Paul McCartney Once Took on a Bond Theme With the Help of This Familiar Collaborator in 1973

Very few musicians get the chance to record a James Bond theme. Paul McCartney actually turned down the opportunity once. But when he accepted on the second ask, he went all-in on a massive recording.

McCartney found a comfort zone in working with one of his closest collaborators from his Beatle days. The resulting song, “Live And Let Die”, ranks extremely high in most listings of Bond themes.

Macca and Martin

Paul McCartney was first approached to do a theme song for Diamonds Are Forever, the James Bond film released in 1971. As that was a busy year for him with the formation of his new band Wings, he politely declined.

But things lined up nicely for him to tackle the job on Live And Let Die, the next Bond film. For one, it was scheduled to arrive in theaters in 1973 around the same time that McCartney was releasing Red Rose Speedway, his second album with Wings. It would offer him and his fledgling band an excellent promotional tool.

On top of that, it gave McCartney the chance to work again with George Martin, who produced the vast majority of The Beatles’ musical output. When John Barry, who normally handled the score for Bond films, was unable to take the job on Live And Let Die, Martin was hired as his replacement. Hence, it was natural for Martin to serve as producer on McCartney’s theme song.

Sorry, Thelma

Around the time of the film’s release, McCartney explained how the song’s creation went down with the help of his wife Linda (per The Beatles Bible):

“I read the Live And Let Die book in one day, started writing it that evening and carried on the next day and finished it by the next evening … I sat down at the piano, worked something out and then got in touch with George Martin, who produced it with us. Linda wrote the middle reggae bit of the song. We rehearsed it as a band, recorded it and then left it up to him.”

McCartney, his Wings bandmates, and an orchestra dashed off the song at Martin’s AIR Studios in London. Oddly enough, producers heard the finished product and assumed it was a demo. They thought of Thelma Houston as a possible artist to record the track. But Martin explained that McCartney’s version was the actual song.

Lasting Impact

“Live And Let Die” turned out to be a boon for the Bond theme collection, considering that those songs have been hit or miss throughout the years. It also delivered a big hit for Wings at a time when they needed it badly. Their first two albums weren’t that well-received. The movie theme helped turn momentum in their direction.

The seamless collaboration between McCartney and Martin also presaged the future. In the 80s, after Wings had run its course, McCartney hired Martin to produce the albums Tug Of War and Pipes of Peace. Those LPs served as a crucial springboard to Macca’s solo years.

“Live And Let Die” earned a nomination for Best Song at the Academy Awards. Unfortunately, it lost out to Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were”. McCartney already had an Oscar by that time. He won in the now-defunct category of Original Song Score for The Beatles documentary Let It Be at the 1971 ceremony.

(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)

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