"Big Spender" is a song written by

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

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 th ...

for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...

'', first performed in 1966.

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

was the first artist to record the song for her album of the same name also that year. It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess girls; it was choreographed by

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

for the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

and the 1969 film. It is set to the beat of a striptease as the girls taunt the customers.

Shirley Bassey version

A hit version of the song by

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 ...

reached No. 21 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in December 1967. This version is featured in the 2004 film ''

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' is a 2004 television film about the life of English comedian Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis's book of the same name. 1108 pagesPublished in the U.S. via Applause BooksA very comprehensive biography, w ...

'', and in the 2005 film '' Nynne''. The song has become one of Bassey's signature songs. She has performed the song numerous times, most notably for the 80th birthday of

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. She also sang it at the 2007

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. In December 2007, it was re-released in a new remixed version as a digital download. This was the third and final single released from the album ''

Get the Party Started "Get the Party Started" is a song by American singer Pink, released on October 16, 2001, as the lead single from her second album, ''Missundaztood'' (2001). It received positive reviews and became an international success and reached the top ten ...

''. The single features a remix from ''Pink Pound'' and two instrumental remixes that were not included on the album release. Unlike the previous two singles this track featured a remix of a previous released recording, the vocal track was taken from a session recorded in 1984 for the album '' I Am What I Am''. There was no promotion undertaken for the single and no video was made to support the release.

Track listing

# Big Spender # Dangerous Game

Other versions

Recorded versions

recorded the song in 1966. Her rendition became a hit on the US

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

in that year. *

The Ritchie Family The Ritchie Family are an American vocal group based in Philadelphia that achieved several hits during the disco era. They have reunited and continue to perform. Their latest single "Whatcha Got" was released in 2021. Background The three orig ...

recorded a disco version on their 1978 album ''American Generation''. *

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

included a version on her album '' ClassiKhan'' (2004). *

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

covered the song for her Peggy Lee tribute album ''

Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook ''Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook'' is a studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Produced by Barry Manilow, it serves as a follow-up to their Grammy Award-nominated '' Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook'' (2003). Re ...

'', which was released in 2005. *

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...

recorded a version of the song for a promo for her TV series ''

The Client List ''The Client List'' is an American television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution scan ...

''. *

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

sings a variation of the song's chorus throughout English rapper Smiler's song "Spender" for his 2012 mixtape ''All I Know''. *

Theophilus London Theophilus Musa London (born February 23, 1987) is an American rapper and singer. A frequent collaborator of Kanye West, London was a producer on the 2022 album Donda 2 and was featured on West's 2015 single " All Day" which was nominated for sev ...

did a version on his 2012 mixtape ''Rose Island Vol. 1'', rapping over a DJ Carnage remix featuring

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

. *

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

raps over a

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

remix of Theophilus London's version. *

Dee Snider Daniel "Dee" Snider (born March 15, 1955)Tayler, LettaTwisted Sister's Dee Snider remembers his challenging Long Island upbringing "Newsday", March 15, 2016Archived here/ref> is an American singer, songwriter, radio personality, and actor. He w ...

performed the song with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

on the 2012 album ''

Dee Does Broadway ''Dee Does Broadway'' is the second album by Dee Snider, the frontman of Twisted Sister, after 12 years without any release. It was produced by Snider, Patti LuPone and Bebe Neuwirth. Guests in the album include the Grammy and Emmy Award-winnin ...

''.

Live performances

* In the late 1970s Tom Waits often performed "Big Spender" as a medley with his song "Small Change". *

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

performed this song during live concerts. A video recording of this number was made by TV Ireland in 1978 and published on the Boneу M. DIAMONDS video collection in 2015. *

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

performed it Live at Wembley Stadium on July 12, 1986, and also performed it live in period between 1973 and 1977; it is included on the concert recordings '' A Night at the Odeon'' (Hammersmith, 1975) and '' Live at the Rainbow '74'' (Rainbow, November 1974). *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

and

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the ...

performed the song on Boone's show ''One Step Closer'' in 1982. * The

Pussycat Dolls Pussycat or Pussy Cat may refer to: * Cat, a domestic feline Music Bands * Pussycat (band), a Dutch country and pop group * The Pussycats, a 1960s Norwegian rock band * The Pussycats, a group signed to Kama Sutra Records Albums * ''Pussy Cats'', ...

performed the song live at the 2004

MTV Asia Awards The MTV Asia Awards was the Asian equivalent of the European MTV EMA. Held from 2002 to 2008, the show gave recognition and awards to Asian and international artists in achievement, cinema, fashion, humanitarian, and music. Just like the EMAs, mos ...

, with Melody Thornton on lead vocals. * The Pussycat Dolls

Doll Domination Tour The Doll Domination Tour was the second concert tour by American girl group The Pussycat Dolls. It was launched in support of their second studio album, ''Doll Domination'' (2008). The tour was announced in October 2008 with dates in Europe and ...

that started in 2009, featured Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, and Kimberly Wyatt dancing "Big Spender", followed by a performance by Melody Thornton. *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

performed it in his Leopard disguise on the second season of ''The Masked Singer''. *

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...

performed it in her Snow Leopard disguise on the third series of ''The Masked Singer UK''.

Parodies and alternate lyrics

* A well known take-off of the song was shown on The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1975, sung by Brenda Arnau, and featuring

Pan's People Pan's People were a British all-female dance troupe most commonly associated with the BBC TV music chart show ''Top of the Pops'', from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. They appeared on many other TV shows in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and al ...

as guest dancers. * The song appeared in Muriel Cigar commercials in the 1970s, sung by

Edie Adams Edie Adams (born Edith Elizabeth Enke; April 16, 1927 – October 15, 2008) was an American comedian, actress, singer and businesswoman. She earned the Tony Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Adams was well known for her impersonations ...

. A modified version of the tune entreated the viewer to "...spend a little dime with me", referring to the price of a Muriel Cigar. * In an episode of British Asian sketch comedy show '' Goodness Gracious Me'', the cast perform a parody of the song called "Big Spinster". * In the "

Two Bad Neighbors "Two Bad Neighbors" is the thirteenth episode of the The Simpsons (season 7), seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was written by Ken Keeler, directed by Wes Archer and inspired by the animosity toward the ...

" episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'',

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

performed the song at a yard sale with new lyrics to reflect the merchandise he is promoting. * In the ''

Discworld Noir ''Discworld Noir'' is a 1999 adventure game developed by Perfect Entertainment and published by GT Interactive. The game is set in Terry Pratchett's satirical ''Discworld'' universe, and follows its first and only private investigator as he is ...

'' computer game the 'Troll Saphire' performed a parody of "Big Spender", with the opening lyrics as "The minute you walked through the wall, I could tell that you were a troll of destruction" * In the "

Viva Mars Vegas "Viva Mars Vegas" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the animated sitcom '' Futurama''. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 22, 2012. The episode was written by Josh Weinstein and directed by Frank Marino. Its opening se ...

" episode of ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'', a parody version is played of "Big Spender", with the lyrics as "Hey Rich Lobster", when Dr. Zoidberg shows up at a casino on Mars with millions of dollars to spend and lose. * A controversial video with flight attendants entreating an elite frequent flier made news in February 2019, generating protest from the flight attendants' union. *A parody appeared on a musical segment of SNL on Halloween of 2020 called "Big Spreader", referring to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Samples

* The 2007 single " Roc-A-Fella Billionaires" by

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

featuring

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

samples

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the Br ...

's version of the song. * The 2012 single "Big Spender" by

and

samples Peggy Lee's rendition of "Big Spender".

Television and film appearances

* During the animated opening credits of ''

The Pink Panther Strikes Again ''The Pink Panther Strikes Again'' is a 1976 comedy film. The fifth film in ''The Pink Panther'' series, its plot picks up three years after '' The Return of the Pink Panther'', with former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) about t ...

'' (1976), animator Richard Williams has a lineup of

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pin ...

s in a parody of the hostess girls' staging;

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

quotes "Big Spender," seguing seamlessly into the " Pink Panther Theme." * In

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien (; born 8 April 1947) is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice ...

's 1987 film ''

Daughter of the Nile ''Daughter of the Nile'' () is a 1987 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien. Background The film's title is a reference to a character in a manga called '' Crest of the Royal Family'' who is hailed as Daughter of the Nile. The film is a s ...

'', the song plays twice from Lin Hsiao-fang's restaurant. * In ''

National Lampoon's European Vacation ''National Lampoon's European Vacation'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane. The second film in National Lampoon's ''Vacation'' film series, it stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, ...

'', Ellen Griswold performs "Big Spender" with exotic dancing while Clark (her husband) videotapes it. * In 1998, the song was sung by

Vanessa Marcil Vanessa Marcil ( ;) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Brenda Barrett on ''General Hospital'', Gina Kincaid on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', and Sam Marquez on ''Las Vegas''. Early life Marcil, the youngest of fo ...

, Vanita Harbour,

Lynn Herring Sheryl Lynn Herring (born September 22, 1958) is an American soap opera actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lucy Coe on the long-running soap opera ''General Hospital'' which she has played on and off since 1986. Early life Herri ...

, and

Jennifer Hammon Jennifer Leigh Hammon (born March 7, 1976) is an American-born actress known for her work on the daytime soap opera ''Port Charles'' (1997–99) and as the lead in the 1997 film ''Allyson Is Watching''. Biography Jennifer Hammon was born in O ...

on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' during the hospital’s annual Nurses Ball. * In " Dream On", a season 1 episode of ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'', a woman auditioning for ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' sings this song. The song was performed again on the season 3 premiere "

The Purple Piano Project "The Purple Piano Project" is the premiere episode of the third season of the American musical television series '' Glee'', and the forty-fifth overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, directed by Eric Stoltz, and first ...

" by Sugar (

Vanessa Lengies Vanessa Lengies (born July 21, 1985) is a Canadian actress, dancer and singer. She is known for starring in the drama ''American Dreams'' as Roxanne Bojarski. She appeared as Charge Nurse Kelly Epson on the TNT medical drama '' HawthoRNe'', and ...

), a student who can't sing. * The song was sung by Ellis on the first episode of ''

The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...

''. * In the ''

Grounded for Life ''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being cance ...

'' episode "Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", Sean gets the song approved for his daughter Lily to perform at her Catholic school talent show. * In the promo for ''

'',

performs this song. * The song appears in the trailer for

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

's ''

Mortdecai ''Mortdecai'' is a series of comic thriller novels written by English author Kyril Bonfiglioli. The book series deals with the picaresque adventures of a dissolute aristocratic art dealer named Charlie Mortdecai, accompanied on his adventures by h ...

''. * The first episode of ''

Fosse/Verdon ''Fosse/Verdon'' is an American biographical miniseries starring Sam Rockwell as director–choreographer Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams as actress and dancer Gwen Verdon. The series, which tells the story of the couple's troubled personal a ...

'' opens with the number. * The song appears in the trailer for the Netflix television series '' Ratched''.

References

External links

Lyrics
of Shirley Bassey's version of Big Spender
Shirley Bassey sings Big Spender

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...