Rai uno -The Italian television performances- part 1

From 1968 to 1971 during her marriage to her Italian husband, Shirley Bassey did a few performances for the Italian television.

Today the start of a series of clips from those t.v.-performances. First all the songs she sung in Italian and after that the songs she sang in English. Today a performance from 1968.

Dal 1968 al 1971, Shirley Bassey appare a Rai Uno.
Quando lei si e’ sposata con il suo marito italiano, lei ha fatto un tour per tutto il paese per avvicinarsi ai suoi fans itialiani. Lei ha prodotto 11 canzoni in italiano e Norman Newell ha trovato anche nella radio italiana alcuni dei suoi grandi successi tali “Natali” e “La Vita” (This is my life).”

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Lyrics and translation Chi Si Vuol Bene Come Noi:

Febbre di luna sulla mia facia
Moon fever upon my face

Come avessi bevuto un po’
As if I were a little drunk

Guardo la gente
I look at the people

Sembra che tutti
It seems that everybody

Che tutti sappiano di me
That everybody knows about me

Di me, di te
About me, about you

Chi si vuol bene come noi lo sa
Those who love each other as we do, they know

Che un giorno o l’altro ti succede
That soon or later it may happen

Di amare tanto da morire
To love so much up to the point

E non capire se esiste il mondo
Of not understanding if the world exists

Chi si vuol bene come noi lo sa
Those who love each other as we do, they know

Che amare è dare la tua vita
That loving means to give away your own life

Tutta la vita in un momento
Your whole life just in a moment

Anche se dopo, dopo non vivi più
Even if later, later you can’t live anymore

Ma almeno questo è vivere
But at least that’s living

Chi si vuol bene come noi lo sa
Those who love each other as we do, they know

Chi si vuol bene come noi lo sa
Those who love each other as we do, they know

Che amare è dare la tua vita
That loving means to give away your own life

Tutta la vita in un momento
Your whole life just in a moment

Anche se dopo, dopo non vivi più
Even if later, later you can’t live anymore

Ma almeno questo è vivere
But al least that’s living

È vivere… è vivere
That’s living… that’s living

FROM THE ARCHIVE 371 -1962-

In 1961 released on the album Shirley Bassey and this song was also on the EP TILL – And other great songs and on other singles and EP’s. The song is sometimes also written ‘Till or ‘Til.

The song has been re-released on CD on a digitally remastered album, which sadly seems to be unavailable. Shirley Bassey has performed the song live in some TV shows in the 1970’s.

This song charted in 1957 on the US Billboard as an instrumental (before Shirley Bassey’s recording) at position 22 by Roger Williams, and position 63 by Percy Faith. In 1962 The Angels reached position number 14, and 1968 The Vogues position 27, and in 1971 Tom Jones reached number 41. In addition, there have been many more artists and orchestras interpreting this beautiful song.

For more information on the lyricist Carl Sigman look at (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story. This may have been originally a French song and Carl Sigman penned the English lyrics to the song.

Sometimes Charles Sananes is also mentioned as a composer. Charles Danvers also loved Spanish music and wrote some great Spanish-influenced music under the name Charles Sananes. He was a French ‘pieds noir’ from Algeria. During the long war of independence in Algeria in the 1950s he and his family went to France. Because of his talent and success, he was made a knight of the French Academy of Arts. He eventually moved to the U.S. where he taught music.

Special thanks to Gerald Kelly for this additional information.

Below you also find a great live version of Till from a 1972 concert at the Talk of the Town.

Lyrics:

Till the moon deserts the sky
Till all the seas run dry
Till then I’ll worship you
Till the tropic sun grows cold
Till this young world grows old
My darling, I’ll adore you

You are my reason to live
All I own I would give
Just to have you adore me

Till the rivers flow upstream
Till lovers cease to dream
Till then I’m yours, be mine

You are my reason to live
All I own I would give
Just to have you adore me

Till the rivers flow upstream
Till lovers cease to dream
Till then I’m yours, be mine

(Transcribed by Roman)

FROM THE ARCHIVE 370 -1962-

It Might As Well Be Spring is a 1962 song from an EP called Till and other great songs. (Till, Angel D’amore. Where Shall I Find Him & It Might As Well Be Spring.

Sleeve note by Derek Johnson:

The captivating and intoxicating Shirley Bassey has achieved an astonishing feat in the present era of popular music. For, at a time when beat music is predominant and girl singers have been largely ousted from the hit parade by an overwhelming male majority, Shirley’s recordings consistently and regularly find their way into the top table.

She has met with this success, not by pandering to current trends and phases, but by remaining faithful to the lush, romantic ballad – sometimes powerful and dramatic, occasionally warm and tender, always compelling and thoroughly enchanting.

Shirley’s carefully chosen material has undoubtedly played an important role in her disc success but this in itself would not be nearly sufficient, were it not combined with the magnificent and highly distinctive manner in which she handles her songs. For surely her colourful and heartfelt treatment is unique among to-day’s pop singers.

She is, indeed, more than just a singer – she is an artist, capable of wringing every drop of meaning from a lyric, which she unfailingly interprets in her own imaginative and individual style. Only by injecting the force of her radiant personality into her singing has she succeeded in commanding the loyalty of such a huge following – not only in Britain but also throughout the world.

The strength of her personal approach can be assessed from the fact that, on several occasions, she has enjoyed best selling successes with songs previously recorded by various other artists – but without a similar impact. And it can be further gauged from her styling, on this record, of the beautiful ballad Till – a very familiar melody which is here given a fascinating and completely revitalised gloss.

All credit to Shirley Bassey for infusing much-needed taste, quality and artistry into the beat-saturated pop music world – and for enhancing British prestige on an international basis. Small wonder that she is acclaimed as one of the few really great entertainer to emerge from the British show business firmament in the past decade. And this representative collection of four delightful songs showcases her supreme talent and ability to excellent advantage.

Lyrics:

I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm,
I’m as jumpy as puppet on a string,
I’d say that I had spring fever,
But I know it isn’t spring.

I am starry eyed and vaguely discontented,
Like a nightingale without a song to sing,
Oh why should I have spring fever,
When it isn’t even spring,
I keep wishing I were someone else,
Walking down a strange new street,
Hearing words that I’ve never heard,
From a man I’ve yet to meet.

I’m as busy as spider spinning daydreams,
I’m as giggy as a baby on a swing,
I haven’t seen a crocus or a rosebud,
Or a robin on the wing.

But I feel so gay in a melancholy way,
That it might as well be spring,
It might as well be spring.

This Is Your Life -1993-

This Is Your Life was a television documentary series hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards. It originally aired in the United States from 1952 to 1961, and again in 1972 on NBC. It originated as a radio show airing from 1948 to 1952 on NBC Radio. A version of it continues a very long run in the United Kingdom starting in 1955.

The concept: The format of the show was simple: the host would surprise someone (usually a celebrity or public figure, occasionally an ordinary citizen) and, consulting his “red book”, conduct a biography of the subject in a television studio. The subject would be presented with family members and old friends, reunited with old acquaintances, and often shed a tear when a personal tragedy was recounted.

The 1950s edition of the show was aired live before a theater audience. The celebrity guests were ambushed by Ralph Edwards and confronted by the microphone and cameras. They made their way to the studio during the first commercial break. Most of the honorees quickly got over their initial shock and enjoyed meeting bygone friends again.

Highlights, with 20 million viewers were the shows with guests: Mohammed Ali, Joan Collins and Shirley Bassey.

Dame Shirley Bassey had the honour of being twice on ‘This is your life’. The first time was in 1972. The second time in 1993. This is the 1993 episode.

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