Born to Sing the Blues is the debut album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. It was released on a 10" LP in 1958 by the Philips Records label. Long-playing records were newly introduced in the mid-1950s and the 10" album was briefly introduced as an album format, shortly before the 12" format became the standard long playing format.
Shirley Bassey had been signed, a year earlier, to Philips by Johnny Franz and had released three singles which failed to chart, including her debut recording "Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)". But 1957 would bring her first chart success with the top ten hit "The Banana Boat Song". Philips were not certain to which market Shirley Bassey should be directed. They had recorded her singing Great American Songbook standards, novelty songs and even the blues. The opening track from the album, the only one previously released, is the title song "Born to Sing the Blues". This track was one of the three singles issued in 1956, as the B-side of "The Wayward Wind". After a successful live performance of the song on British television, John Franz decided to present her in an album of traditional blues songs. Several of the compositions that appeared on the album were written by W.C. Handy, known as "Father of the Blues".
The recordings appear here in mono, no stereo versions are known to exist. In the 1970s Philips did re-issue them in an "electronically enhanced" stereo (also known as "pseudo-stereo"), but these added echoes proved unpopular, and these versions have not been re-released. For many years the recordings made by Bassey at Philips were not generally available on CD. Since the late 2000s they have fallen into the public domain and in the past few years, several compilations have been released on CD. The most comprehensive is Burn My Candle - The Complete Early Years 1956-58 from Fantastic Voyage Music released in 2009.
Track listing
Side One.
"Born to Sing the Blues" (Lenny Adelson, Imogen Carpenter) - 2.47
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, the only artist to perform more than one, Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.
"Big Spender" is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical Sweet Charity, first performed in 1966. Peggy Lee was the first artist to record the song for her album of the same name also that year. It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess girls; it was choreographed by Bob Fosse for the Broadway musical and the 1969 film. It is set to the beat of a striptease as the girls taunt the customers.
"Softly, as I Leave You" is a popular Italian song, originally titled Piano, composed by Tony De Vita with Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese, and English lyrics by Hal Shaper.
Thunderball is the soundtrack album for the fourth James Bond film Thunderball.
Something is a 1970 album by Shirley Bassey. With her career having been in decline since the latter part of the mid 1960s, Something proved to be Shirley Bassey's comeback when it was released in August 1970. The title track single became her biggest UK hit for many years, reaching No.4 and spending 22 weeks on the chart. This was actually the second single featured on the album, "The Sea and Sand" having already been released earlier. The album was similarly her biggest hit for many years in the album charts, reaching No.5 and spending 28 weeks in the top 50.
Let's Face the Music is the sixth Shirley Bassey studio album, released in 1962 and arranged by Nelson Riddle. Kenneth Hume, Shirley Bassey's husband and manager, wrote the sleeve notes for this album, in which he gives an insight into how this album came to be: "When Vic Lewis booked Nelson Riddle for a tour with Shirley, we were all very excited; being great fans of Nelson Riddle's from way back...so when someone suggested them doing an LP together, we thought that this would not be possible, remembering that Nelson was under contract with another recording company." Nelson Riddle was under contract to Capitol Records at the time, so Bassey's producer Norman Newell went about to secure his services for an album. While on the tour, Bassey, Riddle, and Bassey's music director Raymond Long, discussed what form the album should take. Shortly after the tour was completed, the recording sessions began.
Thank You for the Years is a 2003 album by Dame Shirley Bassey.
"Burn My Candle" is the debut single by Shirley Bassey. It was recorded in February 1956, when Bassey was nineteen years old, and released later that month on a 78 rpm shellac disc, with "Stormy Weather" on the B-side. The record was produced by Johnny Franz, with Angela Morley and her Orchestra backing Bassey. The song was written for Bassey by Ross Parker at the behest of Bassey's then-manager, Michael Sullivan, who was seeking a song to make Bassey stand out. The BBC banned the playing of the record, presumably due to its suggestive lyrics. In his 2010 biography of Bassey, John L. Williams writes that:
The song taken in isolation, is blatantly sexual but hardly convincing, as the double entendres of the title give way to single entendres in the bridge – 'There's "S" for Scotch, that's so direct / And for straight and simple sex / "I" for invitation to / A close relationship with you / "N" for nothing bad nor less / "S-I-N", that's sin, I guess.'...And that, right there, is the key to Shirley Bassey's early success: she was blatantly sexy and yet somehow, if not innocent, at least not too knowing.
The Fabulous Shirley Bassey is the third studio album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, and her first for Columbia Records. It was recorded with Geoff Love and his orchestra, and 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.
Four Decades of Song is a three-CD compilation from Shirley Bassey issued in 1996. This set features 54 songs recorded between 1959 and 1993. In 2008 EMI repackaged and retitled this boxset as Shirley Bassey The Collection; the new version had six extra tracks.
Shirley Stops the Shows is the seventh Shirley Bassey studio album, her 5th and final studio album recorded for the EMI/Columbia label in the UK. Released in 1965, this album is a mix of standards and showtunes. Shirley Bassey was at a high point in her career, with worldwide success of her single "Goldfinger", but the album failed to chart in the UK, a first for her Columbia albums. The album met with more success in the US, reaching number 85 in the US Pop charts. For the US market it was issued with an alternative running order, retitled Shirley Bassey Belts the Best! and "The Lady Is a Tramp" was replaced by "Goldfinger". Original release was in mono and stereo, both mono versions feature an alternative studio recording of "People" which has not yet been re-issued on CD. The stereo version, remastered, was issued on CD in 2008 together with 12 of Those Songs by BGO Records.
Bassey – The EMI/UA Years 1959–1979 is a 5-CD boxset compilation from Shirley Bassey issued in 1994, this set features 94 studio recordings on four CDs, recorded for EMI/United Artists between 1959 and 1979. Disc five features a previously unreleased live recording from Carnegie Hall. The boxset was reissued by EMI in 2010 in a standard jewel case set.
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.
Show Boat is a studio recording of the 1927 musical Show Boat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The album was recorded in the summer of 1959 at the No.1 studio, Abbey Road, London, and issued by the 'His Master's Voice' label, a subsidiary of EMI, which was run at this time by Norman Newell. It features a cast that was formed for this recording only; this cast did not perform the show live in any theatre production.
The Bewitching Miss Bassey is the second studio album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. Consisting of new and previously released material, this was the first album by 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.
Nobody Does It Like Me is a 1974 album by Shirley Bassey. Bassey's recordings had been selling well since 1970, scoring three top ten singles and three ten top albums. Nobody Does It Like Me was recorded with a new producer, George Butler, and brought a partial return to the traditional pop sound of Bassey's pre-1970s career. Here, the title track "Nobody Does It Like Me" and "When You Smile" harken back to the big band era. Bassey's soaring vocals on Paul Anka's "I'm Not Anyone" and the slightly funky "Morning in Your Eyes" contrast with a delicately rendered "Davy". The duet "Davy", recorded with the song's composer Benard Ighner, is one of the rare occasions that Bassey would share the credits with another vocalist; it was also issued as a single and hit #44 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. The album closes with Bassey's reading of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". This album failed to chart in the UK, and peaked at #142 in the US. Her next two studio albums would be top 15 albums in the UK.
Good, Bad but Beautiful is a 1975 album by Shirley Bassey. In the first half of the decade, Bassey recorded nine albums, with three making the top ten. In March 1975, Bassey released a compilation that became her highest-charting album to date, The Shirley Bassey Singles Album (#2), and reflects the momentum Bassey had maintained since her 1970 "comeback". Good, Bad but Beautiful, released in the autumn of 1975, spent seven weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at #13, and earned a silver disc. The album reflects the formula that brought Bassey back to the charts: a combination of contemporary songs combined with her forte of standards, show tunes, and torch songs, featuring arrangements aimed squarely at the adult contemporary, or middle-of-the-road, audience. This was also achieved by modifying her backup orchestra to include electric guitars, a string and brass section with a more contemporary sound, and drumming that is more soft rock-oriented than jazz-oriented, while side two's opener, "Feel Like Makin' Love" displays a smooth jazz style.
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.
The Shirley Bassey Collection is a double compilation album released in 1972 by British singer Shirley Bassey. The album charted at #37 in the UK charts in January 1972.
Dinah Sings Bessie Smith is the ninth studio album by blues, R&B and jazz singer Dinah Washington released on the Emarcy label, and reissued by Verve Records in 1999 as The Bessie Smith Songbook. The album arrangements are headed by Robare Edmondson and Ernie Wilkins, and the songs are associated with American blues singer Bessie Smith. AllMusic details the album in its review as saying: "It was only natural that the "Queen of the Blues" should record songs associated with the "Empress of the Blues." The performances by the septet/octet do not sound like the 1920s and the purposely ricky-tick drumming is insulting, but Dinah Washington sounds quite at home on this music".
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