The 007 theme is one of the most famous themes in movie history. The infamous guitar riff that gives the theme its secret agent feel was performed by Vic Flick, who spoke to Morning Edition about the day he played it, 50 years ago.
In 1962, Flick was a 25-year-old studio guitarist who was asked to help give the James Bond theme more of a punch. Composer Monty Norman, who wrote the theme, was scrambling to complete the score for the first Bond movie, Dr. No. He’d scratched out a rough draft of the theme, but Flick says it fell a little flat.
Then the Bond producers heard the soundtrack to the 1960 teenage “angst” movie Beat Girl, and it was just sound they were looking for. The Beat Girl theme was written by composer John Barry and features Flick on guitar. The Bond producers hired Barry to arrange 007’s theme, and he asked Flick to help.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
