The Andrews Sisters

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Another great song is "Where do I begin". Throughout their long career, the sisters had sold over 60 million records. Bassey became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (the female equivalent of a Knight Commander) on December 31, 1999. After a long silence, the two surviving sisters had something of a comeback when Bette Midler recorded a cover of their song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Maxine and Patti appeared both together and separately throughout the 1970s, with Maxine releasing a solo album in 1986. A few months later, Shirley Bassey signed to EMI Columbia, and the second phase in her recording career had begun. Laverne, who had cancer, retired soon after; she died five years later, in 1967. They ended up with both in the top 3 at the same time.

Their last appearance together was in 1962 on The Dean Martin Show. 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. After a brief hiatus after the war, the sisters regrouped, performing in clubs throughout the United States and Europe. In February 1959, it made #1 and stayed there for 4 weeks. Their popularity was such that after the war they discovered that some of their records had actually been smuggled into Germany after the labels had been changed to read "Hitler's Marching Songs.". It didn't sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium, things began to pick up. During this period they recorded many songs with Bing Crosby. As I Love You appeared as a b-side to another ballad, Hands Across The Sea.

Their music entertained Allied troops worldwide during World War II, sold war bonds, appeared in several films, and performed for soldiers serving overseas. In mid-1958, she recorded two singles which would end up as classics in the Bassey catalogue. After singing with various dance bands and touring on Vaudeville, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937. 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. They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters. 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. All were born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Due to the suggestive lyric, the BBC banned it, but it still sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of Stormy Weather.

The Andrews Sisters were a group of singing sisters: LaVerne Andrews (contralto; 1911-May 8, 1967), Maxene Andrews (high harmony; 1916-1995) and Patty Andrews (lead; born 1918). Shirley duly recorded her first single, entitled Burn My Candle, and Philips released it in February 1956. Here Comes Santa Claus (1950). 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. Underneath the Arches (1948). 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. Rum and Coca-Cola (1944). He saw talent in Shirley, and decided he would make her a star.

Don't sit under the Apple Tree (1942). 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. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941). 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. I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time (1941). She next took up a professional engagement in Hot From Harlem, which ran until 1954. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (1937). In 1953, she signed up for the revue Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson.

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

Shirley had a Nigerian seaman father, while her mother came from Yorkshire, Northern England.
. To date no other performer has recorded more than one of the coveted theme songs. 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.