LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-JUNE 1, 2019…IN EARLY 1973 PAUL MCCARTNEY WAS ASKED BY THE PRODUCERS OF THE JAMES BOND MOVIE FRANCHISE TO WRITE A SONG FOR THE UPCOMING JAMES BOND MOVIE AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PERFORM IT. HE AGREED TO WRITE IT, ONLY IF HE AND HIS BAND THE WINGS COULD PERFORM THE SONG. HE WROTE THE SONG ‘LIVE AND LET DIE’. IT WAS ACTUALLY A PLAY ON THE PHRASE “LIVE AND LET LIVE”. IT WAS THE FIRST BOND MOVIE TO STAR ROGER MOORE IN THE LEAD ROLE.
WINGS CO-FOUNDER AND ORIGINAL DRUMMER DENNY SEIWELL SAID THIS OF THE SONG:
“Everybody thought it was cool that we were doing something for James Bond. I remember what Paul told us – he said a couple weeks before we did the actual recording, he said they wanted him to write the theme to the next James Bond movie, and they sent him the book to read. And we were up at the house one day and he had just read the book the night before, and he sat down at the piano and said, ‘James Bond… James Bond… da-da-dum!’, and he started screwing around at the piano. Within 10 minutes, he had that song written. It was awesome, really. Just to watch him get in there and write the song was really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
THE SONG WAS A HUGE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS FOR MCCARTNEY AND THE WINGS, INSTANTLY SELLING OVER A MILLION COPIES IN 1973. IT WAS ALSO NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY AWARD. IN 2012, MCCARTNEY WAS AWARDED THE MILLION-AIR AWARD FROM BMI ( BROADCAST MUSIC,INC. AN INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION) FOR MORE THAN 4 MILLION PERFORMANCES OF THE SONG IN THE USA.
HERE’S A VIDEO THAT AIRED IN 1973 THAT DEBUTED THE SONG IN AMERICA JUST BEFORE THE PREMIERE OF THE MOVIE
HERE’S A LIVE VERSION FROM 2009
