The James Bond Theme Was Originally Written for a Play About a Man in Trinidad Who Wants to Buy a House

Everybody knows the James Bond theme.  But what most people DON'T know is that it was originally written for something else.

The melody first appeared in a song called "Bad Sign, Good Sign" by Monty Norman.  It was supposed to be part of a musical called "A House for Mr. Biswas", which was based on a novel of the same name by V.S. Naipaul.

The musical never happened, though, and eventually, Norman repurposed the melody when he was hired to write music for the first Bond flick, "Dr. No", in 1962.

Years later, he recorded "Bad Sign, Good Sign" the way it was originally meant to be heard.

You can listen to it below.  It's a sitar-heavy track and the singer has an Indian accent, but you'll definitely recognize the seeds of the Bond theme in there.