This Is My Life (Shirley Bassey album)
Encyclopedia
This Is My Life is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey. The mid to late sixties was a period of declining popularity for traditional pop. How much the changing tastes in popular music directly affected Bassey's record sales is difficult to quantify; but her record sales had been faltering since the latter part of the mid 60s, and the album failed to chart. (She did have some success in Italy during this period, where she recorded several songs in Italian, with two making the Top 40 there).
The version of "This Is My Life" appearing on side two is the English-only version, with lyrics by Norman Newell, and would become one of Bassey's signature songs.
The original album was issued in mono and stereo. The stereo version of this album has been released on CD twice, firstly, in the late 1990s, on the EMI 2CD set Shirley Bassey The Collection and a digitally re-mastered release for CD in 2009 together with Does Anybody Miss Me by BGO Records.
Side Two.
The version of "This Is My Life" appearing on side two is the English-only version, with lyrics by Norman Newell, and would become one of Bassey's signature songs.
The original album was issued in mono and stereo. The stereo version of this album has been released on CD twice, firstly, in the late 1990s, on the EMI 2CD set Shirley Bassey The Collection and a digitally re-mastered release for CD in 2009 together with Does Anybody Miss Me by BGO Records.
Track listing
Side One.- "Now You Want To Be LovedLive for LifeLive for Life is a 1967 French film directed by Claude Lelouch and starred by Yves Montand, Candice Bergen and Annie Girardot. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
" ("Des Rondes Dans L'Eau") (Pierre BarouhPierre BarouhPierre Barouh is a French writer-composer-singer best known for his work on Claude Lelouch's film A Man and a Woman both as actor, and as lyric writer/singer for Francis Lai's music for the film....
, Raymond Le Sénéchal, Sonny Miller) - 2.55 - Medley
- "Goin' Out of My HeadGoin' Out Of My Head"Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony & the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied the group with their previous Top 20 Hit "I'm On The...
" (Teddy RandazzoTeddy RandazzoTeddy Randazzo was a NYC born pop songwriter who composed 1960s hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", and "Hurt So Bad"...
, Bobby Weinstein) - "You Go to My HeadYou Go to My Head"You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. The song is a unique conjunction of a sophisticated lyric and complex, lush harmonic structure by two songwriters who were not generally known for such elegance; nevertheless the song is highly...
" (John Frederick Coots, Haven GillespieHaven GillespieJames Lamont "Haven" Gillespie was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as well as "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Breezin' Along With The Breeze", "Right or Wrong," "Beautiful Love",...
) - 2.53
- "Goin' Out of My Head
- "Softly as I Leave YouSoftly, as I Leave You (song)"Softly, as I Leave You" is a popular song composed by Hal Shaper, Antonio De Vita , with original Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese....
" (Antonio De Vita, Hal Sharper) - 2.27 - "A Time for Us" (Larry KusikLarry KusikLarry Kusik is an award-winning lyricist.He is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics for the tune Speak Softly Love, the love theme from the 1972 film The Godfather, however he has also written lyrics to many other movie themes, including A Time for Us from the 1968 film version of Romeo and...
, Eddie SnyderEddie SnyderEdward Abraham Snyder was an American composer and songwriter. Snyder is credited with co-writing the English language lyrics and music for Frank Sinatra's 1966 hit, "Strangers in the Night"....
) - 2.27 - "The JokerThe Joker (musical song)The Joker is a song by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, from the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd.-Recordings:* Anthony Newley performed the song on the original cast recording....
" (Leslie BricusseLeslie BricusseLeslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
, Anthony NewleyAnthony NewleyAnthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
) - 2.25 - "I Must Know" (Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
, Lil Mattis) - 2.40
Side Two.
- "This Is My Life (La vita)" (Bruno Canfora, Antonio Amurri, Norman NewellNorman NewellNorman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
) - 3.07 - "Who Am I?" (Tony HatchTony HatchAnthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
, Jackie TrentJackie TrentJackie Trent is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.-Career:Trent's first stage appearance was as a ten-year-old ingenue in the pantomime Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music...
) - 2.37 - "Funny Girl" (Bob MerrillBob MerrillBob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) - 2.23 - "SunnySunny (song)"Sunny" is the name of a song written by Bobby Hebb. It is one of the most covered popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century."...
" (Bobby HebbBobby HebbBobby Hebb was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".-Biography:...
) - 2.42 - "I've Been Loved" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Andy BadaleAngelo BadalamentiAngelo Badalamenti is an American composer, known for his movie soundtrack work for director David Lynch, notably Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks saga and Mulholland Drive...
) - 2.54 - "Where Is Tomorrow?" (Umberto BindiUmberto BindiUmberto Bindi was an Italian singer-songwriter.He is especially known for the popular song he co-wrote with Gino Paoli, Il Mio Mondo , which he recorded in Italian in 1963. It was later performed by singers in English and other languages.Bindi was born in Bogliasco , Italy, and was classically...
, Barry MasonBarry MasonJohn Barry Mason is an English songwriter, originally from the village of Coppull, near Chorley in Lancashire....
) - 2.39