Dame Shirley Bassey (born January 8, 1937), Welsh singer, perhaps best known for performing the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker. She is the only performer to date to record more than one of the coveted theme songs.

The Early Years

Her father was a West Indian seaman while her mother was from Yorkshire. Shirley grew up in the notorious Tiger Bay area of Cardiff and was the youngest of seven children. Her father left when she was just two years old. Her first employment was packing in a local factory when she left school at the age of fifteen. She enjoyed singing while she packed enamal pots, and to supplement her wage she sang in local pubs and clubs. In 1953, she signed up for the revue 'Memories of Jolson', a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. Her second professional engagement was 'Hot From Harlem which ran until 1954. By this time Shirley had become sick of show business and was pregnant at 16 years old with her daughter Sharon, so she went back to waitressing in Cardiff. However, in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent in London, put her firmly on course for her destined career. He saw talent in Shirley, and decided he was going to make her a star. She toured various theatres until she got an offer of the show that put her firmly on the road to stardom, Al Read's 'Such Is Life'. It was while she was starring in this show that Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television and was impressed enough to offer her a record deal.

Her first single was duly recorded, and released in February 1956, entitled Burn My Candle. Due to the suggestive lyric, it was banned by the BBC but still sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of Stormy Weather. Further singles were released, and in February 1957 she scored her first hit with The Banana Boat Song, which peaked at #8 in the British chart. That year she also recorded under the direction of US producer Mitch Miller in America for the Columbia label, producing the single If I Had A Needle And Thread / Tonight My Heart She Is Crying. In mid-1958, she recorded two singles which were to end up as classics in the Bassey ctalogue. As I Love You was first b-side to another ballad, Hands Across The Sea. It didn't sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium, things began to pick up. In February 1959, it made #1 and stayed there for 4 weeks. Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me, was also recorded at this time, and while As I Love You was racing up the charts, so too was this record. They ended up both being in the top 3 at the same time.

A few months later, Shirley Bassey signed to EMI Columbia, and the second phase in her recording career had begun.

Bassey was created a Dame Commander (the female equivalent of knighting a male) on December 31, 1999.

External links

• The IMDb entry on Bassey http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0060259/
• Songs of Shirley Bassey website http://www.songsofshirleybassey.co.uk/
• Petition to get Shirley's early recordings released http://www.petitiononline.com/shirl50s/