Live and Let Die (song)
| "Live and Let Die" | |||||||||||||
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| Single by Paul McCartney & Wings | |||||||||||||
| from the album Live and Let Die | |||||||||||||
| B-side | "I Lie Around" | ||||||||||||
| Released | 1 June 1973 (UK) 18 June 1973 (US) |
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| Format | 7" single | ||||||||||||
| Recorded | October 1972 | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Rock, symphonic rock[1] | ||||||||||||
| Length | 3:12 | ||||||||||||
| Label | Apple | ||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney | ||||||||||||
| Producer | George Martin | ||||||||||||
| Certification | RIAA (US) – Gold (31 August 1973)[2] | ||||||||||||
| Paul McCartney & Wings singles chronology | |||||||||||||
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"Live and Let Die" is the main theme song of the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Paul's band Wings. It was one of their most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point, charting at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the UK Singles Chart.[3][4]
Commissioned specifically for the movie and credited to McCartney and his wife Linda, it reunited the former with Beatles producer George Martin, who both produced the song and arranged the orchestral break. It has been covered by several bands, with Guns N' Roses' version being the most popular. Both McCartney's and Guns N' Roses' versions were nominated for Grammys. In 2012, McCartney was awarded the Million-Air Award from Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), for over 4 million performances of the song in the US.[5]
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Background and recording [edit]
Even before Tom Mankiewicz had finished writing the screenplay to Live and Let Die, producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli invited Paul McCartney to write the theme song. McCartney asked to be sent a copy of Ian Fleming's novel. "I read it and thought it was pretty good. That afternoon I wrote the song and went in the next week and did it ... It was a job of work for me in a way because writing a song around a title like that's not the easiest thing going."[6]
Originally, producer Harry Saltzman was interested in having Shirley Bassey or Thelma Houston perform it instead of Wings.[1] Martin said that McCartney would only allow the song to be used in the movie if Wings were able to perform the song in the opening credits. Saltzman, who had previously rejected the chance to produce A Hard Day's Night, decided not to make the same mistake twice and agreed. A second version of the song, performed by B. J. Arnau, also appears in the film. Arnau's performance was originally meant for the group Fifth Dimension.[7] The Arnau version of the song appears on the soundtrack album as a component in a medley that also contains two George Martin-composed instrumental pieces, "Fillet of Soul – New Orleans" and "Fillet of Soul – Harlem".
Wings recorded "Live and Let Die" during the sessions for the Red Rose Speedway album,[1] in October 1972.[8]
Release and aftermath [edit]
The single reached number 2 in the United States and number 9 in the United Kingdom.[9][10] The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.[11][12] Although McCartney's previous single, "My Love", had been credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings", the label of the "Live and Let Die" single credited the performing artist simply as "Wings." On the soundtrack album, however, the song was credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings", and was credited as such in the opening titles to the film. "Live and Let Die" was the last Paul McCartney single on Apple Records that was credited only to "Wings".
"Live And Let Die" was not featured on a Paul McCartney album until the Wings Greatest compilation in 1978, and was included again on 1987's All the Best!. The entire soundtrack was also released in quadrophonic.
"Live and Let Die" was the first James Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (garnering McCartney his second Academy Award nomination and Linda her first), but lost to the theme song from The Way We Were.
In Wings' live performances of the song, the instrumental break featured flashpots and a laser light show. McCartney has continued to play the song on his solo tours, often using pyrotechnics when playing outdoor venues. "Live And Let Die" is the only song to appear on all of McCartney's live albums (barring the acoustic-based 'Unplugged'.)
Following the attacks on 11 September 2001, the song was placed on Clear Channel's list of inappropriate song titles.
"in which we live in" or "in which we're living" [edit]
Many comments have been made over the years about the lyrics that ambiguously are either "this ever changing world in which we live in" or "this ever changing world in which we're living". The "in which we live in" version has been cited as being redundant and/or improper grammar. When asked about the lyrics, McCartney responded that he doesn't remember for sure himself, but that he thinks it is "in which we're living". [13]
Covers [edit]
It was covered by the Stan Kenton big band in 1973. In 1986, it was covered by LA shock-rockers Lizzy Borden. In 1991, it was covered again by Guns N' Roses. Hank Marvin did an instrumental version in 1993 on his album Heartbeat. The Mantovani Orchestra performed an instrumental version in 1994 on the album, The Many Moods of The Mantovani Orchestra. Due to its status as a James Bond theme, it was also covered by The Pretenders and released on the album Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project. Geri Halliwell, of the Spice Girls, released the song as a b-side track for her solo number one single "Lift Me Up", in November 1999. Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas performed the song on Movies Rock 2007, a CBS television special celebrating music in movies. A cover by singer Duffy appeared on the War Child charity's 2009 album Heroes.[14] In 2011, Céline Dion has included the song as part of a James Bond Medley for her Las Vegas show. Shirley Bassey also recorded the song on her 1991 Album The Bond Collection. Byron Lee and The Dragonaires recorded a reggae version of the song that can be heard on YouTube. British Rock Band McFly covered the song as part of a medley featuring David Garrett. The Medley started off with a classic violin theme, then switched to McFly's number 1 single 5 Colours in Her Hair and finally merged into Live and Let Die.
Parody [edit]
In 1984, McCartney asked "Weird Al" Yankovic when he was going to parody one of his songs.[15] A couple of years later, Yankovic asked for permission to put his parody "Chicken Pot Pie" on an album (as a courtesy; legally he did not need permission). McCartney denied the use because he is a vegetarian and didn't want to promote the eating of meat. Fellow vegetarian Yankovic said he respected the decision;[16] however, he has performed the song live.
Guns N' Roses version [edit]
| "Live and Let Die" | ||||
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| Single by Guns N' Roses | ||||
| from the album Use Your Illusion I | ||||
| A-side | Live and Let Die (LP Version) | |||
| B-side | Live and Let Die (Live) | |||
| Released | December 1991 | |||
| Format | CD, 7", 12" | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses | |||
| Guns N' Roses singles chronology | ||||
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"Live and Let Die" was released as the second single from Use Your Illusion I album and the fourth out of all the Use Your Illusion singles. A music video was made in November 1991 featuring the band playing live on stage and showing old pictures. The video was also made shortly before Izzy Stradlin's departure and it was the last video where he appears. It charted at 20 on the Mainstream Rock chart.[17] The song was nominated for "Best Hard Rock Performance" during the 1993 Grammy Awards.[18]
Personnel [edit]
- Guns N' Roses
- Axl Rose – lead vocals, keyboards, production
- Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, production
- Slash – lead guitar, production
- Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals, production
- Dizzy Reed – piano, tambourine, production
- Matt Sorum – drums, production
- Additional musicians
- Shannon Hoon – backing vocals
- Johann Langlie – synthesizer
- Jon Thautwein – horn
- Matthew McKagan – horn
- Rachel West – horn
- Robert Clark – horn
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Benitez, Vincent P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0.
- ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
- ^ "Live And Let Die Recognized for over 4 Million Performances in the USA". Broadcast Music, Inc. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ Barnes, Alan; Hearn, Marcu (1997). Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: the Unofficial James Bond Film Companion. Batsford Books. pp. 110–11. ISBN 978-0-7134-8182-2.
- ^ Lindner, Christoph (2003). The James Bond Phenomenon: a Critical Reader. Manchester University Press. pp. 130, 134. ISBN 978-0-7190-6541-5.
- ^ "The McCartney Recording Sessions - 1972". Webpages.charter.net. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ^ "Paul McCartney singles". allmusic. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Paul Grein (January 3, 2013). "Chart Watch Extra: Top Songs of 2012". Chart Watch (Yahoo Music). Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- ^ riaa.com
- ^ "Live and Let Live: Sir Paul McCartney". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- ^ Humbling response delays Heroes, by Adam Woods – musicweek.com Retrieved 7 October 2008
- ^ Weird Al Yankovic Interviews on Yahoo! Music
- ^ http://www.al-oholicsanonymous.com/interviews/alicon.html
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4416
- ^ "35th Grammy Awards - 1993". rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
| Preceded by Shirley Bassey Diamonds Are Forever, 1971 |
James Bond title artist Live and Let Die (song), 1973 |
Succeeded by Lulu The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974 |
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- 1973 singles
- 1991 singles
- Paul McCartney songs
- Song recordings produced by George Martin
- Songs from James Bond films
- Apple Records singles
- Wings (band) songs
- Guns N' Roses songs
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Rock ballads
- Live and Let Die (film)
- Songs written by Paul McCartney
- Songs written by Linda McCartney
- Music published by MPL Music Publishing
