DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER "SHIRLEY BASSEY"

         

 Shirley Bassey was born January 8th, the seventh and last child of Eliza Jane and Henry Bassey in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, of paternal Nigerian and maternal English heritage. 

       Signing her first contract in 1953 to sing in a touring show titled "Memories of Jolson", her next professional engagement was in "Hot from Harlem", which ran until 1954.  Then in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent, put her firmly on course for her destined career. He saw enormous talent in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star.  This meeting led her to a series of theatre shows and an offer for the lead in Al Read's "Such is Life" in London's West End Adelphi Theatre.  While she starred in this show, Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a recording deal. Bassey recorded her first song, a provocative "Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)", and Philips released it in February 1956, when Bassey was just nineteen. Owing to her age at the time and the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but sales were brisk anyway, backed with her powerful rendition of Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather".

 
        President John F. Kennedy invited Bassey to sing at his Inaugural Ball and helped usher her into the most significant decades of her career.  In 1965, she achieved her first U.S. Top 10 chart hit with the title song of the James Bond film, "Goldfinger" – from the #1 original soundtrack in the U.S. that same year. The popularity and success of her Goldfinger recording led her to record further unforgettable 007 movie soundtracks including the well known  "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971 and "Moonraker" in 1979.
 
        HM Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition and admiration of Bassey's career longevity, bestowed upon her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1999 and invited her to perform in 2002 at the Party at the Palace, a public celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. She was awarded France's top honour, the Legion d'Honneur, to signify her popularity and importance in the culture of France.  The success of the "Goldfinger" soundtrack had a lasting impact on her career, earning her the title as the ultimate 007 songbird of all time.