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Amy Winehouse probably would have made my list if she wasn’t such a profound headcase.

Oh Amy, Amy, Amy! One of the more interesting chapters in the ongoing Amy Winehouse saga has been her involvement in crafting the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Hearing of her involvement, I always thought it made perfect sense. Teamed with her Back To Black producer, Mark Ronson, I could only imagine what kind of 60s soul/R&B-inspired tune they would have created. I have no doubt it would have of been a wondrously nostalgic musical romp, harkening back to the more classic Bond themes of the late 60s and early 70s. But for whatever reason (oh, use your imagination), Winehouse and Ronson couldn’t seem to get on the same page. Now comes word that Grammy-winning artists Alicia Keys and Jack White were called in as replacements.  A seemingly unlikely pairing, that’s for sure, but I’m more than willing to see what they have to offer. And in light of this news, I thought I’d offer up a list of my favorite Bond themes.

Goldfinger (1964) – My favorite Connery Bond film, and just a fantastic offering from Shirley Bassey, with an absolutely superb voice. You just get chills listening to her. Arguably one of the best vocalists to ever grace a Bond theme, as evident in the fact that she did two more after this one!!

A View To A Kill (1985) – Being a bastard child of the 80s, my first experience with James Bond was this “gem” featuring Roger Moore. Suffice it to say, I didn’t know any better. But dammit if I don’t still love Duran Duran’s theme! I think it’s one of the best examples of a latter-era Bond theme that managed to stay very much in the time it was created, while embracing the old-school epic feel of Bond, paying homage to the past. It had this element of sexiness mixed with danger that we had come to expect from Bond.

Goldeneye (1995) – Listening to Tina Turner, it’s almost if she’s actually channeling Shirley Bassey, but you’re still getting Tina at her finest. There’s just this booming confidence and strength when she sings, and it really complements the film when you think about it. Because I think most would agree, Tina Turner doing a Bond theme was pretty much a no-brainer, the same way Pierce Brosnan playing Bond was a no-brainer. Could the scripts for the subsequent films have been better? Sure. But you have to love things like Famke Jansen as an assassin who kills men by crushing them to death . . . . with her thighs!!!

Tomorrow Never Dies/Surrender (1997) – The idea of Sheryl Crow doing Bond intrigued me just from the fact that I honestly didn’t think she could pull it off. Some may disagree with me, but I always thought she did an admirable job. I loved that it was slightly more somber than most Bond themes.  The sense of longing in Crow’s voice when the chorus starts gets me every time. But even more impressive was the end credits version, alternatively titled “Surrender”. Anytime I watched the film, I’d watch the credits just so I could hear the song. The intro with the horns is pure Bond, and it made me realize just what an amazing vocalist K.D. Lang is. I’d imagine a music video with her in a tuxedo like Gladys Knight did for License to Kill, but then I just remember her scene from The Black Dahlia.

You Know My Name (2006) – Understandably, I can’t imagine how you could make “Casino Royale” work as a song title or even a lyric in an alternatively titled song. The songwriters for the theme to Octopussy obviously encountered the same dilemma, and I doubt Jack White and Alicia Keys even tried when it came to the Quantum of Solace theme. Helping to usher in a new era for Bond, former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell rose to the challenge. The near-perfect fusion of rock music and orchestral elements, coupled with Cornell’s vocals is simply undeniable. At least in my opinion, as I know a lot of critics didn’t necessarily care for it. We call those people “stupid”! And you have to love that title. James Bond is easily one of the most recognizable characters in film history, and after forty some odd years, what else is there to say but “you know my name”?

Honorable Mentions:

Live And Let Die – One of the most popular Bond themes for one of the worst Bond films ever (but not nearly as bad as Moonraker!)!

The Living Daylights – If only because they were trying so hard to recreate A View To A Kill.

License to Kill – You can’t really go wrong with Gladys Knight, can you?

Nearly Civilized – One of the best Bond themes to never be featured in an actual film, it’s from the Bond video game, Nightfire. And I can’t find it for free anywhere on the net!!!