The original main title theme to Thunderball was entitled “Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”, which was written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse. Barry had thought he couldn’t write a song about a vague “Thunderball” term or the story of the film, so his song was a description of the character of James Bond. The song was removed from the title credits after United Artists requested that the theme song contain the title of the film in its lyrics. John Barry teamed up with lyricist Don Black and wrote “Thunderball” in a rush. Tom Jones, who sang the new theme song, fainted in the recording booth after singing the song’s final, high note.
more...
