Ian Fleming created Bond in 1953 with the release of the first book, "Casino Royale". Fleming went on to write nine short stories and a total of 12 novels before his death in 1964, and the first Bond movie starred Sean Connery and, as stated above, was released in October 5, 1962.
Many more books were written by others following Fleming's death (sadly, he died of a heart attack at only 56 years of age) and 25 films, the last (as of this writing) was "No Time to Die" starring Daniel Craig.
My focus has primarily been on the music of James Bond, which, in fusing big band, surf rock, orchestral, and shots of "world musics", has become almost a genre of its own!
See my lesson article (complete with info and song charts) HERE.
The books and movies have a long and not uncontroversial past, from criticisms from social commentators for the blatant sex & violence to the banning of portions or entirety of several books & movies (starting with Ireland in 1954 on through Soviet Union, China, and India in 2015) on the negative side of the equation, to the positive side with partnerships with Aston Martin (specifically the DB5), Champagne Bollinger, Omega Watches, Playboy Magazine, Walther Firearms (specifically the Walther PPK), and more, which built the legend of the "Bond Lifestyle" (which is one way of saying some criticize these associations while for others its exactly what draws them to the novels & movies).
Ultimately, the franchise has expanded into over 60 books (including the 14 total Ian Fleming books - 12 novels plus 2 short story collections), 27 films (the 25 Eon Productions films plus 2 non-canon movies), at least 5 TV productions, multiple radio broadcasts, magazine serializations (especially with the aforementioned Playboy Magazine), multiple comic adaptations, over two dozen video games, and a table-top Role Playing Game.
And the gadgets and vehicles are the stuff of legend!
The Bond franchise also kicked off a huge "spy thriller industry" that included "Mission: Impossible", "Matt Helm", "The Man from UNCLE", and more, as well as spy themed music hits like "Secret Agent Man", "Pink Panther Theme", "Get Smart Theme", and more, not to mention all the hit songs that served as themes for the Bond films, such as "Nobody Does it Better" by Carly Simon, "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, "Writing on the Wall" from Sam Smith, "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney, and many more.
The franchise has also wracked up a load of awards - a total of three number one songs (11 broke into the Top 40 in the US and 21 in the UK), four Grammy Awards (from a total of six nominations) and two Brit Awards (of three nominations), six Oscar wins (from a total of 20 nominations) and six BAFTA Awards (from 42 nominations)....and note these are just the US & UK based awards.
That's some heavy hitting!
So sit back today, pour a scotch (James Bond's preferred drink in the novels) or a martini (shaken, not stirred), put on your favorite James Bond movie, and enjoy!
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