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I Am What I Am (Shirley Bassey Album)
''I Am What I Am'' was the only studio album recorded by Shirley Bassey for the Towerbell Records label. Several other tracks were also recorded at this label and issued as singles only. The recording sessions took place at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, in July and August 1984. Following the success of the previous album ''All by Myself'', this album peaked at number 25 in the UK album chart and reached Gold status. This release was the first digitally recorded album made by Shirley Bassey and was issued on vinyl, cassette and CD. Consisting of mainly re-recordings from Shirley Bassey's back catalogue and two new songs, this album was recorded 'live' with The London Symphony Orchestra< ...
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Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as 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. She became well-known for recording the soundtrack theme songs of the James Bond films '' Goldfinger'' (1964), '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), and '' Moonraker'' (1979). In 2020, Bassey became the first female artist to chart an album in the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart in seven consecutive decades with her album ''I Owe It All To You''. Bassey has also had numerous BBC television specials, and she hosted her own variety series, '' Shirley Bassey''. In 2011, BBC aired the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Timothy
Albon Timothy (5 July 1915 – 8 December 2000) was a Trinidadian jazz and calypso musician and songwriter who played numerous instruments but was best known for his tenor saxophone playing. His most successful hit as a songwriter was " Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me", written with Michael Julien, which reached number 3 in 1959 in the charts sung by Shirley Bassey. Background Born in Radix, Trinidad, Timothy started playing the flute aged 8 years. His father was a musician and instrument maker and encouraged his progress. While working as a tailor he taught himself double bass and saxophone. He then married Alice Gachette, a business woman and seamstress, and they had a daughter called Lisa Mary Jocelyn Timothy (who became a top international model called 'Schultzi'). Timothy arrived in London from Trinidad in 1948. Career Timothy accompanied the calypso artist Lord Kitchener and was bandleader Cab Kaye's featured saxophone soloist. He was also greatly involved in the emerg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was a British composer and conductor of film music. He composed the scores for eleven of the ''James Bond'' films between 1963 and 1987, as well as arranging and performing the "James Bond Theme" for the first film in the series, 1962's '' Dr. No''. He wrote the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning scores to the films ''Dances with Wolves'' and ''Out of Africa'', as well as the scores of ''The Scarlet Letter'', ''Chaplin'', '' The Cotton Club'', ''Game of Death'', ''The Tamarind Seed'', ''Mary, Queen of Scots'' and the theme for the television series ''The Persuaders!'', in a career spanning over 50 years. In 1999, he was appointed with an OBE for services to music. Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading men", from 1959 to 1962 he scored a dozen entries on the UK Top 40 chart, including two number one hits. Newley won the 1963 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for " What Kind of Fool Am I", sung by Sammy Davis Jr., and wrote " Feeling Good", which became a signature hit for Nina Simone. His songs have been performed by a wide variety of artists including Fiona Apple, Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand, Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey. With songwriting partner Leslie Bricusse, Newley won an Academy Award for the film score of ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' (1971), featuring "Pure Imagination", which has been covered by dozens of artists. He collaborated with John Barry on the title song for the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'' (1964 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films ''Doctor Dolittle'', ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' Scrooge'', ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', '' Tom and Jerry: The Movie'', the songs " Goldfinger", " You Only Live Twice", "Can You Read My Mind (Love Theme)" (with John Williams) from ''Superman'', and "Le Jazz Hot!" with Henry Mancini from ''Victor/Victoria''. Early life and education Born in Pinner, Middlesex, now the London Borough of Harrow. Bricusse was educated at University College School in London and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he was Secretary of Footlights between 1952 and 1953 and Footlights President during the following year. It was during his college drama career that he began working for Beatrice Lillie. Career In the 1960s and 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goldfinger (song)
"Goldfinger" is the title song from the 1964 James Bond film '' Goldfinger''. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release. The single release of the song gave Bassey her only ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top forty hit, peaking in the Top 10 at No. 8 and No. 2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, and in the United Kingdom the single reached No. 21. The song finished at No. 53 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2008, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Background Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley were asked to create the lyrics for the song. But when its composer John Barry played them the first three notes, Bricusse and Newley looked at each other and sang out: ". . . wider than a mile," to the melody of " Moon River," the popular theme song from '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Herman
Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist for a number of hit musicals, starting in the 1960s, that were characterized by an upbeat and optimistic outlook and what Herman called "the simple, hummable showtune". His shows include '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1964), at one time the longest-running musical in Broadway history, which also produced the hit title song for Louis Armstrong; ''Mame'' (1966), a vehicle for Angela Lansbury; and '' La Cage aux Folles'' (1984), the first hit Broadway musical about a gay couple. In 2009, Herman received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He was a recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors. Early life Herman was born in Manhattan and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, the only child of musically inclined, middle-class Jewish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Am What I Am (Broadway Musical Song)
"I Am What I Am" is a song originally introduced in the Broadway musical '' La Cage aux Folles''. The song is the finale number of the musical's first act, and performed by the character of Albin Mougeotte, first played by George Hearn. His version appears on the original cast album released in 1983. The song was composed by Jerry Herman. Gloria Gaynor version The song was released as a single by Gloria Gaynor in 1983 and went on to become one of the singer's best known songs. Producer Joel Diamond recognized the song's disco potential when he saw ''La Cage Aux Folles'' on Broadway and arranged for Gaynor – whose 1978 '' Park Avenue Sound'' album he'd produced – to record it. A club hit in America, arranged by Marcus Barone, with a remix by Shep Pettibone, Gaynor's version of "I Am What I Am" was a Top 40 hit throughout Europe, becoming established as a global gay anthem. Track listing *7" single :A. "I Am What I Am" – 3:51 :B. "More Than Enough" – 4:46 *12" sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackle "unexpected themes that range far beyond the enre'straditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication." His shows address "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience," with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life. He was known for his frequent collaborations with Hal Prince and James Lapine on the Broadway stage. Sondheim's interest in musical theater began at a young age, and he was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II. He began his career by writing the lyrics for ''West Side Story'' (1957) and ''Gypsy'' (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics for the theater, with his best-known works including '' A Funny Thing Happened on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (1930), " Don't Blame Me" (1948), "Pick Yourself Up" (1936), "I'm in the Mood for Love" (1935), "You Couldn't Be Cuter" (1938) and " Big Spender" (1966). Throughout her career, she collaborated with various influential figures in the American musical theater, including Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Berlin, and Jimmy McHugh. Along with Ann Ronell, Dana Suesse, Bernice Petkere, and Kay Swift, she was one of the first successful Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood female songwriters. Early life Fields was born in Allenhurst, New Jersey, and grew up in New York City. In 1923, Fields graduated from the Benjamin School for Girls in New York City. At school, she was outstanding in the subjects of English, drama, and baske ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida (née Prizent) was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason.Berkvist, Rober"Cy Coleman, Composer Whose Jazz-Fired Musicals Blazed on Broadway, Dies at 75" ''The New York Times'', November 20, 2004. He was a child prodigy who gave piano recitals at venues such as Steinway Hall, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall between the ages of six and nine.Jones, Kennet"Cy Coleman, a Master of the Show Tune, Is Dead at 75", Playbill.com, November 19, 2004. Before beginning his fabled Broadway career, he led the Cy Coleman Trio, which made many recordings and was a much-in-demand club attraction. Despite the early classical and jazz success, Coleman decided to build a career in popular music. His f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
