1967 Movie Theme Became a Timeless Classic in Its Own Right - A Haunting Hit From Music Royalty
In 1967, Nancy Sinatra recorded the movie theme song, "You Only Live Twice." The daughter of legendary Crooner Frank Sinatra followed in the footsteps of Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones to release a memorable James Bond theme. "You Only Live Twice" hit No. 3 on the U.S. Easy Listening Chart and No. 44 on the coveted Billboard Hot 100.
Featuring a lush orchestral intro, the movie song was written and composed by Leslie Bricusse and John Barry and reworked by Lee Hazlewood for the single using session musicians. Decades later, Sintra shared on Facebook, "When Lee heard the version of ‘You Only Live Twice' I recorded in London with John Barry, he said it was great but not very commercial. So, we went into the studio to re-record it with The Wrecking Crew for the single."
Nancy Sinatra was terrified to record ‘You Only Live Twice'
Sinatra was just 26 years old when she recorded "You Only Live Twice." On the heels of her signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin,'" the young singer was terrified to be involved in the high-profile project at the height of 007 fandom. The recording session required nearly 25 takes before there was enough material for the song, according to Songfacts.
"I was panic-stricken from the very beginning of the whole procedure. I would rather have root canal surgery than go through that again," Sinatra once said, per MI6.
In an interview with Best Classic Bands, Sinatra explained that she felt the title song was out of her league as a young singer. "I felt it was a huge stretch for me, and I suggested they call Shirley Bassey, who had sung 'Goldfinger,'" she shared. "They wanted me to do it. So, I went to London. We did the initial session with Leslie Bricusse in the booth and John Barry conducting the huge, pretty much symphonic orchestra. …And John wisely said to me after seeing me struggling, ‘Would you like me to record the track, and we'll do your vocals later?' And I said, ‘Oh yes, please.' And that is what we did."
"Later I found out what they did was they edited different parts of the recording, the overdub sessions, so they could actually have a complete take, because vocally I was just all over the place," she added. "I was right about not being the right person to sing that thing. But I'm not complaining. It did very well."
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Rave reviews
Sinatra's song is often ranked among the best of all of the Bond movie themes.
Rolling Stone called the 1967 Bond theme "John Barry's finest moment," while Esquire noted, "Those moody strings that open this tune are a perfect fit for Nancy Sinatra's brooding voice."
GQ described the violin and horn-heavy opener as "unquestionably iconic," noting that it surpassed the movie to become "a timeless musical cue."
"You Only Live Twice" became such a timeless theme that legendary musician Robbie Williams sampled the song for his solo single "Millennium" in 1998. Sinatra's song was also prominently featured in the Mad Men season 5 finale, "The Phantom," in 2012.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 6:04 AM.