Johnny Cash was a great James Bond-fan and he actually recorded a 007 theme song. He submitted his version of “Thunderball” to Eon Productions but the tune was never picked up. The producers also rejected the song “Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” as they wanted a theme song with the same name as the movie title, resulting in Tom Jones’ classic “Thunderball”.
As for the Johnny Cash theme it was recorded on 12 May 1965, and released in 2011 on a Cash bootleg series: “Bootleg, Volume 2: From Memphis to Hollywood” as well as on the 1978 compilation album “Johnny & June”. It is a charming piece of music and truly a great piece of Bond trivia. It is not strange that the song wasn’t chosen by the producers. The heavy country sound is hard to associate with the persona and world of James Bond, although it’s easy to fancy the strong brass intro. It is rather similar to Cash’s theme for “Ghost Riders in the Sky”.
“Thunderball” by Johnny Cash is available on iTunes, on Spotify but why not pick up the CD?
Listen to it here on youtube.
Lyrics follow below
Thunderball by Johnny Cash
There is a rumble in the sky and all the world can hear it call
They shutter at the fury of the mighty Thunderball
The power of her engines, now, has drowned in the sea
But the deadly force from within her is somewhere running free
Thunderball, your fiery breath can burn the coldest man
And who is going to suffer from the power in your hand
Somewhere, there is a man who could stop the thing in time
He is known by very few but he’s feared by all in crime
By courage and by fighting, he has not been known to fall
But neither has the fury of the mighty Thunderball
Thunderball, your fiery breath can burn the coldest man
And who is going to suffer from the power in your hand
Money hungry minds need a thread to launch a scheme
But those, who hold the Thunderball, could rule the world, it seem(s)
Cannot the peaceful world find the clue to where she’s gone
The silent sea won’t answer now but terror lingers on
Thunderball, your fiery breath can burn the coldest man
And who is going to suffer from the power in your hand
007 Under the Mango Tree 
Posted on December 13, 2014
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