LONDON – Monty Norman, a British composer who wrote the theme for James Bond films, has died. He was 94 years old.
A statement posted on Norman’s official website on Monday said: “We sadly share the news that Monty Norman died on July 11, 2022 after a brief illness.”
Born Monty Noserovitch to Jewish parents in the East End of London in 1928, Norman got his first guitar when he was 16 years old. He performed with great bands and in a double act with the comic Benny Hill before writing songs for the first British rockers Cliff Richard and Tommy Steele and composing for stage musicals such as “Make Me an Offer”, “Expresso Bongo”, ” Songbook “i” Poppy “.
Norman was hired by producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli to compose a theme for James Bond’s first film, “Dr. No,” released in 1962.
He inspired a piece he had written for a musical adaptation proposal for VS Naipaul’s “A House for Mr. Biswas,” changing the sitar’s key riff to electric guitar. The result, vibrant, propulsive, threatening, has been used in all 25 Bond thrillers.
The producers hired composer John Barry to rearrange the theme, and it was widely assumed that Barry had written it, much to Norman’s chagrin. Barry, who died in 2011, composed scores for nearly a dozen Bond films, including “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice.”
Norman went to court to assert his authorship, suing the Sunday Times for defamation for a 1997 article claiming the issue was composed by Barry. He won in 2001 and received £ 30,000 in damages.