The On Her Majesty's Secret Service Theme

With such a difficult title to write lyrics for, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the sixth James Bond film and first to not star Sean Connery, has an instrumental opening title theme.  This had not been done since 1963’s From Russia with Love, however, a version that contains lyrics by Matt Monro was included during the closing credits of that film.  Although Leslie Bricusse considered writing lyrics for the theme, direct Peter Hunt allowed the instrumental theme to be played.  John Barry composed, arranged, and conducted the soundtrack, including the theme song, which was his fifth successive Bond film to compose.

 

While not the official theme song of the film, Barry, whose biography can be found in a previous post of this series here, composed the love song “We Have All the Time in the World.”  However, many incorrectly refer to the Louis Armstrong number as the movie’s opening theme song, but in reality it is played during a montage in the first half of the picture.  Hal David is credited for the song’s lyrics.

 

Hal David was born May 25, 1921, and died of a stroke in the early morning hours of September 1, 2012.  He was an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick.

 

David (pictured with Burt Bacharach) began writing popular musical lyrics in the 1940s.  His partnership with Bacharach began in 1957 and the duo’s first hit was “The Story of My Life,” recorded by Marty Robbins.

 

David is the only songwriter to have consecutive number one hits in the UK charts when in 1958 a cover of “The Story of My Life” by Michael Holliday and Perry Como’s “Magic Moments” both reached the top spot.

 

Other hits for Bacharach and David include “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”  Film work for the duo includes the title songs from What’s New Pussycat? and Alfie, “The Look of Love” from the unofficial 007 movie Casino Royale, and the Oscar-winning title “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Other compositions from the David and Bacharach team have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

 

Along with Bacharach and Warwick, David’s association with other artists includes The Carpenters, Dusty Springfield, B. J. Thomas, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson, and Julio Iglesias.

 

In 2011, the Library of Congress bestowed David and Bacharach with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award never before given to a songwriting team.  David was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.  He was the founder of the Los Angeles Music Center and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

Nicknamed Satchmo and Pops, Louis Armstrong was born August 4, 1901.  He was a highly influential American jazz trumpeter and singer.  Armstrong became prominent in the 1920s for both his scat singing and solo instrumental performances.  He is considered one of the first African-Americans to “cross over,” in that his music was so highly regarded that the color of his skin became secondary to the music.

 

Growing up in New Orleans, Armstrong was the grandchild of former slaves and his mother worked as a prostitute to make ends meet.  Dropping out of a school for boys at the age of 11, Armstrong worked odd jobs, including singing in a quartet for money.  His cornet playing developed into an impressive skill while playing in a band of the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs.  Armstrong’s musical career started out playing in brass band parades, learning from Joe “King” Oliver, and traveling on a Mississippi River steamboat with the well-regarded band, Fate Marable.

 

At the request of Oliver, Armstrong joined his mentor in Chicago.  During his time in Chicago, Armstrong began recording his music, switched to the trumpet, improved his solo work, and was challenged by other musicians at instrumental competitions.  Eventually making his way to New York City, Armstrong continued to increase his aptitude in playing and singing.  While playing in the pit orchestra of the musical Hot Chocolate, an all-black revue, he appeared as a vocalist, singing “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” a version which became his biggest selling record to date.

 

Following the Great Depression, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles for employment, but he eventually made his way back to Chicago.  However, Armstrong was eventually chased out of Chicago and New Orleans by the mob, which led him to escape to Europe.  His return to the United States resulted in several tours, but due to money dilemmas he hired Joe Glaser, a mobster associated with Al Capone, who resolved his financial struggles, mob troubles, and legal messes.

 

In the 30 years his career spanned, Armstrong worked 300 gigs a year and broke into television and film.  His musical acts included working with artists such as Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, and Ella Fitzgerald.  His most famous hits include “Stardust,” “What a Wonderful World,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and “You Rascal You.”

 

“We Have All the Time in the World” was Armstrong’s final recording, as he died of a heart attack July 6, 1971.  The song did not chart well, only finding popularity following its inclusion in a 1994 Guinness beer commercial when the Irish alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine covered the song.  Upon its re-release, Armstrong’s version reached number three in the UK Singles Chart.  In 2005, a BBC survey showed it is the third-most-popular song played at weddings.

 

Receiving a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, Armstrong has 11 singles in the Grammy Hall of Fame and was inducted into several musical Halls of Fame.

Armstrong was married four times and had one child, adopted from a cousin who died following childbirth.  In 2012, a woman claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Armstrong, conceived from an affair in the 1950s with a Cotton Club dancer.