I wonder if Monty Norman and John Barry are fist fighting in heaven? The surf guitar and swinging brass of the James Bond theme repeatedly landed composer Norman and arranger Barry in court, as they grappled for the rights to this exceptionally lucrative tune. The courts found for Norman, but Barry, who died in 2011 at the age of 77, did okay for himself, as five-time Academy Award winning composer of “Born Free” (song and score), “The Lion in Winter,” “Out of Africa,” and “Dances with Wolves.”
Admittedly, Bond has one of the coolest, catchiest themes in the history of cinema. In a bizarre twist, Norman revealed he had actually come up with the tune for an earlier project, an abandoned musical based on V.S. Naipaul’s “A House for Mr. Biswas.” See if you can imagine this as the theme for the world’s greatest superspy, or if it comes across as some sort of practical joke.
Whatever alchemy these two musicians shared, we can all be thankful. R.I.P. Monty Norman, dead at 94.