Composed by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, the song was produced by Richard Perry and performed by Carly Simon.

It was the first Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film since Dr. No (1962), although the phrase "the spy who loved me" is included in the lyrics.

[16] In a 1977 documentary on the making of The Spy Who Loved Me, Marvin Hamlisch said that the decision to ask Simon to perform the song was made after lyricist Carole Bayer Sager remarked that the lyrics sounded "incredibly vain", in reference to Simon's 1972 song "You're So Vain".

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.