Skyfall theme shirley bassey biography

Welsh singer (born 1937)

Not to be confused with Shirley Ballas.

Musical artist

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) 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.

Born in Cardiff, Bassey began performing as a teenager in 1953. In 1959, she became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. In the following decades, Bassey amassed 27 top 40 hits in the UK, including two number ones ("As I Love You" and the double A-side "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"/"Reach for the Stars") plus a number one on the Dance Chart ("History Repeating"). She became well known for recording theme songs of the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979).

Bassey has had numerous BBC television specials and hosted her own variety series, Shirley Bassey. In 2011, BBC aired the television film Shirley, based on Bassey's life and career. Since making her first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1971, she has performed at the venue 45 times. Bassey received the first award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1st Brit Awards in 1977. She was appointed a Dame in 1999 for services to the performing arts. In 2003, she was ranked among the "100 Great Black Britons". Her song "Goldfinger" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. She has influenced many other singers, including Aretha Franklin.

In a career spanning over 70 years, Bassey has sold over 140 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time. She is the first woman in history to claim a Top 40 al

In the second of our series of blog posts, we take a peep into the music associated with Britain’s most famous agent, James Bond. Some of the most famous themes will feature in the James Bond Medley at our concert on Saturday 1 July at 7:30 pm, St John the Baptist Church, Burscough, L40 4AE.

Tickets:

£12 adults/ £5 U18 and students

£25 family (2 adults + up to 4 children)

book online

Alternatively call 07906 129393 to reserve or buy on the door

Waiting on tenterhooks to hear who the new James Bond will be?

Me neither.

Perhaps of greater interest to music lovers is who will sing the next James Bond theme song.

Whilst we wait to find out, Ormskirk Music Society will be revisiting some James Bond Classics in our upcoming performance – The Music of Stage and Screen.

In the meantime, let’s re-visit some of our favourite Bond themes, including some famous rejections. Did you know…?

• The original James Bond theme, John Barry’s Dr No (1962) has been used, in some form, in every Bond film since.
• Originally Aretha Franklin was suggested for You Only Live Twice (1967), but it went to Nancy Sinatra. Interestingly, the string introduction at the beginning of You Only Live Twice is used by Robbie Williams in his song Millenium (1998).
• Louis Armstrong’s We Have All the Time in the World became the theme tune to On Her Majesty’s Service (1969) – the first Bond song not to carry the film’s title.
• Shirley Bassey is the only singer to perform more than one Bond theme – Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever, (1971) and Moonraker (1979). She was also asked to sing the theme tune to Thunderball, (1965), originally entitled Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang but was replaced by Tom Jones at the last minute. Johnny Cash wrote a theme tune for Thunderball which was rejected.
• Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die (1973) was the first Bond theme song nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It re

“I write songs about myself, how can I make a ‘Bond’ song?” was Adele’s response when the Skyfall producers asked her to write the theme song to the 23rd film in the James Bond series. Director Sam Mendes didn’t see the problem and advised her: “Just write a personal song! Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does it Better’ was a love song.”

Although that’s true, the composers of Simon’s 1977 hit (Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager) did slip the film title — The Spy Who Loved Me— into the lyrics. According to Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, Adele went one further and insisted on reading the entire script for Skyfall before writing a word of her song.

At the time, Adele was riding high on the success of her second, confessional album. 21 was the world’s bestselling album in 2011 and 2012, credited with revitalising the entire music industry. Paul Epworth had co-written and produced 21’s mighty lead single, “Rolling in the Deep”, and Adele later praised her fellow Londoner for pushing her vocal range and confidence. It made him the natural choice as a collaborator on something as bombastic as a Bond theme and he immediately set about studying the songs’ musical formula.

Bond’s tone had been set by Monty Norman, who wrote the original theme tune for the first film, Dr No, in 1962. Norman (born in 1928) lifted the opening guitar part — “Dum di-di dum dum” — from a song called “Bad Sign, Good Sign” he had written for a musical version of VS Naipaul’s novel, A House for Mr Biswas. Composer John Barry then gave the tune a jazzy arrangement, adding a devil-may-care sophistication to the mood with stalker’s strings and blasts of high-octane brass. The tradition of individual “Bond songs” began when Matt Monro crooned through th

Shirley Veronica Bassey

Dame Shirley Bassey (January 8, 1937 -) is a Welsh singer who found great fame in Great Britain the late 1950s and has been performing ever since. In the United States, Bassey is best known for singing three James Bond theme songs. She holds the record for most James Bond themes performed by a singer.

James Bond Theme Songs by Shirley Bassey[]

Goldfinger Performed Live[]

Bassey performing "Goldfinger" at the Classic BRIT Awards Show on May 12th, 2011.

Diamonds Are Forever Performed Live[]

Bassey performing "Diamonds Are Forver" at Mikhail Gorbachev's 80th birthday party in London in March, 2011.

James Bond Medley Performed Live[]

Bassey performing a James Bond medley, including the themes from Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker.

Bond History[]

The single "Goldfinger" was released in the US in January 1965, peaking at No 8. The original soundtrack for Goldfinger hit number-one in the US that year. The "Goldfinger" theme song, had a lasting impact on her career. In the sleeve notes for Bassey's 25th Anniversary Album (1978), Peter Clayton noted that: "Acceptance in America was considerably helped by the enormous popularity of ("Goldfinger")...But she had actually established herself there as early as 1961, in cabaret in New York. She was also a success in Las Vegas...'I suppose I should feel hurt that I've never been really big in America on record since "Goldfinger"...But, concertwise, I always sell out.'..."

Also in 1965, she sang the title song for the James Bond spoof The Liquidator. Bassey recorded a song for the next Bond film, Thunderball (1965). "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was not used in the movie, although the film's score follows its melodic theme. Written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse, "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was re-recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick, and then rejected in favor of a new song, "Thunderball", hastil