stylings made her a blue-eyed soul icon—and her biggest hits are peppy and vibrant. This theme song, however, is clunky and jarring.
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23. Madonna – “Die Another Day”
Maybe Madonna should have had her shot at a James Bond tune when she was an up-and-coming ’80s pop star. Instead, she phoned in this dance track for Pierce Brosnan’s last (and worst) Bond film, Die Another Day. It’s Autotuned to hell—and has the singer inexplicably purring, “Sigmund Freud: Analyze this.” Wrong movie franchise!
22. A-ha – “The Living Daylights”
Don’t you sort of wish David Bowie recorded a James Bond theme? I get the feeling that the Bond producers had the same dream, but they couldn’t book him for the gig and instead employed the services of… A-ha.
21. Lani Hall – “Never Say Never Again”
With music by score composer Michael Legrand and hypnotizing vocals from Lani Hall, this title song is another departure from the usual Bond theme expectations. It’s a generally fine listen, but the track doesn’t exactly enhance the on-screen action in the opening titles.
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20. Shirley Bassey – “Moonraker”
Here’s another song in the catalog that takes all of the Bond cliches: big orchestra with swooning strings, a catchy tempo, and a big, bold vocal performance from Shirley Bassey. This particular combo, however, is mostly unremarkable.
19. Sam Smith – “Writing’s on the Wall”
From the mediocre Spectre, Sam Smith’s Oscar-winning tune is, well, just fine. It really just sounds like a sad Sam Smith ballad.
18. Matt Monro – “From Russia With Love”
From Russia With Love is the second James Bond movie—and the first with an original song composed for the credits. The opening credits opted for a short acoustic rendition, while Matt Monro’s vocal track played over the end credits. It’s a nice song, but not a standout.
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17. Duran Duran – “A View to a Kill”
Look, I get that “A View to a Kill” is fun and dancey and very Duran Duran, but I still have to say it’s a missed opportunity not having A View to a Kill co-star Grace Jones singing this one.
16. Garbage – “The World Is Not Enough”
Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has the perfect voice for a Bond song, and “The World Is Not Enough” is one of the better-case scenarios when it comes to blending the typical Bond vibe with a rock band. It’s unfortunate, however, that—much like the film it represents—it’s not exactly a standout in the franchise.
16. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass – “Casino Royale”
This is unusual entry, sure—this track comes from the 1967 parody flick, Casino Royale. It starred a rogues gallery of Hollywood greats of the time like Peter Sellers, David Niven, and Orson Welles. This vibrant tune, composed by Burt Baccharach and performed by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, is simplistic, but it’ll get you in the mood for a silly Bond spoof.
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14. Adele – “Skyfall”
It’s really shocking that Adele’s 2012 track was the first Bond theme to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. Is it good? Damn right it is. At the time, Adele was coasting on the success of her record-breaking album, 21.
13. Sheryl Crow – “Tomorrow Never Dies”
Sheryl Crow is certainly an unexpected choice for a Bond song, especially since it doesn’t really capture her general vibe as a solo artist (the dripping strings do, however, bring to mind Bobbie Genty’s “Ode to Billie Joe,” a song Crow later covered). But she nails the sultry vocals with a particularly ’90s ennui. You get the sense that Crow doesn’t really care either way what happens tomorrow.
12. Gladys Knight – “License to Kill”
Gladys Knight is an R&B queen—and her attempt at a Bond tune brings some necessary soul to what could be an overwrought and bloated theme song. Sure, it has all of the trappings of a treacly ’80s love song (the production is bloated with keyboards and backing vocals), but Knight still makes it sexy—and the video proves she can pull of a tux pretty well.
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11. Jack White & Alicia Keys – “Another Way to Die”
Jack White and Alicia Keys’s duet is the only two-hander in the film franchise, and the Quantum of Solace theme is one of the (good) true rock songs in the Bond catalog. It’s a great mix of White’s goth-adjacent rock and Keyes’s soulful voice. It works a lot better in practice than one would expect, but it’s not exactly the most memorable Bond tune.
10. Tina Turner – “GoldenEye”
Tina Turner is the perfect choice for a Bond theme song. “GoldenEye,” which accompanied Pierce Brosnan’s debut as 007, is slinky, sexy, and reminiscent of Shirley Bassey’s three songs. While Turner’s vocals aren’t as powerful as Bassey’s, her instrument blends well with the big orchestrations. That it’s both reminiscent of a classic Bond tune—while also standing out as a ’90s sex jam—makes it the perfect combination.
9. Louis Armstrong – “We Have All the Time in the World”
There’s a reason why this song feels like an outlier among the other Bond tunes: While it was written by Bond composer John Barry, it wasn’t used in the opening credits of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service—which is often the most overlooked Bond film, since it’s the only one that starred actor George Lazenby. This track is another undeniable gem, thanks to Louis Armstrong’s iconic vocals.
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8. Rita Coolidge – “All Time High”
This might be a controversial placement, but I stand by it. The theme from Octopussy—which, for understandable reasons, does not share a title with the film—is classic AM Gold and a bona fide pop hit. It might be the most anti-James Bond theme song in the entire franchise, which serves this track well.
7. Shirley Bassey – “Diamonds Are Forever”
Diamonds Are Forever is known for being Sean Connery’s final film in the Eon-produced films (he’d return in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, a sort-of remake of Thunderball). It also served as Shirley Bassey’s second shot at Bond theme song duties. While it’s better than “Moonraker” and less iconic than “Goldfinger,” this jam is an earworm that will likely not leave your head any time soon.
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