Carly Does It Better

You don't expect ME to sing it, do you?

1977 was quite the year for movies. Star Wars (the very first one, which would eventually be renamed Episode IV: A New Hope), Smokey and the Bandit, The Deep, Orca... not all instant classics, but some were. And that was just the first half of the year. The second half boasted such fare as Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Damnation Alley, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Saturday Night Fever, among others. 

In mid-July, though, The Spy Who Loved Me hit theatres. Aged thirteen at the time, I was cool with walking across town in the dark at night to see a movie. Even my folks were cool with it. Hey, small town (more like a small city) in the 70's.... serial killers didn't bother with our neck of the woods, so we all left our car doors unlocked in the driveway, and we let our kids roam freely from about age six or seven. No worries.

Back to my story: The Spy Who Loved Me was the first James Bond movie that I saw upon its theatrical release. I'd already become a little bit of a Bond fan, having seen some of the Connery and Moore Bond movies on TV. No, kids, there were no Blu-Rays or DVDs back then. Betamax (heh) and VHS videos had just recently become commercially available, but I'd guess that only the rich and famous could afford the very first home video players. Even laser discs would not appear for another year.

Long story short, I loved the movie. This was Moore's best appearance as Bond, and it sure helped that the luscious Barbara Bach (Ringo's Starr's wife) was the main Bond girl. TSWLM seemed to revive the public's enthusiasm nearly to the point of the 60's Connery-driven Bondmania. TSWLM  also received positive reviews from critics who probably didn't think much of that Roger Moore fellow or his fluffy Bond style. And on another note, composer Marvin Hamlisch received loads of critical attention for his musical score, most notably the theme song Nobody Does It Better, sung by pop vocalist Carly Simon. And that song, my friends, was a winner for me. I bought the single shortly after seeing the film and played it endlessly. Simon's smooth, supple and melodic voice shimmers over the piano and light orchestration. 

Nobody Does It Better remains my favourite Bond movie theme, outranking even the classic 60's-era theme songs, as good as they are. I often wax nostalgic over this song. And I've still got the 45 rpm single!