Sam Smith sings the Spectre theme

If you were the latest singing sensation, you know the kind that brings whole arenas to its knees, what would you say is the best way to follow up a series of hit singles, a multi-Platinum selling album and several Brits and Grammy trophies?  Sam Smith faced that dilemma a year ago and he decided that it would be best to trace the footsteps of fellow Brit Adele from two years ago. And that is, he will sing the theme song of a James Bond movie.

Remember that Adele at that time was being hailed as the savior of the British music industry with massive big sellers in songs like Rolling In The Deep, Someone Like You, phenomenal albums in 21 and 18 and some Brit and Grammy trophies. While fans were waiting with bated breath for what she will do next, she surprised everybody by composing and performing the theme for a James Bond movie, Skyfall. It now looks like Adele made an excellent decision. Skyfall turned out not only be a big hit, it also won for Adele the Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy for Best Movie Theme Song.

Then came Smith, another Brit savior with his album The Lonely Hour and songs like Stay With Me, Leave Your Lover, I’m Not The Only One and I’ve Told You Now. He also has those very desirable Brit and Grammy trophies at home.  Now like Adele, his latest recording is the theme from the upcoming James Bond movie, Spectre starring Daniel Craig.  The song is titled Writing’s On The Wall. It was composed by Sam and Jimmy Napes. Maybe, it will also give Smith an Oscar, plus a Globe, Grammy, etc.

Now, there have already been 24 James Bond movies since the series started in 1962 with Dr. No and Sean Connery as M16 Agent 007 James Bond. And beginning with that now very familiar piece of music composed by Monty Norman and performed by John Barry and Orchestra to signal Bond’s presence, the James Bond theme has become as iconic as the James Bond girls, James Bond villains, martinis and Aston Martins and other items associated with Ian Fleming’s creation. Thus these past years have seen a succession of varied artists do their own takes on the James Bond theme.

These range from Paul McCartney himself to Madonna, Carly Simon, to Tina Turner. Smith shares a singular distinction with the legendary vocalists Matt Monroe and Tom Jones. Smith, Monroe and Jones are the only three solo male British artists to record a James Bond theme. Monroe’s was From Russia With Love in 1963 while Jones’ was Thunderball in 1965. There have already been lots of British acts but like McCartney’s Wings and Duran Duran, they were all groups or females like Shirley Bassey and Adele.  Incidentally, Bassey is the only one who was tapped to sing the theme three times. She came out for Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker.

Smith is in very good company as James Bond theme interpreter and he came out with a song that is most deserving of the honor. Writing’s On The Wall is a soulful, lushly arranged ballad that really shows off Smith’s heartfelt falsettos. There is an air of danger and doomed romance in the song which I am sure you will agree are right ingredients for a James Bond movie.

Since Spectre is due for release before the end of the year, it is quite likely that Writing’s On The Wall will be in Smith’s song line-up when he arrives for his first Manila concert next month. Remember that he was set to perform here last May but he had to undergo vocal chord surgery and had to stop singing for several months. Well, his voice is now as good as new and he will be performing on Nov. 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

For fans and for the curious, here is the list of James Bond films, their theme songs and performers: Dr. No, 1962, James Bond theme performed by Barry and Orchestra; From Russia With Love 1963, From Russia With Love by Monroe; Goldfinger, 1964, Goldfinger performed by Bassey; Thunderball, 1965 Thunderball performed by Jones; You Only Live Twice, 1967, You Only Live Twice and by Nancy Sinatra; On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969, We Have All The Time In The World performed by Louie Armstrong.

Diamonds Are Forever 1971, Diamonds Are Forever performed by Bassey; Live And Let Die, 1973, Live And Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings; The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974 The Man With The Golden Gun sung by Lulu; The Spy Who Loved Me 1977, Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon; Moonraker, 1979, Moon Raker performed again by Shirley Bassey; For Your Eyes Only 1981, For Your Eyes Only performed by Sheena Easton; Octopussy 1983 All Time High by Rita Coolidge.

A View To A Kill 1985 A View To A Kill performed by Duran Duran; The Living Daylights 1987, The Living Daylights by the Icelandic band A-ha; Licence To Kill 1989, Licence To Kill performed by Gladys Knight; Golden Eye 1995, Golden Eye by Tina Turner; Tomorrow Never Dies 1997, Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow.

The World Is Not Enough 1999, The World Is Not Enough by Garbage; Die Another Day 2002, Die Another Day by Madonna; Casino Royale 2006, You Know My Name by Chris Cornell; Quantum of Solace 2008, Another Way To Die performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys; Skyfall 2012, Skyfall performed by Adele; and Spectre 2015, Writing’s On The Wall by composed by Smith and Jimmy Napes and also performed by Smith.