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"You Know My Name"
A man stands in front of an out-of-focus sports car. The background is a gradient that goes from red to green. Besides the man is written "Chris Cornell", with "You Know My Name" below it. In the down right corner is the text "As featured in the motion picture CasinO ROyale", with a gun-like "7" below Royale's "O".
Single by Chris Cornell
from the album Carry On
B-side"Black Hole Sun" (Acoustic)
ReleasedNovember 13, 2006
Recorded2006
StudioAIR, London
Genre
Length4:02
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Chris Cornell
  • David Arnold
Chris Cornell singles chronology
"Preaching the End of the World"
(1999) 		"You Know My Name"
(2006) 		"No Such Thing"
(2007)
James Bond theme singles chronology
"Die Another Day"
(2002) 		"You Know My Name"
(2006) 		"Another Way to Die"
(2008)

"You Know My Name" is the theme song of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, performed by American musician Chris Cornell, who wrote and produced it jointly with David Arnold, the soundtrack's composer. The track was leaked onto the Internet on September 20, 2006, and later released as an official single on November 13, 2006 through Interscope Records. It was not included in the Casino Royale soundtrack, but appeared on Cornell's second solo album, Carry On.

The film producers chose Cornell because they wanted a strong male singer. Cornell and Arnold tried to make the song a replacement theme for the character instead of the "James Bond Theme" reflecting the agent's inexperience in Casino Royale, as well as an introduction to Daniel Craig's grittier and more emotional portrayal of Bond.

It was a hit throughout Europe, reaching the top 10 in eight countries, including No. 7 on the UK singles chart.[3] It sold 148,000 copies in 2006 in the UK,[3] and has sold 323,000 digital copies and garnered 3.5 million streams in the U.S. as of 2017.[4] Reviews of the song were positive; it won the Satellite Award and the World Soundtrack Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Composition and recording

[edit]
"You Know My Name"
A 24-second sample of "You Know My Name". The song mixes "rock aggression and sophisticated instrumentation".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Lia Vollack, Sony Pictures's President of Music, called Chris Cornell inviting him to make a song for the new Bond movie, which would "reflect the dramatic new direction of James Bond", with a "strong male singer".[5] Cornell thought it was a strange offer, considering that he was American, and assumed he would perform a secondary song instead of the main theme.[6] Cornell declared he liked the Bond movies, particularly the ones with Sean Connery,[5] but that he "wasn't really a big fan of the last several movies". But Daniel Craig's casting as James Bond intrigued him, and he decided to accept. He then went to Prague to visit the film's shooting location, and was impressed with its emotional content when he was shown a rough cut.[7] In Prague he also met the film's composer, David Arnold, who suggested writing a song "that echoed the film score".[5]

The composers started their writing separately, Cornell in his apartment in Paris, and Arnold in his house in London.[8][9] Cornell said, "It is difficult, I think, to write lyrics for a character, so really I just kind of wandered around for about a month not thinking about it too much, until I sort of formulated some idea of a way that I could approach it, where I'm kind of relating to what's in the character in the movie. And because this particular Bond is very edgy, but also has a lot of emotional depth, it's a lot easier."[10] Later the two musicians met to share their ideas, and according to Arnold "it was almost like we wrote two parts of the same song."[8] Cornell wrote lyrics, to which Arnold added some more lyrics and later music.[5] Some of Arnold's ideas included the song's title, the heavy introduction, and "having the same genetic material as the Bond theme, but in a different order and in a different shape".[8]

After a demo of the song was approved by the film's producers,[9] both musicians recorded the full version in AIR Studios in London.[5] Cornell and Arnold recorded the guitar and bass parts themselves and hired a session musician for the drums. They were finished by the time Casino Royale wrapped its principal photography on July 21, 2006, and Arnold played it at the wrap party. Afterwards he mixed in the orchestral parts.[8]

Speaking to the film music fan site Maintitles, Arnold said he wanted "You Know My Name" to be a substitute for the "James Bond Theme", to represent Bond's immaturity. The song's motif is heard throughout the film, and the classic theme plays only during the end credits to signal the end of his character arc.[11] Arnold felt the song should tie closer to the score, and have the "DNA of the James Bond music".[9] The musical arrangement tried to create "the right blend of rock aggression and sophisticated instrumentation",[12] with Cornell describing it as "more up-tempo and a little more aggressive than any other Bond theme has been, maybe since Paul McCartney's 'Live and Let Die'."[13]

"I (wanted) an orchestra. I didn't want to do a song for a James Bond film and not have it sound somewhat like a James Bond song."

Chris Cornell[14]

Cornell stated that the biggest two influences on "You Know My Name" were Tom Jones, who performed the theme for Thunderball, and Paul McCartney, who composed and performed the theme for Live and Let Die. "I decided that I was going to sing it like Tom Jones, in that crooning style. I wanted people to hear my voice," Cornell said. "And 'Live and Let Die' is a fantastic song. Paul McCartney wouldn't have written it if not for that movie. I [also] wanted to write a song in its own universe. I knew I'd never have it again — a big orchestra — so I wanted to have fun with it."[15] Cornell did not put the film's title in the lyrics, because he "couldn't imagine it fitting into a song lyric that would come out of my mouth".[16] And he jokingly stated "Casino Royale didn't make a good rock title, but I would write a song named Octopussy just for fun".[17]

Before producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced on July 26, 2006, that Cornell was performing the theme for Casino Royale,[18] various names were reported in the media, including some reports that other performers claimed they were working on the song. Some names mentioned were Tina Turner, who previously sang "GoldenEye" for the 1995 Bond film of the same name,[19] and Tony Christie.[20]

The lyrics try to illustrate Bond's psyche in Casino Royale, described by Cornell as a conflicted and tough spy with more emotional depth, not the "superconfident, seemingly invincible, winking kinda ladies' man superspy" of the previous incarnations.[12] Cornell tried to focus on the existential dilemmas and possible sacrifices of secret agents: "There's an isolation in that; the stakes are very high. I've done a lot of living in my 42 years, and it wasn't hard for me to relate to that."[14] The song was also an introduction to the character, even though he has been in many previous movies—hence the title "You Know My Name"—dealing with Bond's actions such as his first assassination, "introducing himself to what may be the rest of his life and how he will live it and what it will mean."[21]

Release

[edit]

Three versions of "You Know My Name" were produced. The "Main Version" took the primary spot of the single release. A "Pop Mix" was used in the music video, featured on the Carry On album, and appeared on German singles as the second track. "Film Versions" were more orchestral and used in the Casino Royale's opening and closing credits.[8][9]

The song was leaked on the internet on September 20, 2006.[22] The first version, the grittier one which was leaked and not used in the movie, was made available for download on iTunes Store on November 13, 2006. It debuted on the UK Single Download Chart at #20 on November 22, 2006. It was released as a stand-alone single on December 14, 2006,[23] with a new acoustic version of the Soundgarden song "Black Hole Sun" on the B-side.[24] The German, Dutch and Australian versions of the single have a second version of "You Know My Name" (called the Pop Mix) as a B-side.[25] This version was used for the music video, and is on Chris Cornell's solo album Carry On. The orchestral version in the film's opening titles has not been commercially released.

The song is the first Bond theme not to be included on its film's soundtrack album. Cornell declared that it happened because he wanted the song to be "his",[16] and since he wrote "You Know My Name" in midst of recording the solo album Carry On, he felt the song belonged to the album.[5] In 2008, it was included in the compilation The Best of Bond... James Bond.[26]

The song's music video was directed by Michael Haussman, who tried to compare "the lives of a professional spy and a rock star".[27] It premiered on MTV's Making the Video on October 31, 2006.[28]

Covers

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Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall covered the song in 2008 for the compilation CD Livenä Vieraissa.[29] The Amalgamates, an a cappella group from Tufts University, performed an all vocal version of the song on their album Prime.[30]

Reception

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Critical response

[edit]

"You Know My Name" received critical acclaim, with critics feeling it fit well in the film.

Film critic James Berardinelli considered the song to "sound eerily like something by John Barry".[31] DVD Verdict's review praised the song, describing it as "working remarkably well in the film's context, lyrically and sonically",[32] and Cinefantastique called it "the best Bond theme song in years, [that] captures the full-blooded glory of classics like 'Goldfinger'".[33]

Entertainment Weekly listed "You Know My Name" on a list of Academy Award snubs for Best Original Song, describing it as "a musically suave, lyrically ominous rock tune that is perfect for Casino Royale's dark reboot of the spy franchise".[34]

Among music critics, Billboard described it as "the best Bond theme since 'A View to a Kill'", praising the minimal production.[35] On its review of Carry On, the magazine considered "You Know My Name" to be the best track of the album, describing it as "some of Cornell's most uncomplicated and accessible music to date".[36] BBC's unnamed reviewer considered that Cornell's voice "weighs down" the song.[37]

Commercial

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"You Know My Name" was released in the winter of 2006 and became the most successful song from Chris Cornell on the rock charts, and arguably Cornell's most recognizable and popular one. It peaked at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 64 on the Billboard Pop 100 chart.[38][39] In Europe, "You Know My Name" charted in several markets and peaked at number 7 in the UK Singles Chart,[40] his highest placement in that country (including bands Cornell was a part of).

Accolades

[edit]

Chris Cornell won both the Satellite Award and the World Soundtrack Award for "You Know My Name" in 2007,[41][42] and garnered a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media the following year.[43] The song also received a first-round nomination in the Best Original Song category for the 2006 Academy Awards, but did not qualify for the final list of nominees.[44]

Track listing

[edit]

1

  1. "You Know My Name" 4:02
  2. "Black Hole Sun" (Acoustic) 4:38

2

  1. "You Know My Name" 4:02
  2. "You Know My Name" (Pop Mix)
  3. "You Know My Name" (Video)

Charts

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Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (2006–07) Peak
position
Austrian Single Chart 28
Danish Single Chart 2
Dutch Single Chart 10
Euro Digital Tracks[45] 2
European Hot 100 Singles[46] 16
Finnish Single Chart 3
French Single Chart 51
German Singles Chart 15
Greek Singles Chart[47] 9
Irish Singles Chart[48] 11
Italian Singles Chart 4
Norwegian Singles Chart 5
Swedish Singles Chart 21
Swiss Singles Chart 10
UK Downloads Chart[49] 4
UK Singles Chart[40][50] 7
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 79
US Billboard Pop 100[39] 64

Year-end charts

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Year Chart Rank
2007 German Singles Chart[52] #87

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[53] Gold 4,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] Gold 400,000‡
United States — 290,000[55]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ehrlich, David (November 2, 2015). "James Bond Movie Theme Songs, Ranked Worst to Best". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2024. ...this alt-rock dumpster fire really can't be blamed on Chris Cornell.
  2. ^ Slant Staff (October 4, 2021). "Every James Bond Theme Song Ranked". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2024. ...these enticing flashes of glamor neatly tie the otherwise hard rock song back to the Bond-theme tradition.
  3. ^ a b "Chris Cornell wrote and performed the James Bond theme song for Daniel Craig's first 007 outing in Casino Royale". Daily Mirror. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Chris Cornell, Soundgarden Frontman, Dies at Age 52". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Rock Star Chris Cornell (formerly of Soundgarden & Audioslave) Talks About His New Solo Album, Carry On". SongwriterUniverse magazine. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  6. ^ Chris Cornell on New Solo Album. MSG.com. 2007-08-01. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  7. ^ "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP — But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split". MTV. 2006-07-26. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  8. ^ a b c d e Burlingame, Jon (2012). The Music of James Bond. Oxford University Press. pp. 238–240. ISBN 9780199863303.
  9. ^ a b c d "In Conversation With David Arnold (3)". MI6-HQ.com. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  10. ^ "CHRIS CORNELL: New Audio Interview Available". Blabbermouth. October 10, 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  11. ^ Bregt De Lange and Mario Schuurmans. "Interview with David Arnold at the World Soundtrack Awards 2007". maintitles.net. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  12. ^ a b "In the mix". Variety. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  13. ^ "Cornell Plotting First Solo Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  14. ^ a b Nelson, Steffie (2006-11-29). "Alt rockers flock to the movies". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  15. ^ Lo, Danica (2006-11-19). "CORNELL, CHRIS CORNELL - FORMER GRUNGE GOD GOES SECRET AGENT WITH 007 THEME SONG". The New York Post. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  16. ^ a b "Talking Shop: Chris Cornell". BBC. 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  17. ^ Chris Cornell - Casino Royale Premiere. 2006-11-28. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  18. ^ Steve Elzer (2006-07-26). "Chris Cornell Has Written and Will Perform the Main Title Song for CASINO ROYALE" (Press release). Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. Retrieved 2006-07-26.
  19. ^ "Tina Turner links herself to Casino Royale theme song". MI6-HQ.com. 2006-06-21. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
  20. ^ "Tony Christie Writing 'Royale' Theme Song?". CommanderBond.net. 2005-10-02. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
  21. ^ Robertson, Alex. "Chris Cornell interview". Virgin Media. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  22. ^ Weinberg, Scott (2006-09-21). "Check Out the New 007 Song ... or not". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  23. ^ "Music - Casino Royale". mi6-hq.com. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  24. ^ "You Know My Name". 19 December 2006 – via Amazon.
  25. ^ "You Know My Name". 1 December 2006 – via Amazon.
  26. ^ "Best of Bond...James Bond: 40th Anniversary Edition [Bonus Track]". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  27. ^ "Gallery - Making the Video: Chris Cornell". MTV. 2006-11-07. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  28. ^ "Making the Video: Chris Cornell". MTV. 2006-10-30. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  29. ^ "Poets of the Fall's You Know My Name cover out now". Poets of the Fall. 2008-10-30. Archived from the original on 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  30. ^ "Prime – 2008". Amalgamates official website. Archived from the original on 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  31. ^ Berardinelli, James (2006). "Review: Casino Royale (2006)". ReelViews. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  32. ^ Prince, Dennis (2007-03-17). "Casino Royale (2006) (Blu-Ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  33. ^ "Casino Royale (2006) - Film & DVD Review". Cinefantastique. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  34. ^ Endelman, Michael (2007-02-05). "Oscar, the Grouch?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  35. ^ "Reviews: Singles". 118 (50). 2006-12-16: 44. Retrieved 2010-01-29. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ^ Vrabel, Jeff (2007-06-09). "Carry On review". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2007-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  37. ^ Long, Chris (2007-05-25). "Chris Cornell Carry On Review". BBC1. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  38. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100: December 9, 2006". Billboard. 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  39. ^ a b "The Billboard Pop 100: 6 December 2006". Billboard. 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  40. ^ a b "UK Singles Chart: Week Ending December 16, 2006". BBC. Archived from the original on 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  41. ^ "2006 11th Annual SATELLITE Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  42. ^ "2007 World Soundtrack Awards". World Soundtrack Academy. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  43. ^ "Grammy 2008 Winners List". MTV Asia. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  44. ^ Sneider, Jeff (2006-12-10). "Academy announces eligible songs". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  45. ^ "Euro Digital Tracks: December 9, 2006". Billboard. 9 December 2006. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  46. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles: You Know My Name". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  47. ^ "IFPI archive". Archived from the original on 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  48. ^ "Irish Charts Week 2, 2007". IRMA. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  49. ^ "TOP 40 DOWNLOADS CHART :: CHART WEEK ENDING DATE 16/12/06". The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2006-12-12. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  50. ^ "Chris Cornell". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  51. ^ "Chris Cornell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  52. ^ "Album Jahrescharts 2008". MTV Germany. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  53. ^ "Forårets guld- og platincertificeringer" (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  54. ^ "British single certifications – Chris Cornell – You Know My Name". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  55. ^ "007 by the Numbers". Nielsen Media Research. February 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
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