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The Shirley Bassey Singles Album
''The Shirley Bassey Singles Album'' is a compilation album released in 1975 by British singer Shirley Bassey. Having seen a sales dip in the latter half of the 1960s, Bassey enjoyed a successful comeback in the 1970s, beginning with the single and album hits, "Something". This continued over the next few years with several high-selling albums and in 1975, her record label United Artists, released a collection of songs taken from this period, plus "Big Spender" and "If You Go Away" (which were featured on a 1960s album that had been re-released and a hit in 1971).''The Shirley Bassey Singles Album'' was an immediate hit, going gold a month after its release, and peaking at No.2 in the UK—her highest charting album—during a 24-week run. The album included the top 10 singles "Something", "For All We Know" and "Never Never Never" as well as featuring the hits " Fool on the Hill" and " Diamonds are Forever", which had not featured on any of her albums up to this point. This album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Don Black (lyricist)
Donald Blackstone (born 21 June 1938) known by pen name Don Black is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie, television themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Matt Monro, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Hoyt Curtin, Lulu, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Meat Loaf, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra, A. R. Rahman, Marvin Hamlisch and Debbie Wiseman. AllMusic stated that "Black is perhaps best-known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and for the James Bond theme songs he co-wrote with composer John Barry: ' Thunderball', ' Diamonds Are Forever' and ' The Man with the Golden Gun'." Early life He was born Donald Blackstone in London, the youngest of five children of Russian Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Morris and Betsy (née Kersh) Blackstone. His father worked as a garment presser and his mother in a clothes shop and during his childhood the family lived in a cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I (Who Have Nothing)
"I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is an English language cover of the Italian song "''Uno dei Tanti''" (English: "One of Many"), with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. The initial version, "Uno dei Tanti", was performed by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The song first recorded in English by Ben E. King in 1963 with new lyrics by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Other successful cover versions were released by Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, also by Status Quo. Ben E. King version The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The title is a translation of a line in the Italian lyrics "''Io, che non ho niente''", but otherwise the English lyrics were written afresh by the lyricists. Leiber and Stoller also produced the first English language release, performed by Ben E. King in 1963. Leiber and Stoller previously had co-written and produced the song " Stand by Me" with Ben E. King in 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal David
Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born in New York City, a son of Austrian Jewish immigrants Lina (née Goldberg) and Gedalier David, who owned a delicatessen in New York. He is the younger brother of American lyricist and songwriter Mack David. Career David is credited with popular music lyrics, beginning in the 1940s with material written for bandleader Sammy Kaye and for Guy Lombardo. He worked with Morty Nevins of The Three Suns on four songs for the feature film ''Two Gals and a Guy'' (1951), starring Janis Paige and Robert Alda. In 1957, David met composer Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. The two teamed up and wrote their first hit " The Story of My Life", recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957. Subsequently, in the 1960s and early ... [...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 (Shirley Bassey 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 '' Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don McLean
Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. His other hit singles include "Vincent" (about Vincent van Gogh), "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You". McLean's composition " And I Love You So" has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, and others. In 2000, Madonna had a hit with a rendition of "American Pie". In 2004, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, BMI certified that "American Pie" and "Vincent" had reached five million and three million airplays respectively. On Nov 22nd 2022 in Nashville, TN McLean was inducted into Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Musical roots McLean's grandfather and fat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond, Neil Hannon, and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many performers, including Bowie, Walker, Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, The Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, James Dean Bradfield, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams. Brel was a successful actor, appearing in 10 films. He directed two films, one of which, ''Le Far West'', was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Having sold over 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod McKuen
Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks and classical music. He earned two Academy Award nominations for his music compositions. McKuen's translations and adaptations of the songs of Jacques Brel were instrumental in bringing the Belgian songwriter to prominence in the English-speaking world. His poetry deals with themes of love, the natural world and spirituality. McKuen's songs sold over 100 million recordings worldwide, and 60 million books of his poetry were sold as well. Early years McKuen was born as Rodney Marvin Woolever on April 29, 1933, in a Salvation Army hostel in Oakland, California to Clarice Woolever. He never knew his biological father, who had left his mother. Sexually and physic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Newell
Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the songwriter, co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians such as Shirley Bassey, Dalida, Claude François, Vera Lynn, Russ Conway, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Jake Thackray, Malcolm Roberts (singer), Malcolm Roberts, Bobby Crush and Peter and Gordon. Newell was particularly known for his recorded productions of West End theatre, West End musicals. His songs have been cover version, covered by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin. In 1999, Newell's song, "Portrait of My Love", originally recorded by Matt Monro in 1960, was honoured at the BMI Awards in London for having two million radio plays. Early life Newell was born in Plaistow, Newham, Plaistow, Essex (now part of Greater London) to a poor family. He aspired to be an actor, but expected to work for Londo ... [...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] |
