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Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, is a Welsh singer. Born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, she began performing as a teenager in 1953. She became well-known for her expressive voice and for recording the soundtrack theme songs of the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). In January 1959, Bassey became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. In 2020, with the release of her final album, I Owe It All To You, Bassey became the first female artist to chart an album in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart in seven consecutive decades.
Norman Newell was an English record producer, mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians such as Shirley Bassey, Dalida, Claude François, Vera Lynn, Russ Conway, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Jake Thackray, Malcolm Roberts, Bobby Crush and Peter and Gordon. Newell was particularly known for his recorded productions of West End musicals.
This article presents the discography of Shirley Bassey.
"Grande grande grande" is a 1972 Italian song, written by Alberto Testa and Tony Renis. It was a No. 1 hit for Mina in Italy and for Shirley Bassey released as "Never Never Never" in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. The 1973 Shirley Bassey single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.
Something Else is a 1971 album by Shirley Bassey.
Never Never Never is a 1973 album by Shirley Bassey. It features the hit single title track, which was a UK top 10 hit, which became one of Bassey's best-known songs. The album also became a top 10 hit in the UK and was a moderate hit in the US.
The Shirley Bassey Singles Album is a compilation album released in 1975 by British singer Shirley Bassey.
Thank You for the Years is a 2003 album by Dame Shirley Bassey.
The Fabulous Shirley Bassey is Shirley Bassey's third studio album, her debut for Columbia, and was recorded with Geoff Love and his orchestra. The album peaked at #12 in the UK album chart in early 1961. Released in 1959, this was the first studio album from Shirley Bassey with completely new material. Her two previous albums issued on the Philips label were collections of new recordings and previously released material, recorded between 1956 and 1958.
I've Got a Song for You is a 1966 album by Shirley Bassey. Bassey had left EMI's Columbia Label, and this was her first album for United Artists, a label she would remain with for approximately 14 years. This album and the following release And We Were Lovers were produced by Bassey's former husband, Kenneth Hume. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at #26, but only remained on the chart for one week, and failed to chart in the US, despite her having received outstanding reviews for live engagements in New York and Las Vegas that same year, and the fact that the album was recorded in New York. It was an inauspicious start for her at UA, as none of her albums would chart either in the UK or the US until 1970. In that year, 1970, Bassey would begin to produce more contemporary pop-oriented albums, but here in 1966, despite scoring her biggest hit with Goldfinger a year or so earlier, she was still firmly in the traditional pop genre.
Keep the Music Playing is a 1991 album by Shirley Bassey. The album was recorded in the UK at the Westgreen Studios and in the Netherlands at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum. The album is a mixture of contemporary pop ballads, such as "I Want to Know What Love Is" from Foreigner, the Jennifer Rush power ballad "The Power Of Love", and the more gentle "Still" from Lionel Richie, combined with standards from the field of jazz and pop, such as "He Was Beautiful", the sweet jazz ballad from Cleo Laine. Several of the song arrangements reflect an operatic pop style influence, which may have roots in her 1984 album I Am What I Am, which she recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the fact that in the latter mid-1980s she started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer. Bassey returned to the Beatles with "Yesterday", as she had previously covered "Something" and "Fool on the Hill" successfully in the 1970s, and had performed "Hey Jude" frequently live. Another previously successful formula was used for the closing track "Dio, Come Ti Amo " an Italian original in the tradition of "This is My Life" and "Natalie"..
The Bewitching Miss Bassey is a studio album by Shirley Bassey. Consisting of new and previously released material this was the first album from Bassey to be issued on the 12" Long-playing record format. Tracks were taken from sessions recorded between 1956 and early 1959. All the songs were recorded in the UK with Wally Stott and his Orchestra, with production by Johnny Franz. The only exception was "The Wall" which was recorded in New York with Jimmy Carroll and his orchestra and produced by Mitch Miller. Featuring Bassey's first five hit songs, including Bassey's 1958 number one single "As I Love You" and the huge hit "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me". The album showcases the best of the early career of Shirley Bassey. All the songs were only recorded in mono, no stereo versions are known to exist. In the 1970s Philips did re-issue them in an "electronically enhanced" stereo. The album was re-issued in the US on the Epic label with different artwork. While this album has not been issued independently on CD, it was included in its entirety on the four-CD compilation titled Five Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles in 2012.
Love Is No Game is a single released by Shirley Bassey in 1988. Composed by Pino Marchese, Charles McLoughlin who later worked together on the film soundtrack of the French movie Parole de Flic. The same team had previously provided the 1983 European hit "Thought I'd Ring You", which charted at #13 in the Dutch charts. The song is a remix of a song that was previously released in 1984, then known as "That's Right". The single was released in the wake of the recent hit single "The Rhythm Divine" a collaboration with the electro-pop group Yello, which revived Bassey's career and chart success in otherwise a rather barren period in her recording career and introduced her to a whole new generation. The song has never been included on a Shirley Bassey album or compilation. The 7" single release features. on the b-side, the original Shirley Bassey recording of "Memory", 'from the musical Cats recorded in 1984. She went on to re-record the song in 1993 for the album Sings the Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Shirley Bassey did not promote this single and no video was released. The single was only released in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany where it failed to chart.
Does Anybody Miss Me is a 1969 album by Shirley Bassey. In 1969 Bassey moved her home to Lugano, Switzerland, with her second husband Sergio Novak, whom she had married in Las Vegas in August 1968. Remaining as a tax exile prevented her from performing and recording in the UK. In this period she continued to perform and record in Italy and the US. This album was recorded in the US and produced by the American producer Dave Pell, with arrangements by Artie Butler. The tracks on this album are a selection of standards and show tunes. The title track Does Anybody Miss Me was issued as a single in the UK, backed with the non album track Fa Fa Fa, but this failed to make any impression on the chart. Does Anybody Miss Me has remained part of her live show and was recorded as the opening track of the album Live At Talk Of The Town in 1970. This album saw Bassey re-record her 1958 UK #1 hit single As I Love You which she had previously released on the Philips label.
Ross Parker was an English pianist, composer, lyricist and actor. He is best known for co-writing the songs "We'll Meet Again" and "There'll Always Be an England".
Michael Julien was a British songwriter, who was the co-writer of a number of hit songs across the world. He co-wrote the winning song at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and received an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting.
"Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" is a popular song written by Michael Julien and Al Timothy. It was first recorded by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey and released as a single in 1958 to commercial success. The song was then included on Bassey's album The Bewitching Miss Bassey (1959) and would become one of her most recognisable tunes. It has since been covered by numerous artists.
25th Anniversary Album is a compilation album by Shirley Bassey. Released in 1978 to mark her 25th year in show business, the album was a double set, comprising 40 tracks. The songs included span just 20 of the 25 years from 1957 to 1976, however, her first professional contract is dated 1953. Bassey had toured extensively throughout 1978 to mark her 25 years. This collection, including her biggest hits and some lesser-known recordings, became one of her biggest in the UK, where it reached No.3 and spent 12 weeks on the album chart.
References
- ↑ "78 Record: Shirley Bassey - Hands Across The Sea (1958)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ↑ Robin Bell The History of British Rock and Roll: The Forgotten Years 1956 - 1962 2014 9198191640 - "In January, 1959, 'As I Love You' became Shirley Bassey's first number 1 hit and the first number 1 by a Welsh artist. While 'As I Love You' began slowly to climb the charts, Shirley had again been busy in the studios recording 'Kiss Me, Honey...'"