Monty Norman is the daddy of James Bond songwriters, having penned probably the most hummed phrase in the history of cinema.
Monty Norman was present at the birth of Bond after being approached by the franchise's legendary producer, Cubby Broccoli, in 1962 to write the music for Dr No.
But the song that would become the Bond theme tune was languishing in his 'bottom drawer' - it had first been written for a musical and then discarded.
Norman was in-demand following his work as a composer of musicals - including Expresso Bongo and Irma La Douce - but agreed to compose the entire score for Dr No after being promised a trip to the film set in Jamaica. There, he also taught Ursula Andress and a young unknown former body builder named Sean Connery how to sing his famous Underneath the Mango Tree.
He is a recipient of the highly coveted Gold Badge of Merit for Services to British Music, together with two Ivor Novello, two Laurence Olivier and two Evening Standard awards and several Tony and Golden Globes nominations.
Norman has successfully defended his title as original Bond theme composer three times. The tune has been recorded over 500 times, selling over 30million records worldwide.
Listen to Monty play the Bond theme tune: [ Ссылка ]
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