Moore! Moore! Moore! Roger Moore RIP - in Song

Sad to hear of the passing of Roger Moore today. He did live a long (89 years), adventure-filled life, especially playing James Bond 007 for 12 years.

To celebrate the Bond I grew up on (although not my favorite; shhh!), let's go through his Bond theme library, song-by-song.


Live and Let Die (1973) - Paul McCartney and Wings

Bond meets blaxploitation. LALD is my favorite Roger Moore Bond movie and this theme song is one of the reasons why. A freshly, post-Beatles McCartney made the first "rock song" Bond theme with Beatles producer George Martin. Don't even think of mentioning the Guns N'Roses version.


The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Lulu

The underrated, forgotten '70s Bond movie, it's also another favorite. And for the youngsters (well 45 and younger) who only know Lulu from Absolutely Fabulous jokes, she was a 60s/70s pop star, tiny in size with a big belting voice. Carrying on in the rocky vein of LALD but sadly not much of a hit.


The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Carly Simon

It's now the late '70s, so the singer-songwriter era is well underway. We get Carly's lovely power ballad that starts off delicate and booms its way to the end. I guess it was either singer-songwriter or disco for a Bond theme in 1977. Nobody does it better, Carly. Although a few later themes might take your throne.


Moonraker (1979) - Shirley Bassey

Shirley Bassey started off the '70s Bond with Sean Connery and Diamonds are Forever and now ends the '70s with Roger Moore and another lush Bond theme (to date, her last). Can we talk about that for a second? I was hoping they would have brought Shirley back to introduce a new Bond with Casino Royale/Daniel Craig, but no. If Idris Elba, the rumored possible new Bond, is chosen, please let Shirley do her swansong Bond theme. She's turning 80 this year. The band I'm in will gladly write and produce it for you Ms. Shirley, and pull a Propellerheads thing twenty years later.


For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Sheena Easton

We've hit the '80s and we needed a big power ballad to get us through the beginning of Reagan. How about a 21-year-old from Scotland singing onscreen throughout the theme (a first, and last for Bond themes)? The beautiful Easton was probably a big bonus in making this theme a smash hit. Blondie was rumored to have been asked to do the theme, but the producers went with making Sheena a star instead.


Octopussy (1983) - Rita Coolidge

The theme is actually titled "All Time High" (could they really get away with a song called "Octopussy"?) and it's not only the weakest of the Roger Moore Bond themes, but also the weakest of the entire series. Originally new star Laura Branigan was supposed to have recorded this song, but meddling producers changed their mind and cast '70s has-been singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge instead. Shame that this song is a milquetoast ballad for LITE-FM at the peak of '80s British New Wave. Can you imagine Eurythmics or Culture Club taking on a theme at this time? We'll have to wait for Moore's final Bond film for that joy.


A View to a Kill (1985) - Duran Duran

The producers finally saw the error of their ways and knew they needed a pop hit single to bring in the MTV kids. Roger Moore was 58(!) when this Bond film came out so they needed a shot of young heartthrob energy. They found it in five pouty pretty boys from England and gave the series its only #1 single so far. What a way for Moore to say goodbye to the series with this mid-80s synthy bombastic hit.