{"id":14179,"date":"2020-09-22T16:16:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T14:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=14179"},"modified":"2026-02-15T21:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:56:37","slug":"james-bond-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/james-bond-theme\/","title":{"rendered":"The James Bond Theme"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this second installment of “Iconic Guitar Parts”, we’ll have a look at one of the most recognizable movie themes ever, the James Bond Theme, featuring the famous guitar riff played by Vic Flick. Written by Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry, the James Bond theme song was recorded in 1962 for the first Bond movie Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this lesson, you will learn how to play the James Bond theme on guitar.<\/p>\n

The James Bond theme song has been used as the background music for the gun barrel sequence in almost every Bond movie.<\/p>\n

The recording band for the orchestral version consisted of 5 saxophones, 9 brass instruments, vibes, a rhythm section, and a guitar, which was unusual because not many “big bands” featured guitar at that time.<\/p>\n

As John Barry describes it:<\/p>\n

“A peculiar mixture of that low rock guitar figure, the brass sound, and a bridge that was almost like a Dizzy Gillespie bebop phrase. It was kind of a hybrid of all these things I was involved with at the time. I didn’t give it too much thought, and it just came out like it did.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the theme was credited to Monty Norman, John Barry (the arranger) claimed on multiple occasions that he who wrote the theme. This was eventually settled in court, which ruled twice that the theme was indeed written by Monty Norman.<\/p>\n

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\"Dr.<\/p>\n

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The guitar part was played by a British session guitarist called Vic Flick, who was paid a one-time fee of \u00a36 for his work. Vic Flick played a Clifford Essex Paragon Deluxe acoustic guitar with a DeArmond Pickup going through a Vox AC15 amplifier on that recording.<\/p>\n

Here is Vic Flick playing the Bond theme live on the Academy event “The Music of Bond: The First 50 Years” in 2012.<\/p>\n

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