Shirley Bassey Although Miss Bassey’s career expands more than fifty years and her repertoire is as expansive as her career, she is probably best known as the singer of three James Bond movie theme songs and for not “popping her cork for every man she meets.” Shirley Bassey was born in the small town of Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, on January 8th 1937. Her father was a Nigerian seaman and her mother came originally from Yorkshire, England. Tiger Bay was notorious at that time for being a red light district and Shirley was raised in an impoverished family of seven children after her father died when she was just two years old. After leaving Moorland Primary School at the age of fifteen, Shirley found employment as a packer in a local factory. To supplement her income she sang at night in local clubs and public houses. With her love of singing she joined the musical based on the life of Al Jolson entitled, Memories of Jolson and in 1954 she signed for a professional engagement in Hot From Harlem. At the age of just sixteen Shirley became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Sharon, after which she left the entertainment world and returned to waitressing to support her new family. Later, in 1955 Shirley met with a London based booking agent who recognized her talent and soon had her on the road to stardom.
Shirley toured with several theatres until she was spotted by record producer Johnny Franz who offered her a record deal at which time she released her first single, “Burn My Candle” in 1956. By 1958 Bassey had signed with American based record company Columbia and it was then that she released two singles that would become classics, “As I Love You’ and “Hands Across the Sea." 1965 saw the first of two marriages that Bassey would enter into. The first was with Kenneth Hume until their divorce in 1965, then she married her second husband, Sergio Novak, in 1968 and once again the marriage ended in divorce in 1977. At this time Shirley had a second daughter and also adopted a daughter. Her daughter Samantha was found dead in 1985 after jumping from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England. In 1965 she recorded the theme song to the James Bond movie, “Goldfinger” which was her only top ten single in the United States. While in the US she was interviewed on several talk shows including the Johnny Carson show. In 1970 Bassey released “Something” on the United Artists label and the single actually did better in the charts than the original which was written and recorded by the Beatles. Once again in 1971 Shirley recorded the theme song to the James Bond movie starring Sean Connery, “Diamonds are Forever.’ She was the only artist to record three Bond theme songs. In 2005 the theme was also included on an album by Kanye West, ‘ Diamonds from Sierra Leone’. Her third Bond theme song accompanied the movie ‘Moonraker’ in 1979, once again starring Connery.
In recognition of her career longevity, endurance and a particular admiration from the Royal Family, Bassey was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in December 1999 by HM Queen Elizabeth II. By the turn of the century Shirley concentrated less on her music and more on her charitable works and in 2003 she donated a collection of her gowns for auction at Christies auction house which raised 250,000 pounds which was donated to the Noah’s Ark Children’s Appeal and the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship. With thirty-one hits in the UK Singles Chart, which span a record forty-two year period for a female vocalist, plus thirty-five hit LPs in the corresponding UK Albums Chart, she has become Britain's most successful female chart artist of all time. A chain store in the United Kingdom signed Shirley for their Christmas 2006 advertising campaign in which Bassey is seen in a glamorous Ice Palace singing a cover version of Pink's song, "Get the Party Started". The advert also includes famous models, such as Twiggy. ABB |
