Today we go back to 1961 when Shirley Bassey was a guest on the Anthony Newley show. Shirley sang a duet with Anthony Newley and this great song With These Hands from 1960 that reached number 38 in the singles hit parade that year.
Today a review of the wonderful song For All We Know. Below more information about the song and and fabulous live version from the German TV show called TV Wonderland. plus the studio version. Below also the cover of the Spanish single version of For All We Know.
For All We Know Music written by Fred Karlin. Lyrics penned by Arthur James (aka James Griffin) and Robb Wilson Royer.
Recorded: June, 1971 Released: UK: Jul ’71 on United Artists single UP 35267 US: Aug 29 ’71 on Utd Artists sgl UA 50833 Charted: single UK: #6, August 7, 1971
Originally released on a single in 1971, which reached number 6 in the UK charts, beating off stiff competition from “The Carpenters”. In August 1971 the single entered the British charts at number 46 but disappeared after just one week. It proved to be a false start however because the recording re-entered the Top 50, eventually nestling at number 6 and enjoying 23 weeks in the Top 50. For All We Know in fact proved to have, with the exception of 1960’s As Long As He Needs Me, the longest chart duration of any of Shirley’s many hit singles. The single’s runaway success paved the way for the following album which hit the record shops just as “For All We Know” was dropping out of the nation’s pop charts.
The following album which also contained the hit song was 1972 I Capricorn (this album has recently been re-released on CD by EMI.) Another recording is available together with the London Symphony Orchestra on the 1984 album I Am What I Am. You can find one of these two versions on many collections too.
Shirley Bassey has also performed this song live in many TV shows, and one live performance has been released 1973 on the album Live At Carnegie Hall.
This song had been written for the film “Lovers And Other Strangers” 1970, and has originally been sung for the soundtrack by Larry Meredith. The song won an Oscar in 1970 as best song. Additionally the movie got two more nominations for: Best Adapted Screenplay (Joseph Bologna, David Zelag Goodman, and Renée Taylor), and Best Supporting Actor (Richard Castellano).
“The Carpenters” have reached position number three in the US Billboard with this song 1971. It is reported that in November 1970, the Carpenters were in Canada opening for Engelbert Humperdinck, and they were concerned about where their next hit would come from. It was their manager Sherwin Bash’s idea for them to take it easy, and to go see a comedy that was playing at a local theater: Lovers and Other Strangers. For All We Know was a song written for a wedding scene in the movie. Richard and Karen Carpenter were immediately taken with it and decided they should record it for single release as soon as they returned home. It was released in mid-December and in two months became their third gold single. In the UK The Carpenters only reached position number 18 in the charts, which Shirley Bassey was able to beat later that year.
The songwriter Fred Karlin is an composer, who has scored over 150 motion pictures and television projects. He received also 12 Emmy nominations and won an Emmy for Best Original Score for the TV drama, the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. He also received more Oscar and Grammy nominations.
The original singer Larry Meredith disappeared from the music world, and I don’t know anything else of him, except that he 1978 released an album “Pakalamere Dith”.
Lyrics
Love, look at the two of us Strangers in many ways We’ve got a lifetime to share So much to say And as we go From day to day I’ll feel you close to me But time alone will tell Let’s take a lifetime to say “I knew you well” For only time Will tell us so And love may grow For all we know
Love, look at the two of us Strangers in many ways Let’s take a lifetime to say “I knew you well” For only time Will tell us so And love may grow For all we know
Strangers (,strangers, strangers) For all we know (Transcribed by Roman)
For this Video Showcase a wonderful live version of What Now My Love from the 1980 Amsterdam concert and all the background information about this song. Also the remix version of this song from the Get The Party Started CD.
For the remix click the player below
Music written by Gilbert Bécaud and English lyrics penned by Carl Sigman.
(Original French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë.)
recorded: July 4, 1962
released:
UK: July, 1962 on Columbia single DB 4882
US: August 10, 1962 on United Artists single UA 503
charted: single UK: #5, August 30, 1962
In 1962 released on the album Let’s Face The Music and on some singles. The single reached position number five in the UK singles charts and stayed in the charts for 17 weeks.
The song is available on CD on a digitally remastered album. A new studio recording with the London Symphony Orchestra was released in 1984 on the album I Am What I Am. A live recording is available for example on the 1997 The Birthday Concert and on the video Shirley Bassey Live In Cardiff.
This was originally the French song “Et Maintenant” by Gilbert Bécaud 1961.
Other songs of Gilbert Bécaud recorded by Shirley Bassey are Love On The Rocks, and It Must Be Him.
“Et Maintenant” has been re-recorded more than 150 times. With the English lyrics by Carl Sigman as “What Now My Love” it became famous all around the world.
1966 Sonny and Cher reached position number 14 in the US Billboard with this song.
In the album sleeve note Kenneth Hume wrote:
“One of the last arrangements being What Now My Love, was written by Nelson Riddle the morning of the recording session and parts of the orchestra score only arrived halfway through the session – the copying being done by an extraordinary organisation, appropriately called Panic Music…”
When I started this blog post, another From the Archive about 1987, I was thinking Royal Variety Performance, Berlin concert etc. AND The Rhythm Divine that superb recording Shirley Bassey made with Swiss group Yello. Anyway there was so much material about this song that I even had to make a selection from it. That is why this blog is only about The Rhythm Divine. Shirley also performed the song live on several TV shows and a few times in concerts. There are also remixes of the song that have been previously on the blog. Below a radio interview with Shirley and Yello and the maxi single of The Rhythm Divine
Music by Boris Blank and Lyrics by Billy MacKenzie
First released in 1987, Shirley Bassey sings the vocals to this track in a collaboration with Swiss band Yello. The music is by Yello, a band consisting of Boris Blank and Dieter Meier with backing vocals recorded by co-writer Billy MacKenzie. The vocals were recording at Yello’s studio in Zurich.
Chart Positions Official Swiss Chart Entered: Aug 02 1987 Highest: Singles: #21 Run: 5 weeks Official British Chart Entered: Aug 22 1987 Highest: Singles: #54 Run: 2 weeks
The Swiss group Yello have produced some of the sharpest electro funk of the past two decades. Fusing a camp disco sensibility with a kitsch sense of humour, they are the cuckoo clocks of pop.
In 1987 the besuited and moustachioed Yelloman Dieter Meier sent a tape of their music to Shirley Bassey. “I have to admit, much to our surprise, she got back in touch with us and said she’d like to work with us” Meier said. “So we could not refuse. Drafting in ex-associates Billy Mackenzie as lyricist and co-collaborator, ‘The Rhythm Divine’ was written especially for the Tiger Bay diva. Billy MacKenzie worked with Yello on several occasions, he died in January 23rd 1997. “Shirley Bassey has one of the greatest voices I have ever heard and a strength as a performer that’s rare” praised Meier.
Bassey flew over to Yello’s Zurich studio and recorded her vocals in under 40 minutes, arriving an hour late for the session, Meier missed it completely. The song seemed to bridge the generation gap. “Working with her made everything valid with my mum and aunties” said Billy Mackenzie, whose backing vocals were overdubbed an astonishing 90 times. “It’s smoothed out those family wrinkles” brooding and sensual, rhythm is the perfect music for pleasure and was unlike anything Dame Shirley had done before.
In comments about this song Shirley Bassey showed that she obviously did not like the results. Maybe at this time she was not ready for this musical style. At a concert in the Royal Albert Hall following the release of the Yello album she introduced the song by saying “this is how this song should have sounded”. I presume she meant with a live orchestra. But most of her fans agree that this song is among her best and also the recording quality is uniquely outstanding.
Interview about The Rhythm DivineThe Rhythm Divine (Maxi single version)CanadaGermanyMaxi single GermanyOther maxi single GermanyPicture disc
Today we go back to 1961 when Shirley Bassey was a guest on the Anthony Newley show. Shirley sang a duet with Anthony Newley and this great song With These Hands from 1960 that reached number 38 in the singles hit parade that year.
Dame Shirley Bassey Blog 
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