"You Only Live Twice" | ||||
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Single by Nancy Sinatra | ||||
from the album You Only Live Twice | ||||
B-side | "Jackson" | |||
Released | 1967 | |||
Recorded | 1967 at the CTS Studios in London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:55 (single version) 2:44 (soundtrack LP version) 3:28 (soundtrack LP end title version) | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | John Barry | |||
Nancy Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
Single version |
"You Only Live Twice", performed by Nancy Sinatra, is the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film of the same name. The music was by veteran Bond film composer John Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The song is widely recognized for its striking opening bars, featuring a simple 2-bar theme in the high octaves of the violins and lush harmonies from French horns. It is considered by some to be among the best James Bond theme songs, [1] and has become one of Nancy Sinatra's best known hits. Shortly after Barry's production, Sinatra's producer Lee Hazlewood released a more guitar-based single version.
The song has been covered by many artists including Coldplay, Soft Cell, Björk and Shirley Bassey. In 1998, Robbie Williams re-recorded portions of the song (including the opening strings) for use in his UK number-one single "Millennium".
James Bond veteran John Barry returned to the franchise to produce the score. The lyrics were by Leslie Bricusse, who had previously cowritten the lyrics for the theme to Goldfinger .
An initial version of the song was performed by Julie Rogers and recorded with a 50 or 60 piece orchestra at CTS Studios. However, this version was not used since Barry decided to re-write and re-record the song: "It was usually the producers that said 'this isn't working, there's a certain something that it needed'. If that energy wasn't there, if that mysterioso kind of thing wasn't there, then it wasn't going to work for the movie." [2] The Rogers song shares only two lines with the final version, "You only live twice", and "you’ll pay the price". Although there are many similarities in the harmony and orchestration with the final version, it is essentially a different song, with a less lush and more ethnic character.
The film's producer Cubby Broccoli, wanted his friend Frank Sinatra to perform the song. Frank suggested that they use his daughter instead. Barry wanted to use Aretha Franklin, but the producers insisted that he use Nancy instead, who was enjoying great popularity in the wake of her single, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". [3]
The final version (2:44) featured in the film's opening title sequence and on the soundtrack LP is in the key of B and has a single vocal track. The song was recorded with a 60 piece orchestra on 2 May 1967 at the CTS Studios in Bayswater, London. [4] Sinatra later recalled that she was incredibly nervous during the recording, and it took around 30 takes to acquire enough material. [5] Producer John Barry eventually created the final version by incorporating vocals from 25 takes. [6] A longer mix (3:28) was used for the end titles, and incorporates different vocal takes in places.
In UK the soundtrack had been released, but while soundtracks such as Doctor Zhivago and Fiddler on the Roof hit the Top 20, You Only Live Twice was less successful. Nancy Sinatra's single version squeezed into the Top 20 for two weeks only. Barry also released an instrumental version but this failed to chart.
In Japan, the soundtrack was released in a gatefold with images from the film and a plot summary. [7]
As compared to the soundtrack versions, the single version was constructed from a different set of takes at about the same tempo, but with all instruments and vocals performed a full semitone sharper, in the key of C. It has double-tracked lead vocals, plus backing wordless vocals by an unnamed singer, and occasional backing vocals by Nancy herself. The iconic lead guitar harmony was replaced by a more subdued guitar at a lower pitch, playing throughout the song. This version also has rock drums gently playing throughout.
The vinyl single was only released in mono. An electronically processed stereo mix (made from a mono source) was eventually released on the circa 1968 Japanese compilation LP Golden Nancy Sinatra, which was reissued on CD and digitally in 2018. A proper stereo mix appeared more widely in 1970 on Nancy's Greatest Hits LP. In 1986, a new stereo remix of the single version was released on the Nancy Sinatra compilation CD The Hit Years. As compared to the original stereo mix, this version has narrower stereo and centered vocals. It has appeared on many compilations since then. The 1970 stereo mix was eventually reissued on Nancy's 2021 Start Walkin' 1965–1976 compilation.
Roy Wood described Barry's string introduction to his song "You Only Live Twice" as "absolute perfection". Mark Monahan of The Daily Telegraph described the lyrics as "mysterious, romantically carpe diem ... at once velvety, brittle and quite bewitching". [8] David Ehrlich of Rolling Stone ranked "You Only Live Twice" the third best James Bond theme song, calling it "a classic." [9]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2021) |
The song is one of the most covered Bond themes.
The song was used in the closing montage of Mad Men's season five finale, "The Phantom". [1] It was used as entrance music for Japanese professional wrestler Osamu Nishimura in ECW.
Chart (1967) | Peak position [17] |
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Australian ARIA Charts | 10 |
Canadian Singles Chart | 39 |
UK Singles Chart | 11 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 44 |
US Easy Listening | 3 |
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer-songwriter, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra and is known for her 1965 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".
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John Barry Prendergast was an English composer and conductor of film music. Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed a band in 1957, the John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Noel Rogers, the head of music at United Artists, approached Barry. This started a successful association between Barry and the Bond series that lasted for 25 years.
David Arnold is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997-2008), as well as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Shaft (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Hot Fuzz (2007), and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day, he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, and for Sherlock, he and co-composer Michael Price won a Creative Arts Emmy for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC / Amazon Prime series Good Omens (2019) adapted by Neil Gaiman from his book Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
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You Only Live Twice is the soundtrack for the fifth James Bond film of the same name. It was composed by Bond veteran John Barry. At the time, this was his fourth credited Bond film. The theme song, "You Only Live Twice", was sung by Nancy Sinatra, the first non-British vocalist of the series, with music by Barry and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The soundtrack has previously been available in two versions on CD – the first, a straight reissue of the LP soundtrack, and the second, an expanded reissue including several previously unreleased tracks. The film soundtrack was recorded at CTS Studios, London. It debuted on the top 40 Billboard 200 album chart on August 19, 1967, and went up to 27.
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