As we patiently await the release of the latest Bond film Spectre, lets take a look back at some of the most popular songs featured in the spy series over the years.

1. "Thunderball" (1965) - "Thunderball," performed by Tom Jones

This 1966 film starring Sean Connery as Bond begins with 007 attending the funeral of Jacques Bouvar, a spector agent who has murdered British agents.

2. "Diamonds are Forever" (1971) - "Diamonds are Forever," performed by Shirley Bassey

007 impersonates a diamond smuggler and finds his old enemy, Ernest Stavro Blofeld, using diamonds to build a giant laser with a plan to take out Washington D.C.

3. "Live and Let Die" (1973) - "Live and Let Die," performed by Paul McCartney and Wings

Roger Moore stars as 007. Harlem drug lords plan to distribute heroin to put rival gangs out of business; Bond is trapped in a world of gangsters while investigating the disappearance of British agents. Paul McCartney and Wings was a band formed by Paul and his late wife Linda, the mother of their three children. Together, they wrote this song and performed it as a group with the rest of their bandmates. It would become one of the band's biggest hits, being featured heavily on the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. To this day, this theme song has come to be one of the most commonly associated with the Bond series.

4. "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) - "Nobody Does it Better," performed by Carly Simon

Karl Stromberg plans to destroy the world and create a new one under the sea. Bond and Russian agent Anya Amasova team up to foil his evil plan. Compared to the previous Bond films, this one was a deviation from the others as the title of the film wasn't the same as the song. The theme song was composed by Marvin Hamlisch and Carol Bayer Sager and performed by singer-songwriter Carly Simon, who had begun to become incredibly popular during this decade in the United States and overseas in Europe. Like many of the other songs featured on this list, the songs would go on to produce favorable results on the charts in their respective nations. Despite the wide circulation of this song, I have no doubt that the song would have produced the same results if it hadn't been in the film.

5. "A View to a Kill" (1985) - "A View to a Kill," performed by Duran Duran

Bond faces off against Max Zorin, who plans to destroy Silicon Valley. Written and recorded by popular English rock/pop band Duran Duran, it would become one of the songs most associated with the ensemble because it produced favorable results on the U.S. Hot 100 Billboard and on the charts in the U.K.

6. "The Living Daylights" (1987) - "The Living Daylights," performed by A-ha

Bond finds himself the unlikely protector of a KGB officer called General Georgi Koskov, covering his escape from a concert hall in Slovakia. The theme song of the same name as the film was performed by a popular Norwegian band called A-ha and composed by John Barry and Pål Waaktaar. Released in the late 80s, this song features a lot of sounds we associate with this particular period of music.

7. "License to Kill" (1989) - "License to Kill," performed by Gladys Knight

Bond is suspended from the MI6 for chasing Franz Sanchez, who attacked his CIA friend Felix Leiter and murdered Felix's wife during their honeymoon vacation. The theme song was performed by Gladys Knight and subsequently skyrocketed to the top of the charts in the United Kingdom following its release. Marked by Knight's untouchable and beautiful singing voice, I can see clearly why it performed so well.

8. "Die Another Day" (2002) - "Die Another Day," performed by Madonna

Bond is captured on a mission to North Korea and eventually is released in a prisoner exchange. His mission: to track down whomever betrayed him. Released in the early 2000s, there is the incorporation of techno and electronic sounds into the single, at a time when pop and the influence of thumping beats were very popular. Who other than Madonna would we associate with these combinations, at least at this period of time? Arguably at her prime, there was no stopping her from being featured on the soundtrack to the twentieth film in the Bond series. Madonna collaborated with record producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï in producing and writing the single and with Michel Colombier who composed the song.

9. "Casino Royale" (2006) - "You Know My Name," performed by Chris Cornell

After a daring rescue at Miami International Airport, Bond meets Vesper Lind, the treasury agent on his case. A high-stakes poker game ensues. The title sequence used in this film is incredibly visually pleasing to the eye. The incorporation of color and graphics was very well executed, seamlessly in sync with the lyrics of the song. Chris Cornell of the rock band Soundgarden performed this song and wrote it with the composer of the song, David Arnold. This song serves as a deviation from the others, as it doesn't include the notorious Bond theme, which was reportedly a decision considered well in advance by both Cornell and Arnold.

10. "Skyfall" (2012) - "Skyfall," performed by Adele.

"Skyfall" was featured in the twenty-third film in the spy series, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as James Bond for the third time, facing his latest threat from Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). The theme song for the film was written by Adele and Paul Epworth and performed by the award-winning British singer-songwriter. The song won an Oscar for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 2013, and following this, Adele would be referred to as an Academy Award-winning singer, further validating her natural singing abilities and talent.

11. "Spectre" (2015) - "Writings on the Wall," performed by Sam Smith

In the twenty-fourth installment of the Bond series, Sam Smith will be recording and performing the title theme song "Writings on the Wall." Earlier last month, Smith confirmed to the world that he would be behind the song, which was to be released on Sept. 25. While we have the music video featuring clips from the film to whet our appetite, we can't wait to see how the song sounds on the silver screen when "Spectre" is released on Nov. 6.