Monty Norman, the composer of The James Bond Theme, has died, the BBC reported.
Norman was hired to score Dr. No, the first Bond film produced by Eon Productions. There were disputes how much Norman contributed versus John Barry, who orchestrated the Bond theme for the movie.
Norman said he based the theme off something he wrote for a play titled A House For Mr. Biswas. Norman won a 2001 court case after suing The Sunday Times “over an article which said he did not write the James Bond theme,” the BBC reported at the time.
The composer only worked for Eon one other time — 1963’s Call Me Bwana, a comedy starring Bob Hope.
Starting with From Russia With Love, Barry composed six straight Bond films (From Russia With Love through Diamonds Are Forever). Barry ended up composing 11 Eon Bond movies overall.
Nevertheless, Norman’s Bond theme credit was included throughout the Eon series.
In 2013, Norman described how the Bond theme came together.
Filed under: James Bond Films, James Bond Music | Tagged: Call Me Bwana, Dr. No, Eon Productions, John Barry, Monty Norman, The James Bond Theme |
The Spy Command 
Funny how neither Barry nor Norman acknowledged that Artie Shaw’s Nightmare served as key inspiration for the Bond theme.
Could you have found worse picture?