Shirley Bassey Barbra Streisand

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE, born on 8th January 1937, Bute St., Tiger Bay (Butetown), Cardiff, Wales, UK, is a singer whose career began in the mid-1950s, best known for her powerful voice and for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). Bassey became the first Welsh person to have a No. 1 single, during January 1959.

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE, born on 8th January 1937, Bute St., Tiger Bay (Butetown), Cardiff, Wales, UK, is a singer whose career began in the mid-1950s, best known for her powerful voice and for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). Bassey became the first Welsh person to have a No. 1 single, during January 1959.

From "Hot from Harlem" to "Goldfinger," the story of how a two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff became an immortal icon: In 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called "Hot from Harlem." Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, "Goldfinger," was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself. Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr. to Reggie Kray. John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and--against all the odds--succeeded.

On 8 January 2017, Dame Shirley Bassey, one of the greatest performers – and voices – of her generation, will be eighty. This is her unique story, told at first-hand by her greatest fan. Since she signed her first professional contract at the age of sixteen, Shirley Bassey has become one of the most prestigious singers of her time. Her work has inspired and influenced many, and will continue to do so for generations to come. Diamonds Are Forever is the fascinating story of Shirley Bassey told from the perspective of one of her greatest fans. Mary Long first met the star in 1963 while a teenager, and since then has encountered her hundreds of times. In doing so, she has developed a unique insight into the life and career of one of our most iconic singers. The author’s warm personal story recounts her heroine’s journey to becoming one of the all-time greats of the British music industry, performing at such events as the Oscars and the Royal Variety Show. She also holds the record for singing the most title songs for James Bond films, with three: ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and ‘Moonraker’. Published to mark Dame Shirley’s eightieth birthday, Diamonds Are Forever looks back on the life of this incredible artist whose music has touched so many. It is an essential buy not only for her countless thousands of fans worldwide, but also for anyone who admires and enjoys her music.

Michel Legrand: The Piano Collection is a definitive compilation of 25 best-loved songs by the award-winning songwriter, arranged for Piano and Voice. Michel Legrand has been a seemingly inexhaustible songwriter, film score & stage composer, arranger and jazz pianist since the 1950s. This collection brings together a superb selection of his songs and music, representing various facets of his prolific output, including the award-winning song The Windmills Of Your Mind. Songlist: - A La Lumiere D'une Etoile - Bilboquet - China Doll (Marguerite) - Happy - How Do You Keep The Music Playing? - I Will Wait For You - Jazz Time (Marguerite) - Le Cinema - Le Paradis - Le Rouge Et Le Noir - Little Boy Lost (Pieces Of Dreams) - Nobody Knows - Once Upon A Summertime - One At A Time - Papa, Can You Hear Me? - Secret Places - Sweet Gingerbread Man - Tell A Lie - The Hands Of Time (Brian's Song [1971]) - The Windmills Of Your Mind - The Years Of My Youth - Waiting (Marguerite) - Watch What Happens - What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? - You Must Believe In Spring

Cabaret performances are often known for bringing alive the Great American Songbook from the 1920s through the 1950s for contemporary audiences. But modern-day cabaret does much more than preserve the past—it also promotes and fosters the new generation of American composers and creates a uniquely vibrant musical and theatrical experience for its audiences. So You Want to Sing Cabaret is the first book of its kind to examine in detail the unique vocal and nonvocal requirements for professional performance within the exciting genre of cabaret. With a foreword by cabaret legend Lorna Luft, So You Want to Sing Cabaret includes interviews from the top professionals in the cabaret industry, including Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Callaway, Roy Sander, Sidney Myer, Jeff Harner and many others. There are also chapters devoted to crafting your show, lyric connection, “do-it-yourself” production and promotion, and working with your musical team. David Sabella and Sue Matsuki have crafted the perfect one-volume resource for both the aspiring cabaret singer and the singing teacher who seeks to learn more about this unique art form. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Cabaret features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

At times it appears that a whole industry exists to perpetuate the myth of origin of the Beatles. There certainly exists a popular music (or perhaps 'rock') origin myth concerning this group and the city of Liverpool and this draws in devotees, as if on a pilgrimage, to Liverpool itself. Once 'within' the city, local businesses exist primarily to escort these pilgrims around several almost iconic spaces and places associated with the group. At times it all almost seems 'spiritual'. One might argue however that, like any function myth, the music history of the Liverpool in which the Beatles grew and then departed is not fully represented. Beatles historians and businessmen-alike have seized upon myriad musical experiences and reworked them into a discourse that homogenizes not only the diverse collective articulations that initially put them into place, but also the receptive practices of those travellers willing to listen to a somewhat linear, exclusive narrative. Other Voices therefore exists as a history of the disparate and now partially hidden musical strands that contributed to Liverpool's musical countenance. It is also a critique of Beatles-related institutionalized popular music mythology. Via a critical historical investigation of several thus far partially hidden popular music activities in pre- and post-Second World War Liverpool, Michael Brocken reveals different yet intrinsic musical and socio-cultural processes from within the city of Liverpool. By addressing such 'scenes' as those involving dance bands, traditional jazz, folk music, country and western, and rhythm and blues, together with a consideration of partially hidden key places and individuals, and Liverpool's first 'real' record label, an assemblage of 'other voices' bears witness to an 'other', seldom discussed, Liverpool. By doing so, Brocken - born and raised in Liverpool - asks questions about not only the historicity of the Beatles-Liverpool narrative, but also about the absence o

Coming to London aged thirteen from desperate poverty in Jamaica; pregnant at fifteen; fifteen years later singing in Boney M, one of the biggest international groups of the late-1970s; a messy group split during the 1980s; a 1990s solo career interrupted by six bouts of cancer - ovarian, breast, lymph node (twice), spine and oesophagus - and having to learn to walk again. Yet throughout Marcia Barrett has remained totally cheerful, relentlessly optimistic and a shining inspiration, looking on every obstacle as a mere inconvenience rather than anything insurmountable. Now, she is ready to tell her fantastic story, which is much more than just a pop star autobiography. It is a charming, candid, laugh-out-loud story of survival, triumph, indomitable spirit and total upfullness, often driven by sheer force of will. It is a feelgood story which will resonate amongst all.