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"Nobody Does It Better" is apower ballad and thetheme song for theJames Bond filmThe Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Composed byMarvin Hamlisch with lyrics byCarole Bayer Sager, the song was produced byRichard Perry and performed byCarly Simon. It was the first Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film sinceDr. No (1962), although the phrase "the spy who loved me" is included in the lyrics. The song was released as asingle from the film'ssoundtrack album, and became a major worldwide hit.

Among the most successfulBond themes, the song spent three weeks at No. 2 on the USBillboard Hot 100, kept out of the top spot byDebby Boone's "You Light Up My Life". It hit No. 1 on theBillboard Easy Listening chart, where it stayed for seven weeks,^[1] becoming the No. 1Adult Contemporary hit of 1977.^[2] The song was certifiedGold by theRIAA, signifying sales of one million copies in the US.^[3] It also reached No. 7 on theUK Singles Chart, and was certified Silver by theBPI.^[4]^[5] The song receivedAcademy Award andGolden Globe Award nominations for Best Original Song in 1978, losing both to "You Light Up My Life" from the 1977film of the same title. At the20th Annual Grammy Awards held in 1978, "Nobody Does It Better" received a nomination forSong of the Year, and Simon was nominated forBest Pop Vocal Performance, Female.

In 2004, "Nobody Does it Better" was honoured by theAmerican Film Institute as the67th greatest film song as part of their100 Years Series.^[6] In 2012,Rolling Stone ranked it the third-greatestJames Bond theme song,^[7] whileBillboard ranked it the second-greatest.^[8] In 2021,USA Today crowned "Nobody Does it Better" the greatest James Bond theme song.^[9] The song has been performed live byCeline Dion^[10] andRadiohead,^[11] whose lead singer,Thom Yorke, called it the "sexiest song ever written".^[12]^[13]^[14]

Background and composition

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"Nobody Does It Better" is Carly Simon's longest-charting hit, as well as the most successful hit of hers that she did not write herself. Her earlier hit "You're So Vain" spent three weeks at No. 1; however, its chart run was two months shorter than that of "Nobody Does It Better".^[15] The title of the theme was later used for Simon's 1998 greatest hitscompilation,The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better.

Lyrically, "Nobody Does It Better" is a "lust-drunk anthem" aboutJames Bond (Roger Moore)'s sexual prowess.^[16] In a 1977 documentary on the making ofThe Spy Who Loved Me,Marvin Hamlisch said that the decision to ask Simon to perform the song was made after lyricistCarole Bayer Sager remarked that the lyrics sounded "incredibly vain", in reference to Simon's 1972 song "You're So Vain".

Reception

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Billboard described "Nobody Does It Better" as a "typically inventive and bombastic"James Bond theme song, stating that Simon sings it "as if she believed sincerely in the superhuman love powers of 007."^[17]Cash Box said that it is "strictly star material in every detail" and that it has "a good enough melody to stand on its own," even if it wasn't a James Bond theme song.^[18]

Accolades

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Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
1978	Academy Awards	Best Original Song	Marvin Hamlisch andCarole Bayer Sager	Nominated	^[19]
	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film Music	Marvin Hamlish	Nominated	^[20]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Original Song	Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager	Nominated	^[21]
	Grammy Awards	Song of the Year	Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager	Nominated	^[22]
	Grammy Awards	Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female	Carly Simon	Nominated	^[22]

Track listing

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7" single^[23]

"Nobody Does It Better" – 3:30
"After the Storm" – 2:46

Chart performance

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1977–1978)	Peak position
Argentina^[24]	4
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[25]	8
CanadianRPM Adult Contemporary^[26]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[27]	2
France^[28]	5
Ireland^[28]	1
Norway^[28]	5
Quebec (ADISQ)^[29]	3
UK Singles (OCC)^[30]	7
USBillboard Hot 100^[31]	2
USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)^[32]	1
U.S.Cash Box Top 100	2
West Germany (GfK)^[33]	31

Year-end charts

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Chart (1977)	Rank
CanadianRPM Top Singles^[34]	35
UK Singles Chart^[35]	49
USBillboard Hot 100^[36]	83
USBillboard Adult Contemporary^[37]	1
USCash Box Top 100^[38]	14

Chart (1978)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[39]^[40]	39

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[41]	Silver	250,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[42]	Gold	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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^Whitburn, Joel (2002).Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 221.
^"Billboard Easy Listening Charts Singles".Billboard Magazine. December 24, 1977. RetrievedDecember 30, 2014.
^Grein, Paul (January 3, 2013)."Chart Watch Extra: Top Songs of 2012".Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. RetrievedJanuary 5, 2013.
^Whitburn, Joel (2006).TheBillboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
^Roberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
^"AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". AFI.com. Archived fromthe original on February 11, 2020. RetrievedJune 16, 2014.
^Edwards, Gavin (October 5, 2012)."Carly Simon, 'Nobody Does It Better' (1977) – The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. RetrievedJuly 15, 2015.
^Ruggieri, Melissa."Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs Ever".Billboard.Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. RetrievedAugust 31, 2014.
^Ruggieri, Melissa."James Bond theme songs: We rank the exceptional and unremarkable, from Adele to Madonna". USA Today.Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. RetrievedOctober 8, 2021.
^Brissey, Breia."On the scene: Celine Dion live in Las Vegas".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. RetrievedMay 18, 2015.
^"Best & Worst James Bond theme covers".Digital Spy. October 24, 2012.Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2017.
^Greene, Andy (April 4, 2017)."Flashback: Radiohead Cover Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better'".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. RetrievedMarch 7, 2022.
^"Radiohead – Nobody Does It Better".Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. RetrievedMarch 7, 2022.
^"Radiohead take on Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better'". January 18, 2020.Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. RetrievedMarch 7, 2022.
^Whitburn, Joel (2003).Top Pop Singles, 1955–2002
^Ehrlich, David (November 2, 2015)."James Bond Movie Theme Songs, Ranked Worst to Best". Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. RetrievedNovember 20, 2015.
^"Top Single Picks"(PDF).Billboard. July 9, 1977. p. 100. RetrievedJuly 11, 2020.
^"CashBox Singles Reviews"(PDF).Cash Box. July 9, 1977. p. 15. RetrievedDecember 26, 2021.
^"The 50th Academy Awards - 1978".Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 5, 2014.Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. RetrievedAugust 17, 2021.
^"Film in 1978".British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. RetrievedAugust 21, 2020.
^"Spy Who Loved Me, The".Hollywood Foreign Press Association.Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. RetrievedAugust 30, 2020.
^"20th Annual Grammy Awards".The Recording Academy.Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. RetrievedOctober 30, 2021.
^Discogs (1977)."Nobody Does It Better".Discogs. RetrievedAugust 24, 2022.
^"Cash Box - International Best Sellers"(PDF).worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 18 March 1978. p. 63.
^"Australian-charts.com - Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Archived fromthe original on June 2, 2016. RetrievedMay 4, 2016.
^"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2016. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Top RPM Singles: Issue 5447a."RPM.Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
^^a ^b ^c"Songs from the Year 1977".Tsort.info. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec"(PDF) (in French).BAnQ. October 1, 1977. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on November 29, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2025.
^"Official Singles Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.
^"Carly Simon Chart History (Hot 100)".Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
^"Carly Simon Chart History (Adult Contemporary)".Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Carly Simon – Nobody Does It Better"(in German).GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
^"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2016. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Top 100 1977 - UK Music Charts".Uk-charts.top-source.info. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977".Musicoutfitters.com. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Billboard Easy Listening Charts Singles".Billboard Magazine. December 24, 1977. RetrievedDecember 30, 2014.
^"Top 100 Year End Charts: 1977".Cashbox Magazine. Archived fromthe original on October 28, 2012. RetrievedJuly 26, 2016.
^"Australian-charts.com - Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Archived fromthe original on June 2, 2016. RetrievedMay 4, 2016.
^"Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978".Kent Music Report. RetrievedJanuary 8, 2022 – via Imgur.com.
^"British single certifications – Carly Simon – Nobody Does It Better".British Phonographic Industry. RetrievedAugust 15, 2020.
^"American single certifications – Carly Simon – Nobody Does It Better".Recording Industry Association of America. RetrievedAugust 15, 2020.

External links

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v t e James Bond music
Themes	"James Bond Theme" "007 Theme" "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" "Bond 77"
Soundtracks	Dr. No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball Casino Royale (1967) You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty's Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy Never Say Never Again A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale (2006) Quantum of Solace Skyfall Spectre No Time to Die
Eon themes	"Kingston Calypso" "From Russia with Love" "Goldfinger" "Thunderball" "You Only Live Twice" "We Have All the Time in the World" "Diamonds Are Forever" "Live and Let Die" "The Man with the Golden Gun" "Nobody Does It Better" "Moonraker" "For Your Eyes Only" "All Time High" "A View to a Kill" "The Living Daylights" "Where Has Everybody Gone?" "Licence to Kill" "If You Asked Me To" "GoldenEye" "Tomorrow Never Dies" "The World Is Not Enough" "Die Another Day" "You Know My Name" "Another Way to Die" "Skyfall" "Writing's on the Wall" "No Time to Die"
Non-Eon themes	"Casino Royale" "The Look of Love" "Never Say Never Again"
Unused themes	"The Juvenile" "Man of War" "Spectre"
Compilations	Shaken and Stirred The Incredible World of James Bond The Best of Bond... James Bond
Related articles	"Everything or Nothing"

v t e Carly Simon
Studio albums	Carly Simon Anticipation No Secrets Hotcakes Playing Possum Another Passenger Boys in the Trees Spy Come Upstairs Torch Hello Big Man Spoiled Girl Coming Around Again My Romance Have You Seen Me Lately Letters Never Sent Film Noir The Bedroom Tapes Moonlight Serenade Into White This Kind of Love Never Been Gone
Compilations	The Best of Carly Simon Clouds in My Coffee The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better Anthology Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits Carly Simon Collector's Edition Original Album Series Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection) These Are the Good Old Days: The Carly Simon and Jac Holzman Story
Live albums	Greatest Hits Live Live at Grand Central
Christmas albums	Christmas Is Almost Here
Soundtrack albums	Working Girl This Is My Life Piglet's Big Movie The Best of Pooh and Heffalumps, Too
Other albums	No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record In Harmony 2 Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera
Concert films	Live from Martha's Vineyard Carly in Concert – My Romance Live at Grand Central A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2
Singles	"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" "Anticipation" "Legend in Your Own Time" "You're So Vain" "The Right Thing to Do" "Mockingbird" "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" "Attitude Dancing" "Waterfall" "It Keeps You Runnin'" "Half a Chance" "Nobody Does It Better" "You Belong to Me" "Devoted to You" "Vengeance" "Jesse" "Hurt" "Why" "Kissing with Confidence" "You Know What to Do" "Tired of Being Blonde" "My New Boyfriend" "Coming Around Again" "Give Me All Night" "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" "All I Want Is You" "Let the River Run" "Better Not Tell Her" "Love of My Life" "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)" "Let It Snow"
Other songs	"Angel from Montgomery" "We Have No Secrets" "Night Owl" "You Can Close Your Eyes" "When Manhattan Was a Maiden"
The Simon Sisters	Meet the Simon Sisters Cuddlebug The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod: The Kapp Recordings
Memoirs	Boys in the Trees: A Memoir Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie
Family	Richard Simon (father) Andrea Heinemann Simon (mother) George Simon (uncle) Joanna Simon (sister) Lucy Simon (sister) James Taylor (ex-husband) Sally Taylor (daughter)
Related articles	Awards and nominations Discography The Simon Sisters