Bond... James Bond

You know his name, you know his number.... but did you know you can get some great James Bond/007 music right here in the library?

It was 50 years ago... "Dr. No" premiered in 1962 with a then mostly unknown Sean Connery in the lead as Ian Fleming's suave British spy. The legacy of the Bond franchise is enormous, spawning countless films, spin-offs, books, parodies, and of course music. Wonderful music. Shaken, and stirred.

The latest James Bond film "Skyfall" opens in theaters in November 2012. To celebrate, I put on my tuxedo and took the Aston Martin (aka a run down 1990 Plymouth) for a spin and looked for James Bond theme songs and musicians for you!

If you enjoy Bond theme songs, you can have them all (if the world isn't enough for you) on "The Best of Bond: James Bond." From the very first classic instrumental theme song of Sean Connery's "Dr. No", up to the first Daniel Craig film "Casino Royale" you can hear all the Bond songs on it with the exception of the two most recent films.

Shirley Bassey is one of the most iconic Bond theme song singers in the film history. Her voice was first heard in "Goldfinger" and then in "Diamonds Are Forever." Be sure and look for the "Best of Shirley Bassey" and you can hear both of those tunes.

Burt Bacharach wasn't officially on a James Bond soundtrack, but he did record a song for a 1968 parody film for "Casino Royale." His song became a huge hit, "The Look of Love." Check out Burt on "The Reel Burt Bacharach" on CD. That is, if Q will let you take it.

The newest addition to the Bond theme songs is the British musician Adele. Her song "Skyfall" was just released. And guess what? You can download it!! Early critics are calling her song perhaps one of the best in the history of the franchise. And considering James Bond dates back 50 years, that's saying a lot. Just visit our music page on the library website and go to Freegal and download your own free copy of Skyfall. While in Freegal you might look around for other artists and songs from the Bond world as well.

If you wish to listen to more music in the Bond film world, don't fret. Just ask Moneypenny (aka your local librarian). We own almost every DVD of the Bond films and you can check them out and hear instrumentals and other tunes by Oscar-winning composers like John Barry as well as the recent compositions of David Arnold.

Before I parachute off into the sunset to save the day from Blofeld, I'm going to list a few of my favorite James Bond songs. Please feel free to comment yours below and share your Bond memories!

1. "Moonraker," sung by Shirley Bassey: this was the first Bond film I ever saw thus it holds very sentinmental value. The music of the Bond films in 1979 had became more lush and orchestrated and the soundtrack to this film is very moving, and Shirley returned yet again to belt out a beautiful tune for an otherwise mediocre film.

2. "From Russia With Love," sung by Matt Monro: The second James Bond film includes the first official Bond song sung by a major musician. The song actually is first heard at the end of the film, whereas an instrumental version opens the film. Matt Monro is perhaps best known for singing the soundtrack tune "Born Free."

3. "You Only Live Twice," sung by Nancy Sinatra: The fifth Bond film includes Frank Sinatra's daughter singing with a haunting beautiful tune. The screenplay for this film was written by children's author Roald Dahl.

4. "We Have All the Time in the World," sung by Louis Armstrong. While not considered an official Bond theme song, this amazing song can be downloaded on Freegal if you do a search for the title and composer John Barry. The song appeared on "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The rest of the soundtrack is a fast paced exciting album to be enjoyed while flying off to London in your jet pack provided by Q. This film was the one and only appearance by George Lazenby as James Bond, and I think he did an amazing job. The soundtrack by John Barry is amazing, perhaps the best in its franchise.

5. "A View to A Kill," sung by Duran Duran. This very 80's tune marked the last film of Roger Moore as Bond, and gave Duran Duran a huge hit. Bond films always brought out the best in musicians and bands, from Tom Jones to Paul McCartney, and more recently with Tina Turner and Chris Cornell.

James Bond will return........