''The Bewitching Miss Bassey'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by Welsh singer

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

. Consisting of new and previously released material, this was the first album by Bassey to be issued on the 12" Long-playing record format. Tracks were taken from sessions recorded between 1956 and early 1959. All the songs were recorded in the UK with

Wally Stott Angela Morley (10 March 192414 January 2009) was an English composer and conductor who became familiar to BBC Radio listeners in the 1950s under the name of Wally Stott. Morley provided incidental music for ''The Goon Show'' and ''Hancock's ...

and his Orchestra, with production by

Johnny Franz John Charles Franz (23 February 1922 – 29 January 1977) was an English record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. He was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s. While his recordings encompassed several forms o ...

. The only exception was "The Wall" which was recorded in New York with Jimmy Carroll and his orchestra and produced by

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

. Featuring Bassey's first five hit songs, including Bassey's 1958 number one single "

As I Love You "As I Love You" is a 1958 hit song by Shirley Bassey with Wally Stott & His Orchestra, written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a ha ...

" and the huge hit " Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me".Shirley Bassey on officialcharts.com
/ref> The album showcases the best of the early career of Shirley Bassey. All the songs were only recorded in mono, no stereo versions are known to exist. In the 1970s Philips did re-issue them in an "electronically enhanced" stereo (also known as "pseudo-stereo"). The album was re-issued in the US on the

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

label with different artwork. While this album has not been issued independently on CD, it was included in its entirety on the four-CD compilation titled ''Five Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles'' in 2012.

Track listing

Side One # " Burn My Candle" ( Ross Parker) (Previously released in 1956) # " Night and Day" (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

) # "

Crazy Rhythm "Crazy Rhythm" is a thirty-two-bar swing show tune written in 1928 by Irving Caesar with music by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn for the Broadway musical ''Here's Howe''.

" (

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 17, 1996) was an American lyricist and composer primarily for theater who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", " Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", ...

, Joseph Meyer,

Roger Wolfe Kahn Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, bandleader (Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra) and an aviator. Life and career Roger Wolfe Kahn (originally spelled "Wolff") was born i ...

) # "

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...

" (Oramay Diamond,

Clyde Otis Clyde Lovern Otis (September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African-American A&R executives at a major label. ...

, Dave Dreyer) # "

The Banana Boat Song "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music. It is a call and response work song, from the point of view of ...

" (Traditional; arranged by

Erik Darling Erik Darling (September 25, 1933 – August 3, 2008) was an American singer-songwriter and a folk music artist. He was an important influence on the folk scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Darling was born in Baltimore, Maryland ...

, Bob Carey and

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

) (Previously released in 1957) # " The Gypsy in My Soul" ( Clay Boland,

Moe Jaffe Moe Jaffe (October 23, 1901 – December 2, 1972) was an American songwriter and bandleader who composed more than 250 songs. He is best known for six: "Collegiate", " The Gypsy in My Soul", " If I Had My Life to Live Over", "If You Are But a Drea ...

) # " Love for Sale" (Cole Porter) Side Two # " From This Moment On" (

) (Previously released in 1958) # " Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" ( Al Timothy, Peter Warne) # "You, You Romeo" (Fred Elton) (Previously released in 1957) # "

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...

" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

) # "

How About You? "How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was introduced in the 1941 film '' Babes on Broadway'' by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The lyrics of the song are often changed depending on the reco ...

" (

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and '' On a Clear Day Yo ...

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

) # "Fire Down Below" (

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...

, Lee Lester) (Previously released in 1957) # "

" (

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

) (Previously released in 1958)

Personnel

–

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

and his Orchestra –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

* Jimmy Carroll and his orchestra –

References

Sources

* http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/shirley_bassey/the_bewitching_miss_bassey/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bewitching Miss Bassey Shirley Bassey albums 1959 albums Philips Records albums Albums conducted by Wally Stott Albums arranged by Wally Stott Albums produced by Johnny Franz Albums produced by Mitch Miller