White Stripes frontman Jack White unexpectedly paired with
soul singer Alicia Keys to record the next Bond theme tune: “Another Way To
Die.”
Leona Lewis, Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Grace Jones had all
been rumored as the vocalists for the new track in “Quantum of Solace,” but now
the final combination has been chosen and it doesn’t involve any of them.
In an interview with Sky News, Amy Winehouse’s producer,
Mark Ronson, revealed that the soul singer had stopped working on the theme
song for the latest 007 movie. He explained that by saying that Winehouse was
“not ready to record any music” and that it was going to take “some miracle of
science” to finish the two tracks for “Quantum of Solace.”
“Another Way To Die” is the first duet in Bond soundtrack
history, the studio said in a statement.
Jack White, 33, is the one who wrote and produced the song
and also plays drums on the track.
The 22nd adventure in Bond history, starring
Daniel Craig as 007, opens in theaters November 7, while the soundtrack to the
movie will be released worldwide in October 28 by Keys’ J Records label.
Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said
they were “delighted and pleased” to have such interesting and popular artists
as Jack White and Alicia Keys , “who were inspired by our film to join together
their extraordinary talents in creating a unique sound for Quantum Of Solace.”
Vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Jack White
formed the band White Stripes in 1997 together with his sister Meg as drummer.
The band released six albums, of which the most successful were “White Blood
Cells” and “Elephant.” The band’s music is inspired by early punk rock, garage
folk, blues and their last three albums have each won a Grammy Award For Best
Alternative Music Album.
Jack White also formed The Raconteurs in 2005.
US Grammy winner Alicia Keys, 27, debuted on the music scene
in 2001 with the album “Songs in A Minor.”
Other performers of the Bond tune in the past include Paul
McCartney and Wings with “Live and Let Die,” Sheena Easton (“For Your Eyes
Only”), Duran Duran (“A View To a Kill”), Gladys Knight (“License to Kill”),
Tina Turner (“GoldenEye”). Garbage (“The World is Not Enough”), Madonna (“Die
Another Day”).
The theme tune for the last spy film in the hit franchise,
Casino Royale, was sung and co-written by US musician Chris Cornell, who is the
former Soundgarden vocalist and currently the vocalist for Audioslave.
“Quantum of Solace” is directed by Marc Forster and will be
released by Columbia Pictures. The script was written by “Casino Royale’s” Paul
Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who were joined by newcomer Joshua
Zetumer. The title of the film was chosen from an unrelated short story in Ian
Fleming’s “For Your Eyes Only” (1960).
