Song:Goldfinger
Album:The Best Of Bond...James Bond: 40th Anniversary Edition
I'm not a big fan of Shirley Bassey's over the top singing style. But it was perfect for the theme of the 1964 film Goldfinger. And it also established the James Bond film series as a source of pop music. In North America, Goldfinger was Shirley's only big hit. But she has had a long career in England. She was born Jan. 8, 1937 in Cardiff, Wales and began singing professionally in 1953 mostly in musical theatre. She first recorded in 1956 and became a regular on the British charts in the early 60s. She did record for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records but had limited success. Goldfinger was the third film in the James Bond series and John Barry composed the score as he had for the first two films. Barry approached Anthony Newley and songwriting partner Leslie Bricusse to write a theme song and they immediately thought of Moon River from Breakfast At Tiffany's. Newley originally recorded it but Barry thought Shirley Bassey would be perfect for the song and he brought in George Martin to produce it and Jimmy Page played guitar. Goldfinger reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Many of the themes from James Bond films have been big hits and you can get them all on this 2008 comp from Capitol Records. Though Goldfinger was her only US hit, Shirley Bassey has always been a strong live draw and in England she continued to have a lot of chart success in the 70s and coninues to perform today. Here's Shirley Bassey performing Goldfinger at Royal Albert Hall in London.
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