Unless you’re a massive James Bond fan, then you have probably haven’t heard of this song. Licence To Kill is theme song of the Bond film of the same name, which was released in 1989. Up until recently, this was one of the Bond films I hadn’t seen and given that I’d heard bad reviews of the film, I didn’t expect much. Surprisingly, the movie was quite good and one of the things I liked about it was this theme song by Gladys Knight.
Now I’m obsessed with it a bit. It’s just so good on so many levels. It’s very catchy and not easily forgettable. If you haven’t heard it, please listen it by clicking on the video at the bottom.
Naturally, this got me interested in Gladys Knight and whose career I hadn’t really explored. I find it incredible that despite my knowledge and interest in Motown, that she hadn’t crossed by radar up until now. The career she’s had is quite amazing.
For a large part of her career, she was the main singer of RnB/soul vocal group Gladys Knight & The Pips. Over 3 decades, the group had a number of hits which included 21 songs which charted in the Top 20 of either the US or UK chart. One of their biggest hits was “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” which they released before Marvin Gaye’s more famous version. It became a hit on its own, but it was toppled by Gaye’s version and has since become his signature song. The longevity and greatness of this group was recognised when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
The group disbanded in 1989, and in that same year, Gladys Knight was chosen to record the theme song of the newest James Bond movie of the same name starring Timothy Dalton. It reached number 6 on the UK chart but it didn’t chart in the US (which was because the movie was not a box-office success in the US).
There have been so many great Bond theme songs over the years, but this one, is up there with the very best. To feel and sense the raw power and beauty of this song, put the volume up and enjoy the song Licence To Kill.
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love the songs a little bit in filipino ummmm…..kapansin-pansin so think i LIKE IT!:)