Released 1997 Length 4:50 | Genre Rock Label A&M | |
B-side "Strong Enough" "The Book" "No One Said It Would Be Easy" "Ordinary Morning" Writer(s) Sheryl Crow, Mitchell Froom | ||
"Tomorrow Never Dies" is the song, performed by Sheryl Crow, which served as the theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer Mitchell Froom, and became her fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in 1997.
Contents
History
Another song, "Tomorrow Never Dies", written by the movie's composer David Arnold and performed by k.d. lang, was originally produced as the official theme tune. When Crow's song became the official theme the k.d. lang song was relegated to the end credits, and renamed "Surrender". The melody of "Surrender" still remains in Arnold's score.
In addition to k.d. lang's song, the James Bond producers solicited tracks from others including Pulp, The Cardigans and Swan Lee. These ultimately were rejected in favour of Sheryl Crow's song.
Critical reception
Entertainment Weekly music critic Jim Farber negatively reviewed the song, explaining "While Crow's music has the right swank and swing, her brittle voice lacks the operatic quality of the best Bond girls and boys, like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, or even Melissa Manchester. Tomorrow Never Dies should be for her ears only." Farber called the choice of Crow "the worst hire since A-ha fronted one of these themes." Rolling Stone was also critical, and believed Lang's song to be superior. Writing for Filmtracks.com, Christian Clemmensen wished Lang's song had remained, and thought Crow's "beach-bum voice and lazy performance was a disgrace to the film."
Awards and nominations
At the 55th Golden Globe Awards, "Tomorrow Never Dies" received a nomination for Best Original Song, but lost to "My Heart Will Go On" by James Horner and Will Jennings. The song also received a nomination at the 41st Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, losing again to "My Heart Will Go On".
Track listing
2-track CD Single
- "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Sheryl Crow, Mitchell Froom) – 4:47
- "Strong Enough" (Bill Bottrell, David Baerwald, Crow, Kevin Gilbert, Brian MacLeod, David Ricketts) – 3:10
European CD Single (Cat. No. 582 457-2)
- "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Crow, Froom) – 4:47
- "The Book" (Crow, Jeff Trott) – 4:34
- "No One Said It Would Be Easy" (Bottrell, Crow, Gilbert, Dan Schwartz) – 5:29
- "Ordinary Morning" (Crow) – 3:55
Alternate Rejected Theme Songs
After the financial and critical reception of Tina Turner's "GoldenEye" which bolstered and revamped her career, the theme to its sequel was an unusual hot commodity. Producers took the opportunity to offer the job to several different artists, allowing them to submit their best effort. Sheryl Crow's was ultimately chosen, but just as other Bond themes before it, it was not the only song recorded for the film. Top contender, alternative rock band Pulp wrote a song for the film, which was later retitled "Tomorrow Never Lies" and released as a B-side to their This Is Hardcore album in 1998. Britpop band Saint Etienne recorded their own version of a song titled "Tomorrow Never Dies", which was later released as an exclusive to their fanclub on their Built On Sand album in 1999. Canadian country and pop singer, k.d. lang's optioned theme, "Surrender" which was co-written by the film's composer David Arnold, ended up being used as an end-title song.