British composer Monty Norman died last month at age 94. He had written songs for a variety of singers and productions, but his most notable composition was the original theme for the James Bond films. Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli commissioned Norman to write a score for their spy movie Dr. No, the first of many Bond films. Norman was having a hard time stirring up inspiration when we recalled a song he had written years earlier for a stage musical based on the novel A House for Mr. Biswas. It was called "Bad Sign, Good Sign," and the first line was “I was born with this unlucky sneeze.” The musical never got off the ground, but Norman liked the song, and the tune had the mysterious ring that a spy movie might need. John Barry rearranged the song before Dr. No premiered, and later claimed that he wrote it, but Norman won two libel suits about those claims. You can hear "Bad Sign, Good Sign" <a href="https://youtu.be/ElFRXFKgGZo">at YouTube</a>, and read <a href="https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/birth-of-a-theme">how it became the James Bond theme</a> at The New Criterion. -via <a href="http://strangeco.blogspot.com/">Strange Company&nbsp;</a>#JamesBond #themesong #MontyNorman