Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable song of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: Duran Duran — “A View to a Kill”
In the 1980s, MTV drove a second British Invasion, and at the forefront of the movement was the English pop-rock band Duran Duran. The band released five albums during the decade, all of which were certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum. The band won awards in the U.S. and the UK and was responsible for hits like “The Reflex,” “Girls on Film,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Rio,” “The Wild Boys,” and more.
While the band had 11 Top Ten singles in the U.S., only two of their songs ever reached Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, “The Reflex” and “A View to a Kill.” The latter song was the theme from a James Bond film of the same name. Writing a Bond theme is considered a great honor, like being asked to play the Super Bowl halftime show. However, it may not be as hard to get a gig writing a Bond theme as everyone thinks. Just ask Duran Duran bassist John Taylor.
When in Doubt, Offer Them a Fiver
Taylor is a lifelong Bond fan, so when he saw Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli at a party, he took a chance. In the band’s unauthorized biography, “Notorious,” and in later band interviews, the tale is told of Taylor drunkenly approaching Broccoli and asking, “If I give you a fiver, can I write a theme tune, please?” Surprisingly, the pitch paid off, and Duran Duran got the gig. “A View to a Kill” was the only Bond theme to reach Number One in the U.S., and the epic earworm was nominated for a Golden Globe as well. No word on if Broccoli ever got his £5 in the deal…
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