There is a list of British acts that have eluded popularity in the USA: Celia Black, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, & Robbie Williams come to mind. But why hasn’t Shirley Bassey caught on in this country after 50 years of recording great pop music & being the #1 Female Artist in Britain? Especially with American Gays? The Husband & I really dig her. We were zany for her cover of Pink's Get The Party Started in the party summer of 2007. Shirley Bassey won an entirely new generation of fans when she guested on a 1997 song from British techno act, the Propellerheads. History Repeating charted in both Europe & North America, & appeared on the soundtrack to the popular 1998 film There's Something About Mary. Yet Bassey had already enjoyed a long, 5 decade career as a performer before this point, recording a string of hit singles in the 1960s & garnering a devoted cult following for her torchy, often slightly risqué songs, glamorous looks, & compelling stage presence. Sometimes called "Bassey the Belter" for her strong alto voice, Bassey had previously enjoyed a huge international hit when she performed the title song to the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. She went on to record 3 Bond themes songs, more than any other artist. Don Heckman, writing for the Los Angeles Times, calls Bassey "an extraordinarily powerful live entertainer with one of the most instantly recognizable voices in popular music."
Dame Shirley Bassey isn't just the biggest voice to come out of Wales, the 73 year old singer remains Britain's most successful female artist. No wonder Rufus Wainwright, Pet Shop Boys & K.T. Tunstall were queuing up to write songs for her new album –The Performance which was released this past autumn 2009.
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