Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Shaken, not stirred: 50 years of James Bond

Here's the dazzling new VIDEO version of RBR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hETMjElEKJg&feature=youtu.be

50 years ago James Bond hit the big screen with Dr. No, and with it’s heady cocktail of intrigue, treachery and sex, pretty much set the standard for every spy movie to follow.

Here’s the trailer for Dr. No from 1962:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myoVLMnKw2M

Just as Sean Connery was the definitive secret agent, Monty Norman’s “James Bond Theme” is still the ultimate piece of spy music. With its blend of brassy jazz and distorted electric guitar, the theme perfectly conveys Bond’s personality --swaggering, dangerous, and sexy.

By the 3rd Bond film, the producers started the practice of using a major pop star to sing the movie theme. Shirley Bassey got the call for “Goldfinger”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbOUSSHWn68

This is an astounding live clip from the 1960’s of Tom Jones performing “Thunderball”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2noz5wLvT8k

While many of the Bond tunes reached the pop charts, we were surprised to find that only one song made it to #1. Imagine our disappointment when we learned it was…Duran Duran.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4CR2HcHLQ

John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.
John Maynard started working in radio in the seventies as a DJ at Seattle’s KJR AM which at the time was the dominant AM station in the Seattle market. After a brief stint as a restaurateur and night club owner, Maynard returned to radio with Robin Erickson, creating the hugely popular “Robin and Maynard Show.” In the more than 20 years under that marquee, Maynard flew with the Blue Angels, piloted the Goodyear Blimp, sang with Donny Osmond and hung out in a Universal Studios bar with Kojak (Telly Savalas).