The Best of Bond... James Bond is the title of various compilation albums of music used in the James Bond films made by Eon Productions up to that time. The album was originally released in 1992 as The Best of James Bond, as a one-disc compilation and a two-disc 30th Anniversary Limited Edition compilation with songs that had, at that point, never been released to the public. The single disc compilation was later updated four times in 1999, 2002, 2008, and 2012. The 2008 version was augmented with the addition of a DVD featuring music videos and a documentary. Another two-disc edition, this time containing 50 tracks for the 50th anniversary of the franchise, was released in 2012.
John Barry Prendergast was an English composer and conductor of film music.
Licence to Kill is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton in the role of the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Its story sees Bond being suspended from MI6 as he pursues drug lord Franz Sanchez, who has ordered an attack against Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter and the murder of Felix's wife after their wedding.
Walter Afanasieff, formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer, songwriter, composer and musician of Russian descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first six studio albums. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
The James Bond film series from Eon Productions has featured numerous musical compositions since its inception 1962, many of which are now considered classic pieces of British film music. The best known of these pieces is the "James Bond Theme" by Monty Norman. Other instrumentals, such as "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and various songs performed by several notable British or American artists such as Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice", Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only", Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill", Tina Turner's "Goldeneye" also become identified with the series; Madonna's "Die Another Day" became a dance hit around the world, while A View to a Kill becomes the first and only James Bond song to have reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Three Bond songs have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song: "Skyfall" by Adele, "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith and "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish, with Writing's on the Wall also became the first Bond theme to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart.
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No, released in 1962. Composed by Monty Norman, the piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in every Eon Bond film besides the 2006 reboot Casino Royale.
Narada Michael Walden is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy.
Victor Harold Flick is an English studio guitarist, best known for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".
"If You Asked Me To" is a song written by American songwriter Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by American singer Patti LaBelle for her ninth studio album Be Yourself (1989), and also for the soundtrack to the James Bond film, Licence to Kill. The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who pleads to her significant other: "If you asked me to, I just might change my mind, and let you in my life forever". Three years later, Canadian singer Celine Dion covered the song for her 1992 self-titled second English-language studio album. Released as the album's second single, Dion's version topped the Canadian charts and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Goldfinger" is the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release. The single release of the song gave Bassey her only Billboard Hot 100 top forty hit, peaking in the Top 10 at No. 8 and No. 2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, and in the United Kingdom the single reached No. 21.
Live and Let Die is the soundtrack to the eighth James Bond film of the same name. It was scored by George Martin. The title song was written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Dr. No is the film score for the 1962 film of the same name composed by Monty Norman.
Goldfinger is the soundtrack of the 1964 film of the same name, the third film in the James Bond film series, directed by Guy Hamilton. The album was composed by John Barry and distributed by EMI. Two versions were released initially, one in the United States and the United Kingdom, which varied in terms of length and which tracks were within the soundtrack. In 2003, Capitol-EMI records released a remastered version that contained all the tracks within the film.
A View to a Kill is the soundtrack for the film of the same name, the 14th instalment in the James Bond film series.
The Living Daylights is the soundtrack title for the film The Living Daylights and the eleventh and final Bond soundtrack to be scored by composer John Barry. The soundtrack is notable for its introduction of sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with the orchestra – at the time, a relatively new innovation.
Licence to Kill is a 1989 James Bond film.
Be Yourself is the ninth solo album by American singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on June 26, 1989 in the United States. Her second album with the company following her 1986 platinum album Winner in You, it features the single, "If You Asked Me To" which was also featured on the soundtrack to the James Bond movie, Licence to Kill (1989), and the R&B top ten Prince-written hit "Yo Mister." The album marked LaBelle's foray into new jack swing music with the tracks "I Got It Like That", produced by Full Force, and "Love 89", another Prince contribution.
Whisper a Prayer is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Mica Paris. It was released on 8 June 1993 by 4th & B'way Records, her last for the label. Recording sessions for the album commenced in the spring of 1992 and concluded the following spring with Paris co-writing four of the twelve songs and producing one. Whisper a Prayer features writing and production from Narada Michael Walden, Rod Temperton and Terry Britten all of whom were top record producers at the time.
Jeffrey E. Cohen is an American R&B, soul and funk songwriter and record producer who is best known for the collaboration with prolific singer-songwriter, record producer and drummer Narada Michael Walden. Together, they wrote for numerous artists like Jermaine Stewart, Patti Austin, Aretha Franklin, Shanice, Stacy Lattisaw, George Benson, Gladys Knight, Angela Bofill, Regina Belle, actor-singer Eddie Murphy and Clarence Clemons. As a solo songwriter, he wrote songs for Ryuichi Sakamoto, Herbie Hancock, Rick Astley and Santana. He's won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song along with Narada Michael Walden, for their work "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin. Their songs have been sampled by some hip hop/R&B artists, such as Kris Kross, Faith Evans, Mariah Carey.
"Licence to Kill" is a song by American singer Gladys Knight, written and recorded for the James Bond film Licence to Kill, also from 1989. It was written by Narada Michael Walden, Jeffrey Cohen and Walter Afanasieff. Released as a single on May 30, 1989, the song became a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number six and becoming Knight's last charting solo single there. The song charted well in Europe, peaking atop the Swedish Singles Chart for eight weeks and reaching the top five in seven other European countries. It also peaked at number 79 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart but did not appear on the US Billboard Hot 100.
