# Who played the guitar and bass on the 1964 James Bond theme ‘Goldfinger’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-played-the-guitar-and-bass-on-the-1964-james-bond-theme-goldfinger/
- Published: 2026-11-02T16:15:48+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T01:24:43+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-played-the-guitar-and-bass-on-the-james-bond-theme-goldfinger/
- Topics: Business, Entertainment, Film, Markets, Music

## Key points

- Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones played on “Goldfinger”.
- They were session musicians before forming Led Zeppelin.
- Shirley Bassey recorded the song with John Barry’s orchestra.

## Summary

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones played guitar and bass on Shirley Bassey’s 1964 James Bond theme “Goldfinger”, before the pair became members of Led Zeppelin. Their session work helped shape the recording, showing how musicians who later became known for hard rock contributed to a major film song.

Page recalled watching Bassey arrive at a session arranged by composer John Barry, sing the song in one take and collapse afterwards. Jones said session work paid well and included varied jobs, from country and swing to advertising; Page left that life earlier to join the Yardbirds, while Jones initially thought he was making a mistake.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.