The "Dame" from Great Britain!
.
Born in January 1937 in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, Shirley Bassey was the youngest of seven children. Her parents, a Nigerian sailor and an English woman, divorced before she was three years old, but they kept the family together for the most part, and Shirley was able to sing duets with her brother at family get-togethers. After finishing school, she found a job at a local factory, and earned extra money singing at men's clubs after-hours. Bassey traveled around the country in revues during the early '50s, and made her big breakout in 1955 at a London Christmas show given by comedian Al Read (though it was promoted by bandleader Jack Hylton, who had caught Bassey's act at the nearby Albany Club). Soon after, Shirley Bassey began appearing in Read's revue, Such Is Life. The show ran for over a year, and gained her a recording contract for Philips Records. "Banana Boat Song" hit the British Top Ten in early 1957, followed by her number one hits, 1959's "As I Love You" and 1961's "Reach for the Stars/Climb Every Mountain." A 1962 pairing with arranger Nelson Riddle increased her prestige in America, and a vaunted live show gained her headlining spots in both New York and Las Vegas during the early '60s. Popular recognition in the United States came in early 1965, when "Goldfinger" hit number eight in the American charts, instantly becoming her signature song across the Atlantic. (Strangely though, it missed even the Top 20 in Great Britain.) Here are the lyrics to my all time favorite Shirley Bassey song called; "Never, Never, Never" which I recently re-discovered and really fit to something what's going on in my personal life right now...
I'd like to run away from you
but if you never found me
I will die
I'd like to break the chains
you put around me
but I know I never will
You stay away and all I do
is wonder why the hell
I wait for you
But when did common sense prevail
to lovers when we know
it never will
Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
You never treat like you should
so what's the good of loving
as I do
Although you always laugh with love
nothing else would be
good enough for you
Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
You make me laugh
you make me cry
you make me live
you make me die for you
You make me sing
you make me sad
you make me glad
you make me mad for you
I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
.
Born in January 1937 in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, Shirley Bassey was the youngest of seven children. Her parents, a Nigerian sailor and an English woman, divorced before she was three years old, but they kept the family together for the most part, and Shirley was able to sing duets with her brother at family get-togethers. After finishing school, she found a job at a local factory, and earned extra money singing at men's clubs after-hours. Bassey traveled around the country in revues during the early '50s, and made her big breakout in 1955 at a London Christmas show given by comedian Al Read (though it was promoted by bandleader Jack Hylton, who had caught Bassey's act at the nearby Albany Club). Soon after, Shirley Bassey began appearing in Read's revue, Such Is Life. The show ran for over a year, and gained her a recording contract for Philips Records. "Banana Boat Song" hit the British Top Ten in early 1957, followed by her number one hits, 1959's "As I Love You" and 1961's "Reach for the Stars/Climb Every Mountain." A 1962 pairing with arranger Nelson Riddle increased her prestige in America, and a vaunted live show gained her headlining spots in both New York and Las Vegas during the early '60s. Popular recognition in the United States came in early 1965, when "Goldfinger" hit number eight in the American charts, instantly becoming her signature song across the Atlantic. (Strangely though, it missed even the Top 20 in Great Britain.) Here are the lyrics to my all time favorite Shirley Bassey song called; "Never, Never, Never" which I recently re-discovered and really fit to something what's going on in my personal life right now...
I'd like to run away from you
but if you never found me
I will die
I'd like to break the chains
you put around me
but I know I never will
You stay away and all I do
is wonder why the hell
I wait for you
But when did common sense prevail
to lovers when we know
it never will
Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
You never treat like you should
so what's the good of loving
as I do
Although you always laugh with love
nothing else would be
good enough for you
Impossible to live with you
but I know I could never live without you
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
You make me laugh
you make me cry
you make me live
you make me die for you
You make me sing
you make me sad
you make me glad
you make me mad for you
I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
I love you hate you
love you hate you
but I want you till
the world stops turning
for whatever you do
I never never never want to be in love
with anyone but you
.
posted by Patrick at Tuesday, January 16, 2007
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