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.
"Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues in the Night. The song is sung in the film by William Gillespie.
Black Coffee is the first album by Peggy Lee. It was released in the 10-inch format in 1953 by Decca. In 1956, at the request of the record label, Lee recorded four more songs for a reissue of the album in the 12-inch LP format.
"Get the Party Started" is a song by American singer Pink, released on October 16, 2001, as the lead single from her second album, Missundaztood (2001). It received positive reviews and became an international success and reached the top ten in many countries, peaking at number one in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, Spain, and the Walloon region of Belgium. The song was Pink's biggest-selling song at that time. The song was originally intended for Madonna’s 2000 album Music but her team turned it down. It was later given to Pink.
"The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1937 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. Intended for an unproduced Paramount film titled Romance In The Rough, the studio's publishing division Famous Music reregistered and published the song in 1940. It was first recorded by Chick Bullock and his Orchestra on Vocalion. Despite numerous accounts to the contrary, the song was never scheduled for and does not appear in the 1938 Paramount film Romance in the Dark.
"Goldfinger" is the title song from the 1964 James Bond film of the same name. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release. The single release of the song gave Bassey her only Billboard Hot 100 top forty hit, peaking in the Top 10 at No. 8 and No. 2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, and in the United Kingdom the single reached No. 21.
La Passione is a 1996 British drama film written and produced by Chris Rea, directed by John B. Hobbs, and starring Sean Gallagher, Paul Shane and Shirley Bassey. The film premiered on 14 November 1996 at the BFI London Film Festival. The film features a cameo appearance by Rea, as well the same-titled soundtrack also composed by him. The soundtrack reached the #43 position in UK album charts, and was certified Silver by BPI in 1997.
"The Living Tree" was written by Catherine Feeney and Nikki Lamborn of the band Never the Bride, who recorded the song for their 2002 album Surprise. It was a Top 40 hit for Shirley Bassey in 2007. Feeney and Lamborn invited Bassey to record the song; they had left a copy of their recording at her gym in Monaco with a note saying they knew it was a song for her.
Get the Party Started is a 2007 album by Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey.
John Stanley Livingstone Harris was a Scottish composer, producer, arranger, conductor, and musical director. He lived in the United States from 1972 until his death.
"World in Union" is a theme song for the Rugby World Cup. Its melody is "Thaxted", from the middle section of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity", a movement from Gustav Holst's The Planets, and was originally adapted by Holst for its use in the British/Anglican patriotic hymn, "I Vow to Thee, My Country", using words by Sir Cecil Spring Rice.
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.
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.
I Am What I Am was the only studio album recorded by Shirley Bassey for the Towerbell Records label. Several other tracks were also recorded at this label and issued as singles only. The recording sessions took place at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, in July and August 1984. Following the success of the previous album All by Myself, this album peaked at number 25 in the UK album chart and reached Gold status. This release was the first digitally recorded album made by Shirley Bassey and was issued on vinyl, cassette and CD. Consisting of mainly re-recordings from Shirley Bassey's back catalogue and two new songs, this album was recorded 'live' with The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carl Davies. The album also reunited Shirley Bassey with Norman Newell, who had served successfully as her producer throughout the 1960s.
La MujerShirley Bassey canta en Español, is a Shirley Bassey studio album recorded in Spanish. The first recording sessions were held in Spain, and the album was completed in California, at the Hitsville West studio in December 1988. The 1980s saw a period of very few album releases from Shirley Bassey: All by Myself (1982); the acclaimed album I Am What I Am (1984); her recording of James Bond themes from 1987, The Bond Collection, ; and La Mujer. In 1987 the Swiss electronica band Yello approached Shirley Bassey about recording a song with them. The track "The Rhythm Divine" was a minor hit in the UK, charting at number 54 in the UK singles chart but achieving more success on mainland Europe. The success of the single released by Mercury Records, led to an album deal on the label.
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 Performance is an album by the Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, released on 9 November 2009. It is her first studio album of original compositions in three decades. The album was executive produced by music executive Paul Carey and English film composer David Arnold co-produced the entire album with Mike Dixon. Songs on the album were written specifically for Bassey by renowned writers such as Rufus Wainwright, Gary Barlow and Pet Shop Boys. The recording of the album became the subject of a BBC documentary titled The Girl from Tiger Bay named after the song written for the project by James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers. The album gained favourable reviews and was certified gold in the UK for sales of over 100,000 copies.
"Writing's on the Wall" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, written for the release of the 2015 James Bond film Spectre. The song was released as a digital download on 25 September 2015. The song was written by Smith and Jimmy Napes, and produced by the latter alongside Steve Fitzmaurice and Disclosure.
Bad Seed is a studio album by American country music artist Jan Howard. It was released in November 1966 via Decca Records and featured 12 tracks. The third studio album of her recording career, Bad Seed was named for its title track, which reached the top ten of the country charts in 1966. The disc was met with a favorable review from Cashbox following its release.
Nicholas Patrick is a British record producer. He has produced albums for artists such as Seal, Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, Placido Domingo, and Andrea Bocelli, received three Grammy award nominations and won eight Album of the Year Classic BRIT Awards.
