Licence to Kill (song) Licence to Kill (song) "Licence to Kill" is a 1989 song by Gladys Knight, written and recorded for the James Bond film "Licence to Kill", also from 1989. It was written by Narada Michael Walden, Jeffrey Cohen and Walter Afanasieff. Release as a single in May 1989, the song became a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number six and becoming Knight's last charting solo single there. The song charted very strongly in Europe, peaking atop the Swedish Singles Chart for eight weeks and reaching the top five in seven other European countries. It also peaked at number
James Bond Theme interview on the DVD extras for "Tomorrow Never Dies" that hearing the "James Bond Theme" is what he expects to hear as an audience member in action scenes, yet his scores for "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" only use it during the end credits. The next film, "Skyfall", includes the theme as part of the harmony to Adele's vocals and is used as the chord progression, including a faint surf guitar riff. Also, similar to "Quantum of Solace", the gun-barrel sequence is shown at the end of "Skyfall". The theme that plays along with the sequence and into the