Spies and the Songs That Loved Them
Back in the ’30s and ’40s and into the ’50s, many of the best movie soundtracks accompanied film noir, primarily American detective shows. As TV took root in the ’50s, detective programs followed suit, but the show that made the biggest splash — musically and otherwise — was Peter Gunn. Henry Mancini’s soundtrack to the show was and still is brilliant, and the original show theme is still a smash.
Meanwhile, we were just learning about fictional spies thanks to Ian Fleming and his intrepid James Bond, beginning in 1953 with Casino Royale. But the whole spy genre began to explode after a very real one, Lt. Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over Russia on a U-2 spy mission. Suddenly it came rushing at us in torrents.
The first Bond movie, Dr. No, splashed across movie screens in 1962, and we were hooked. TV shows such as The Saint, with Roger Moore, debuted in 1962. Two of the most memorable theme songs also emerged, the first in 1964, when Johnny Rivers’ title song to Secret Agent Man, starring Patrick McGoohan, rose to the top of the pop charts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoqycFAGkDU
The next year, we got badass characters and terrific comedy all balled into one with I Spy (Robert Culp and Bill Cosby), with the stunning opening credits… and those four gunshots! Earl Hagen wrote it.
And, yes, everybody knew the theme to Get Smart, the Don Adams comedy vehicle. It was written by Stan Burns, Gerald Gardner, and Buck Henry.
There did that leave the soul artists of the ’60s? They weren’t asked to do movie theme songs, excluding Shirley Bassey’s stunning Goldfinger title song (written by John Barry) and a hideous Supremes tune from a parody, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (NOT sharing that one).
There are four worthy of consideration (plus a late entry). Let’s start with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. His lyrical talent is legendary, and he used it effectively here. And you know I have a copy of this 45: “Come Spy with Me.”
Jamo Thomas and His Party Brothers Orchestra had a hit with this clear declaration: “I Spy for the F.B.I.”
Of course, nobody said the spying had to be about international intrigue, especially if you’re scared of your wife. That’s what The Maskman and the Agents had in mind with “One Eye Open.”
The best of the bunch was the first smash hit by Edwin Starr, “Agent Double O Soul” in 1965, five years before his signature “War.” You bet I have this 45 too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN7v0Ql9xI8
The late entry, from 1988, is “Spy in the House of Love” by Was (Not Was), borrowing from the 1954 Anais Nin novel; The Doors also used this reference in “The Spy.” The vocalists here are Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens.
P.S. Back to Edwin Starr. “War” was originally recorded by The Temptations on the superb Psychedelic Shack in 1970.
And Starr’s follow-up was, to some ears, even better: “Stop the War Now.”