On Mon, 27 Nov 2006, Lucas John wrote:
> Looking at the song titles I realized that I completely forgot about
> 'All the Time in the World' from OHMSS. Definitely on my top 5 Bond
> song list.

Absolutely -- I believe I even put it on my wedding CD. 

And if you're into weird lists and trivia -- and really, who isn't? -- I
suspect that, despite how long this franchise has been running, Louis
Armstrong might be the only Bond-theme singer who has passed away. . . .

Okay, I just fact-checked, and . . . it depends on how you look at it.

Three films did not have theme songs over the opening credits, and by some
strange coincidence, the singers in the two movies that *did* have theme
songs (in *other* parts of the movie) both died a long time ago.

   1962 -- Dr. No -- no theme song, just the famous "Bond theme" by Monty
      Norman (born in 1928)
   1963 -- From Russia with Love -- Matt Monro (1930-1985) is dead, but
      the opening credits are instrumental and do *not* feature his
      singing; he sings over the closing credits instead
   1969 -- On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
      is dead, but his song 'We Have All the Time in the World' actually
      appears in the *middle* of the film; the opening credits are a
      completely unrelated John Barry instrumental; the soundtrack also
      includes Nina singing 'Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?'

Apart from that, every single singer who performed a theme song over the
opening credits is still with us, at least according to Wikipedia:

   Shirley Bassey (born 1937) -- Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever
      (1971), Moonraker (1979)
   Tom Jones (born 1940) -- Thunderball (1965)
   Nancy Sinatra (born 1940) -- You Only Live Twice (1967)
   Paul McCartney (born 1942) -- Live and Let Die (1973) -- although the
      song is officially credited to Paul McCartney & Wings, and if that
      includes Linda McCartney (1941-1998), she'd be dead now.
   Lulu (born 1948) -- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
   Carly Simon (born 1945) -- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
   Sheena Easton (born 1959) -- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
   Rita Coolidge (born 1945) -- Octopussy (1983)
   Duran Duran (born between 1958 and 1962) -- A View to a Kill (1985)
   a-ha (born between 1959 and 1962) -- The Living Daylights (1987)
   Gladys Knight (born 1944) -- License to Kill (1989)
   Tina Turner (born 1939) -- GoldenEye (1995)
   Sheryl Crow (born 1962) -- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997); the closing
      credits were sung by k.d. lang (born 1961)
   Garbage (born between 1953 and 1966) -- The World Is Not Enough (1999);
      vocalist Shirley Manson is the first Bond-theme singer who was born
      *after* the franchise got off the ground in October 1962
   Madonna (born 1958) -- Die Another Day (2002)
   Chris Cornell (born 1964) -- Casino Royale (2006)

Make of all that what you will.  And I must say, I guess I'll know I'm old
when the person who sings the Bond theme is younger than I am.

Hey, speaking of age, let's check something else out (all ages approximate
since I'm too lazy to check the birthdates):

   Matt Monro -- born 1930, sang 1963, age: 33
   Shirley Bassey -- born 1937, sang 1964-1971-1979, age: 27-34-42
   Tom Jones -- born 1940, sang 1965, age: 25
   Nancy Sinatra -- born 1940, sang 1967, age: 27
   Louis Armstrong -- born 1901, sang 1969, age: 68
   Paul McCartney -- born 1942, sang 1973, age: 31
   Lulu -- born 1948, sang 1974, age: 26
   Carly Simon -- born 1945, sang 1977, age: 32
   Sheena Easton -- born 1959, sang 1981, age: 22
   Rita Coolidge -- born 1945, sang 1983, age: 38
   Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) -- born 1958, sang 1985, age: 27
   Morten Harket (a-ha) -- born 1959, sang 1987, age: 28
   Gladys Knight -- born 1944, sang 1989, age: 45
   Tina Turner -- born 1939, sang 1995, age: 56
   Sheryl Crow -- born 1962, sang 1997, age: 35
   Shirley Manson (Garbage) -- born 1966, sang 1999, age: 33
   Madonna -- born 1958, sang 2002, age: 44
   Chris Cornell -- born 1964, sang 2006, age: 42

So Louis Armstrong was easily the oldest singer, even if he doesn't quite
count, and runner-up was Tina Turner; and the youngest was Sheena Easton.

Oh, and let's not forget John Barry (born 1933), who composed the scores
and co-wrote the songs for almost all the Bond films between 1963 and 1987
(and may have had some role on Monty Norman's "Bond theme" in 1962, too).

Uh-oh, I feel another list coming on ... of composers ...

   Monty Norman (born 1928) -- Dr. No (1962)
   John Barry (born 1933) -- From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger
      (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her
      Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The
      Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983),
      A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987)
   George Martin (born 1926) -- Live and Let Die (1973)
   Marvin Hamlisch (born 1944) -- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
   Bill Conti (born 1943) -- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
   Michael Kamen (1948-2003) -- License to Kill (1989)
   Eric Serra (born 1959) -- GoldenEye (1995)
   David Arnold (born 1962) -- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is
      Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006)

Or, to arrange this by age:

   Monty Norman -- born 1928, wrote 1962, age: 34
   John Barry -- born 1933, wrote 1963 to 1987, age: 30 to 54
   George Martin -- born 1926, wrote 1973, age: 47
   Marvin Hamlisch -- born 1944, wrote 1977, age: 33
   Bill Conti -- born 1943, wrote 1981, age: 38
   Michael Kamen -- born 1948, wrote 1989, age: 41
   Eric Serra -- born 1959, wrote 1995, age: 36
   David Arnold -- born 1962, wrote 1997 to 2006, age: 35 to 44

So Michael Kamen is the only score composer who is no longer with us, and
John Barry is both the youngest and the oldest composer this series has
ever had, and none of these composers were born after the Bond series got
under way (although David Arnold, born in February 1962, came close!).

> OHMSS is the Bond film that comes closest to the book.

Never read that one, but I remember reading Goldfinger about 20 years ago
and thinking the film was pretty close to the book (the only major
difference I remember is that one character was killed in the film who
either wasn't killed at all in the book, or was killed much later).

--- Peter T. Chattaway ------------- http://filmchatblog.blogspot.com/ ---
Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they
   claim remembrance, on account of their scars. -- Chris Marker, La Jetee

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