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Today, from the Bond on Vinyl archives, we’re listening to music featured in Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever!
The incomparable singer you now know as Dame Shirley Bassey was the first Welsh person to reach #1 on the UK Singles Chart. She went on to have 27 songs in the UK Top 40, including two #1s. Her powerful voice can be heard in the title track for three James Bond films, and she is the only singer to perform for more than one Bond soundtrack.
When the original soundtrack for Goldfinger reached #1 in the US in 1965, Bassey’s vocals on the title track drove sales and have had a lasting impact on the longevity of her career. The single itself peaked at #8, which was Bassey’s only song to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard charts.
Even before Bassey got the job of singing Goldfinger, her star was on the rise in the US. Bassey made her first appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in February of 1964. For whatever reason, this complete concert recording was not made available until 30 years later. United Artists Records would not make that mistake again. In the spring of 1973, Bassey performed at two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. These concerts were recorded and released as part of this two-LP set. The set included a gatefold and a booklet containing numerous photos from the concerts. This album eventually reached No. 20 on the Billboard R&B album chart on its release later that year.
In addition to the live album opening with Goldfinger, side C begins with Diamonds Are Forever, a song that Bassey continues to perform live. She sang both of these as recently as October 2022 at The Sound of 007: Live from the Royal Albert Hall concert. Although Bassey performed additional concerts at Carnegie Hall from the 1990s to the 2010s, I’m not sure she ever performed the 1979 Bond theme “Moonraker” at these shows.
101. Shirley Bassey – Live At Carnegie Hall
[Sorry, no toy post from the archives this morning. It was meant to be my 2024 Bond on Vinyl trailer, but I already posted that here last Sunday – DM🍸]
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