Shirley Bassey

Another great song is "Where do I begin". Recent hits include "Maria" (1999) and "Good Boys" (2004). Bassey became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (the female equivalent of a Knight Commander) on December 31, 1999. Debbie Harry and Blondie were close to the Warhol-Haring-Boho New York art scene of the early 80's; they featured graffiti artists Fab Five Freddy and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the video for "Rapture". A few months later, Shirley Bassey signed to EMI Columbia, and the second phase in her recording career had begun. Their better known hits are "Call Me", "The Tide Is High", "One Way Or Another" and "Heart Of Glass." Their 1981 song "Rapture" was the first US number one rap hit. They ended up with both in the top 3 at the same time. Sometimes disco, sometimes punk, sometimes new wave, and sometimes hip hop, Blondie is known for frequently re-inventing themselves.

Shirley also recorded Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me at this time, and while As I Love You raced up the charts, so too did this record. The group was founded in August 1974 in New York, New York by Deborah Harry of Wind in the Willows and Chris Stein of The Stilettos. In February 1959, it made #1 and stayed there for 4 weeks. Blondie is a rock band that first gained fame in the 1970s and early 1980s. It didn't sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium, things began to pick up. Live By Request (2004). As I Love You appeared as a b-side to another ballad, Hands Across The Sea. The Curse of Blondie (2004).

In mid-1958, she recorded two singles which would end up as classics in the Bassey catalogue. Live (1999). That year she also recorded under the direction of US producer Mitch Miller in America for the Columbia label, producing the single If I Had A Needle And Thread / Tonight My Heart She Is Crying. No Exit (1999). Further singles appeared, and in February 1957 Shirley scored her first hit with The Banana Boat Song, which peaked at #8 in the British chart. Platinum Collection (1994). Due to the suggestive lyric, the BBC banned it, but it still sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of Stormy Weather. The Hunter (1982).

Shirley duly recorded her first single, entitled Burn My Candle, and Philips released it in February 1956. The Best of Blondie (1981). While she starred in this show, Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, became impressed, and offered her a record deal. Autoamerican (1980). She toured various theatres until she got an offer of the show that put her firmly on the road to stardom, Al Read's Such Is Life. Eat to the Beat (1979). He saw talent in Shirley, and decided he would make her a star. Parallel Lines (1978).

However, in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent in London, put her firmly on course for her destined career. Plastic Letters (1977). By this time Shirley had become sick of show business and had become pregnant at 16 years old with her daughter Sharon, so she went back to waitressing in Cardiff. Blondie (1976). She next took up a professional engagement in Hot From Harlem, which ran until 1954. Gary Valentine / Gary Lachman - bass. In 1953, she signed up for the revue Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. Chris Stein - guitar.

She enjoyed singing while she packed enamel pots, and to supplement her wage she sang in local pubs and clubs. Frank Infante - guitar. Shirley first found employment packing in a local factory when she left school at the age of fifteen. Deborah Harry - lead vocals. Her father left when she was just two years old. Nigel Harrison - bass. She grew up in the notorious Tiger Bay area of Cardiff as the youngest of seven children. Leigh Foxx - bass.

Shirley had a Nigerian seaman father, while her mother came from Yorkshire, Northern England. Kevin Patrick / Kevin Topping - keyboards.
. Jimmy Destri - keyboards. To date no other performer has recorded more than one of the coveted theme songs. Paul Carbonara - guitar. Dame Shirley Bassey (born January 8, 1937), Welsh singer, perhaps best known for performing the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker. Clem Burke - percussion.

Stacy Bellomo - backing vocals. Tish Bellomo - backing vocals.