Mister 8

In our last tablature installment, we wrote about the Lionel Bart theme for From Russia With Love, noting that John Barry did the rest of the score, including today’s composition of focus, “007.”

e|-----------------0---0-----------------|
B|-------------2-0-------4-0-2---2-0-----|
G|-------------------------------------1-|
D|----2-----2------------------------2---|
A|--2-----2------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------|

[See full tablature]

We turn once again to Kristopher Spencer’s invaluable Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979 for a bit of context:

…Someone connected with the production wanted [Lionel] Bart to compose the entire score, but Barry was given the go-ahead. He delivered an exciting score that cemented his place in the franchise. Most importantly, Barry wrote the action cue, “007,” which would prove very adaptable in subsequent scores as an action alternative to “The James Bond Theme”….With all due respect to Sean Connery’s animal magnetism and macho heroics in the title role, the Bond craze wouldn’t have been nearly as potent without music like “007.”

The version tabbed here was adapted from the track on the From Russia With Love soundtrack, but the alternate action theme continued to be used up through Moonraker:

A handful of other bands and musical artists have taken a shot at the song. Here are a few of my favorites:

Billy Strange:

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Ray Barretto:

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Perry & The Harmonics:

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