Julie Rogers - You Only Live Twice

Описание: There have been many memorable James Bond songs since 007 first hit the big screen with "Dr No" in 1962. Many are the times I have been asked which is my favourite of them. Unsurprisingly, I have a very soft spot for the "James Bond Theme" by the John Barry Seven and Orchestra, particularly since it featured two musical heroes of mine, Les Reed and Vic Flick. Similarly, despite her vocal excesses, I have been a lifelong fan of Shirley Bassey, right from the start, and I would be loath to omit any of her titles.
Among the earlier James Bond themes, the one that failed to "grab" me was Nancy Sinatra with "You Only Live Twice". It was some time after that I learned that Nancy had been brought in, allegedly, to help secure financing for this fifth Bond outing. Nancy coming in meant that a vastly superior (IMO) recording of a song by this name would make an exit. The outgoing performance was one recorded by Julie Rogers with a 50-piece orchestra in 1966. It was written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse, contained all the elements required of the movie plot and its setting, and featured a vocal that could give Shirley a run for her money! Barry and Bricusse were asked to provide an alternative title song, which became the one to be performed by Nancy Sinatra. While Nancy's track has since grown on me, I still regard Julie's recording as being a more worthy Bond song - AND performance!