Rita Coolidge — “All Time High”

Entered Top 40:  August 6, 1983
 4 weeks 
Peaked at: 36

When I encounter a song from a film or TV show, I usually try to make that viewing part of my homework. Somehow I’d never seen the 1983 James Bond installment Octopussy before this weekend. Octopussy is regarded as one of the weaker entries in the James Bond franchise; United Artists was still reeling from nearly going bankrupt the notorious Heaven’s Gate, and the gadgets and setpieces seem dialed back quite a bit. By then in his mid-50s, Roger Moore appears way too old for this shit, and in fact wanted to retire as Bond, but the Broccolis kept coaxing him into more (in this case, because Sean Connery was also returning to the role that summer in the “unofficial” Bond film Never Say Never Again).

Sometimes Bond theme songs have something to do with the film. They couldn’t really work the title “Octopussy” into “All Time High,” but the opening line suits the film perfectly. “All I wanted was a sweet distraction for an hour or two.” That’s right: set your expectations low.

“All Time High” would be Coolidge’s last Top 40 appearance, though it did top the AC charts in the US and Canada. James Bond would return, as they say in the end credits. Roger Moore was back for the last time in 1985’s A View To A Kill, and Duran Duran’s theme song would become the first #1 single for that band and the Bond franchise.