{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":14.795,"endTime":19.205,"body":"This absolutely filthy music evokes the spirit of another time."},{"startTime":20.425,"endTime":25.662,"body":"And remarkably it's 60 years this September since the premier of Goldfinger, the third James"},{"startTime":25.662,"endTime":28.805,"body":"Bond film, from which of course, that music comes."},{"startTime":29.395,"endTime":33.908,"body":"When I watched the film again recently in preparation for this lecture, I was actually"},{"startTime":33.908,"endTime":38.422,"body":"struck by how tame some of its seems now 60 years on, which I guess"},{"startTime":38.422,"endTime":39.325,"body":"is pretty reasonable."},{"startTime":39.785,"endTime":44.843,"body":"But when we look at the footage of the premier in Leicester Square, we can"},{"startTime":44.843,"endTime":49.565,"body":"see that the bond frenzy was, um, quite considerable back then in the 1960s."},{"startTime":49.705,"endTime":54.723,"body":"And the public is, um, vying with the police and with with each other to"},{"startTime":54.723,"endTime":59.742,"body":"try and catch a glimpse of the stars of the film, albeit minus one, Sean"},{"startTime":59.742,"endTime":64.76,"body":"Connery, who was off making another film somewhere else, but someone who was there was"},{"startTime":64.76,"endTime":69.779,"body":"the young Shirley Bassey, who of course memorably recorded the title song or the yeah,"},{"startTime":69.779,"endTime":73.125,"body":"the title song over the opening titles of the film."},{"startTime":73.185,"endTime":78.12,"body":"And here she is with Barbara Streisand, who was the subject of the first talk"},{"startTime":78.12,"endTime":79.765,"body":"in my series about divas."},{"startTime":80.035,"endTime":84.205,"body":"Here they are both after the Oscars ceremony in 2013."},{"startTime":85.675,"endTime":90.058,"body":"The Gresham College lecture that you're listening to right now is giving you knowledge and"},{"startTime":90.058,"endTime":94.442,"body":"insight from one of the world's leading academic experts, making it takes a lot of"},{"startTime":94.442,"endTime":94.735,"body":"time."},{"startTime":95.235,"endTime":98.403,"body":"But because we want to encourage a love of learning, we think it's well worth"},{"startTime":98.403,"endTime":98.615,"body":"it."},{"startTime":99.595,"endTime":102.735,"body":"We never make you pay for lectures, although donations are needed."},{"startTime":103.235,"endTime":104.575,"body":"All we ask in return is this."},{"startTime":105.125,"endTime":107.415,"body":"Send a link to this lecture to someone you think would benefit."},{"startTime":107.715,"endTime":111.465,"body":"And if you haven't already, click the follow or subscribe button from wherever you are"},{"startTime":111.465,"endTime":112.215,"body":"listening right now."},{"startTime":113.555,"endTime":115.135,"body":"Now, let's get back to the lecture."},{"startTime":118.145,"endTime":122.74,"body":"In that talk I talked about, um, the idea of the word diva and how"},{"startTime":122.74,"endTime":124.885,"body":"it has both positive and negative connotations."},{"startTime":124.945,"endTime":130.008,"body":"On the one hand, um, it literally means a goddess, but it also comes with"},{"startTime":130.008,"endTime":135.072,"body":"positive words like glamorous, successful, outstanding things that we might want to be or want"},{"startTime":135.072,"endTime":136.085,"body":"to be called."},{"startTime":136.505,"endTime":140.485,"body":"And then also things we might not want to be called like petulant and demanding."},{"startTime":140.485,"endTime":145.6,"body":"And these are the reasons why, um, Barbara Streisand very strongly dissociates with the idea"},{"startTime":145.6,"endTime":146.965,"body":"of being a diva."},{"startTime":146.965,"endTime":148.245,"body":"She said, I think I'm not a diva."},{"startTime":148.435,"endTime":152.205,"body":"Shirley Bassey, on the other hand, finds it an empowering idea."},{"startTime":152.385,"endTime":157.731,"body":"And so what I'm interested in in this lecture is how she found that point"},{"startTime":157.731,"endTime":162.365,"body":"where she became a diva as opposed to an extremely talented, popular artist."},{"startTime":163.265,"endTime":168.365,"body":"So let's stick for a moment with Goldfinger and look at clips of two live"},{"startTime":168.365,"endTime":169.725,"body":"performances of the song."},{"startTime":170.025,"endTime":175.16,"body":"The first one comes from 1974 from a concert that she gave at the Royal"},{"startTime":175.16,"endTime":175.845,"body":"Albert Hall."},{"startTime":176.145,"endTime":181.209,"body":"And I think in this one, she's still at the extremely talented and wonderful popular"},{"startTime":181.209,"endTime":181.885,"body":"singer stage."},{"startTime":182.145,"endTime":187.149,"body":"And the second one comes, would you believe, from the National Lottery Results Show in"},{"startTime":187.149,"endTime":189.485,"body":"1997 when she was 60 years old."},{"startTime":189.985,"endTime":194.516,"body":"But in this performance, I think you can see that she has become a diva"},{"startTime":194.516,"endTime":195.725,"body":"in the intervening years."},{"startTime":195.725,"endTime":197.245,"body":"So let's take a look at these two"},{"startTime":208.995,"endTime":209.605,"body":"From Mr."},{"startTime":210.075,"endTime":210.365,"body":"Gold."},{"startTime":215.065,"endTime":215.805,"body":"Pretty girl."},{"startTime":216.625,"endTime":223.655,"body":"He out his heart go, his heart is good."},{"startTime":226.725,"endTime":227.295,"body":"From Mr."},{"startTime":228.915,"endTime":233.575,"body":"Finger, pretty girl."},{"startTime":234.595,"endTime":237.295,"body":"He wear up his go."},{"startTime":240.285,"endTime":242.215,"body":"It's hot, it's cold."},{"startTime":244.875,"endTime":253.735,"body":"He, he,"},{"startTime":279.585,"endTime":280.485,"body":"So we can see,"},{"startTime":282.585,"endTime":286.095,"body":"You know, it's a nightmare talking about this topic because she is so impressive in"},{"startTime":286.095,"endTime":289.605,"body":"so many of these clips that it's hard to say anything equally effective in between."},{"startTime":289.705,"endTime":294.309,"body":"But anyway, there's huge power and impact in that performance, which I think is typical"},{"startTime":294.309,"endTime":296.765,"body":"of Bassi once she has become a diva."},{"startTime":297.065,"endTime":298.845,"body":"And the first clip is also wonderful."},{"startTime":298.885,"endTime":301.965,"body":"I don't want to seem like I'm saying anything critical of her."},{"startTime":302.325,"endTime":305.365,"body":"I just think that something hasn't yet quite landed and arrived in her career."},{"startTime":305.955,"endTime":310.301,"body":"When I started thinking about this song, I noticed for the first time how peculiar"},{"startTime":310.301,"endTime":314.647,"body":"it is and thought what a nightmare it must have been to be asked to"},{"startTime":314.647,"endTime":316.965,"body":"write the words for a song called Goldfinger."},{"startTime":317.465,"endTime":322.256,"body":"And by coincidence, the um, papers of Leslie Brickers, who was one of the two"},{"startTime":322.256,"endTime":327.047,"body":"lyricists along with Anton newly, were given to the Library of Congress just about three"},{"startTime":327.047,"endTime":328.325,"body":"or four months ago."},{"startTime":328.425,"endTime":330.245,"body":"So I managed to get scans of some of them."},{"startTime":330.585,"endTime":335.889,"body":"And here we can see what's marked, at least as the first draft of the"},{"startTime":335.889,"endTime":338.365,"body":"lyric of Goldfinger in Leslie Bricker's hand."},{"startTime":338.365,"endTime":342.509,"body":"And one of the things that surprised me is that even though there are some"},{"startTime":342.509,"endTime":346.653,"body":"unfamiliar things, we see these strange lines, like here he comes, what a man and"},{"startTime":346.653,"endTime":350.245,"body":"the, some ideas that they discarded like king of gold, man of gold."},{"startTime":350.705,"endTime":355.078,"body":"We do get some insight into the struggle to write this song because the lines"},{"startTime":355.078,"endTime":358.285,"body":"are quite short and it's not really about anything very meaningful."},{"startTime":359.465,"endTime":362.365,"body":"And there is a bit of working in here as well."},{"startTime":362.365,"endTime":365.645,"body":"They changed the word world into the word web."},{"startTime":365.745,"endTime":367.685,"body":"But basically the song is there."},{"startTime":367.905,"endTime":372.267,"body":"And the reason for this, when I, um, dug a bit further is that John"},{"startTime":372.267,"endTime":376.63,"body":"Barry, who wrote the music for many of the James Bond films, including this one,"},{"startTime":376.63,"endTime":378.085,"body":"um, wrote the music first."},{"startTime":378.385,"endTime":383.085,"body":"So John Barry toured with Shirley Bassey in December, 1963."},{"startTime":383.145,"endTime":388.53,"body":"And during that period played for her, the music to the song Goldfinger, six months"},{"startTime":388.53,"endTime":390.685,"body":"before any lyricists had been hired."},{"startTime":390.745,"endTime":396.005,"body":"And therefore the lyricists, once they had been hired, inherited the structure of the song."},{"startTime":396.105,"endTime":400.189,"body":"So I guess that's why on one level it was easy to write some words,"},{"startTime":400.189,"endTime":404.274,"body":"but then on the other hand, the details required quite a lot of digging because"},{"startTime":404.274,"endTime":406.725,"body":"they had to indicate something about this weird name."},{"startTime":406.945,"endTime":411.245,"body":"And also something about the plot of the film, about this man who kills people"},{"startTime":411.245,"endTime":412.965,"body":"by spraying them with gold paint."},{"startTime":413.445,"endTime":417.125,"body":"I mean, it doesn't really inspire lyrical thoughts, I guess."},{"startTime":417.625,"endTime":422.485,"body":"So day two, which is the 12th of May, 1964, we find them struggling again"},{"startTime":422.485,"endTime":425.725,"body":"with more ideas that we might not have seen before."},{"startTime":426.145,"endTime":431.989,"body":"On the top right hand corner, you can see a bunch of words that rhyme"},{"startTime":431.989,"endTime":437.445,"body":"with gold, funnily enough, \u003claugh\u003e thousand fold, sold foretold, what are you gonna do?"},{"startTime":438.105,"endTime":441.765,"body":"Um, top left hand corner, generic ideas for badness."},{"startTime":442.265,"endTime":445.245,"body":"And then at the very bottom, this line that they struggled with."},{"startTime":445.545,"endTime":448.125,"body":"So they struggled to find out what is this song gonna be about?"},{"startTime":448.705,"endTime":452.316,"body":"And of course, what it turned out to be about in the end was a"},{"startTime":452.316,"endTime":454.965,"body":"warning to women not to mess with this man gold finger."},{"startTime":455.385,"endTime":459.382,"body":"And so this warning that comes in at the end of the bridge section, so"},{"startTime":459.382,"endTime":463.38,"body":"this is the middle section of the song is as each golden girl knows when"},{"startTime":463.38,"endTime":466.045,"body":"he's kissed her, it's the kiss of death from Mr."},{"startTime":466.075,"endTime":466.645,"body":"Gold Finger."},{"startTime":467.065,"endTime":471.327,"body":"So you can see the workings of the song are all here on the page"},{"startTime":471.327,"endTime":475.59,"body":"and you realize it's quite amazing \u003claugh\u003e that Bassi managed to spend 40 or more"},{"startTime":475.59,"endTime":479.285,"body":"years singing this song over and over and over and making it convincing."},{"startTime":479.285,"endTime":482.885,"body":"And this is part of why we realize what a great diva she is."},{"startTime":482.885,"endTime":486.785,"body":"But on the other hand, I think there are things about this that make it"},{"startTime":486.785,"endTime":488.085,"body":"a great showcase for her."},{"startTime":488.905,"endTime":495.719,"body":"So these words, which are a bit ridiculous, do allow her to sing about death"},{"startTime":495.719,"endTime":498.445,"body":"and danger and punishment for sex."},{"startTime":499.025,"endTime":503.342,"body":"So there's a kind of sense of suffering in the lyric that she can play"},{"startTime":503.342,"endTime":505.645,"body":"upon to give it some kind of emotion."},{"startTime":505.885,"endTime":508.405,"body":"I guess the rhythms are very turbulent."},{"startTime":508.865,"endTime":513.08,"body":"The vocal line is very cleverly written so that it builds up to the most"},{"startTime":513.08,"endTime":517.295,"body":"exciting point, part of her voice where she can belt that final note that we"},{"startTime":517.295,"endTime":521.51,"body":"heard in that national lottery performance, there's a mixture of sustained lines and kind of"},{"startTime":521.51,"endTime":525.445,"body":"choppy thrown away lines 'cause the lines of the song are not very long."},{"startTime":525.985,"endTime":530.104,"body":"And the words seem both serious and not, and personal and not, I mean, she's"},{"startTime":530.104,"endTime":533.125,"body":"singing about death, but she's kind of twinkly while doing it."},{"startTime":533.505,"endTime":538.125,"body":"And there's something about this gray area of interpretation that seems ideal for, for her."},{"startTime":538.265,"endTime":544.953,"body":"She can stand there and deliver this frankly bizarre lyric, but kind of achieve power"},{"startTime":544.953,"endTime":545.845,"body":"through it."},{"startTime":546.305,"endTime":549.645,"body":"So I'm interested in pursuing how she got there."},{"startTime":550.305,"endTime":555.738,"body":"If we look at her early life, as is well known, she was born and"},{"startTime":555.738,"endTime":560.085,"body":"brought up in Tiger Bay in Cardiff, which is the Dockland District."},{"startTime":560.545,"endTime":564.125,"body":"It was an unusually multiracial area for the time."},{"startTime":564.185,"endTime":569.303,"body":"It was home to sailors from over 50 countries, including her father who was from"},{"startTime":569.303,"endTime":569.645,"body":"Nigeria."},{"startTime":570.305,"endTime":572.525,"body":"Her mother was white and from Yorkshire."},{"startTime":572.865,"endTime":577.113,"body":"And so for the first few years of her life, actually, they lived in quite"},{"startTime":577.113,"endTime":581.361,"body":"deprived circumstances, but also in a kind of harmony because it was a very diverse"},{"startTime":581.361,"endTime":581.645,"body":"community."},{"startTime":582.225,"endTime":585.125,"body":"Her father was deported while she, when she was a child."},{"startTime":585.465,"endTime":590.4,"body":"And so her mother moved the family to a town called Spot, and that's where"},{"startTime":590.4,"endTime":595.336,"body":"she experienced racism for the first time and was taken aback by it because it"},{"startTime":595.336,"endTime":599.285,"body":"was actually the first time she was living in a white community."},{"startTime":600.065,"endTime":605.175,"body":"And race in connection or the subject of race in connection with Shirley Batey is"},{"startTime":605.175,"endTime":609.605,"body":"quite a complicated topic because of these early experiences, because of her heritage."},{"startTime":610.345,"endTime":615.511,"body":"One of the, um, biographies that I've read of her actually says, or claims that"},{"startTime":615.511,"endTime":620.677,"body":"she considers herself to be white, which I have never heard her say in an"},{"startTime":620.677,"endTime":625.843,"body":"interview, but there is some strange perception about her, about the relevance to the topic"},{"startTime":625.843,"endTime":627.565,"body":"of race to her experience."},{"startTime":627.905,"endTime":634.197,"body":"And when I started digging into what she did, her first professional show was called"},{"startTime":634.197,"endTime":640.489,"body":"Memories of Jolson, which was a tribute show to probably the most famous blackface performer"},{"startTime":640.489,"endTime":643.845,"body":"in the history of American, an entertainment jolson."},{"startTime":644.145,"endTime":648.91,"body":"And so she was hired to be a featured singer in a show in which"},{"startTime":648.91,"endTime":652.405,"body":"the star was white and appearing in blackface a year up."},{"startTime":652.405,"endTime":656.187,"body":"So she was 16 at the time, I should say a year after that she"},{"startTime":656.187,"endTime":658.205,"body":"appeared in a show called Hot From Harlem."},{"startTime":658.505,"endTime":660.285,"body":"So I think we can tell what was going on there."},{"startTime":660.625,"endTime":665.177,"body":"And on the next slide, we'll see some reviews of these shows using Language of"},{"startTime":665.177,"endTime":667.605,"body":"the Day to refer to people of color."},{"startTime":667.985,"endTime":673.814,"body":"And what I'm interested in here is just to kind of, um, talk about the"},{"startTime":673.814,"endTime":679.644,"body":"fact that her early appearances were entirely framed by race, because we often hear in"},{"startTime":679.644,"endTime":685.085,"body":"the discourse around her and around other popular performers that we shouldn't politicize them."},{"startTime":685.265,"endTime":689.479,"body":"But the whole point is that she started from there, that that was how, how"},{"startTime":689.479,"endTime":691.165,"body":"she could get her career going."},{"startTime":691.465,"endTime":692.485,"body":"So let's take a look."},{"startTime":692.705,"endTime":699.127,"body":"You can see that all of these, um, performances that she made were entirely about,"},{"startTime":699.127,"endTime":702.125,"body":"um, appearing alongside other performers of color."},{"startTime":702.695,"endTime":705.245,"body":"There were some mentions of her talent specifically."},{"startTime":705.785,"endTime":708.645,"body":"So she's described as attractive and an asset."},{"startTime":709.155,"endTime":713.519,"body":"It's quite typical of these early articles that she's objectified in, in that kind of"},{"startTime":713.519,"endTime":713.81,"body":"way."},{"startTime":713.865,"endTime":715.365,"body":"And she's described as lively."},{"startTime":716.025,"endTime":719.85,"body":"She kind of clearly got fed up at this by the time she was 18"},{"startTime":719.85,"endTime":721.125,"body":"and appeared in another show."},{"startTime":721.125,"endTime":726.252,"body":"There was this article I found from the Stage Mag Magazine where she says, or"},{"startTime":726.252,"endTime":728.645,"body":"it's headed, Shirley wants to be herself."},{"startTime":729.135,"endTime":734.685,"body":"There was also this article announcing her appearance at Piccadilly Club in Glasgow."},{"startTime":734.705,"endTime":738.885,"body":"And one of the things I notice is there's some confusion over her background."},{"startTime":738.945,"endTime":742.473,"body":"The one on the left says she's from the West Indies, and the one on"},{"startTime":742.473,"endTime":743.885,"body":"the right says that she's American."},{"startTime":744.795,"endTime":746.845,"body":"There's criticism of her vocal technique."},{"startTime":746.845,"endTime":752.511,"body":"She's quite unreasonably being compared to much older, much more established performers like Ella Fitzgerald,"},{"startTime":752.511,"endTime":757.045,"body":"who was at the peak of her, um, fame at this point."},{"startTime":757.065,"endTime":759.725,"body":"And Lena Horne who'd been a movie star for over a decade."},{"startTime":760.265,"endTime":761.765,"body":"And then there's this great quote from her."},{"startTime":761.785,"endTime":763.365,"body":"She says, my style is my own."},{"startTime":763.485,"endTime":764.365,"body":"I am no copyist."},{"startTime":764.485,"endTime":765.485,"body":"I prefer to be myself."},{"startTime":765.825,"endTime":770.365,"body":"So I'm very impressed by how empowered she is, at least in spirit, because she's"},{"startTime":770.365,"endTime":772.485,"body":"saying, you know, I'm not somebody else."},{"startTime":772.865,"endTime":773.845,"body":"I'm Shirley Bassey."},{"startTime":775.185,"endTime":779.94,"body":"Her agent at the time then joined forces with the leading theater and TV producer"},{"startTime":779.94,"endTime":781.525,"body":"of the day, Jack Hilton."},{"startTime":781.525,"endTime":784.925,"body":"And this led her to get the opportunity to appear on television."},{"startTime":785.745,"endTime":789.417,"body":"We find more reviews of her appearing this time at The Talk of the Town,"},{"startTime":789.417,"endTime":792.845,"body":"which was one of the major places to perform in London at the time."},{"startTime":792.945,"endTime":796.125,"body":"And, and again, we see sort of the emergence of ability."},{"startTime":796.545,"endTime":801.595,"body":"The re the critic says she has something to offer but has not yet fully"},{"startTime":801.595,"endTime":802.605,"body":"developed her talent."},{"startTime":803.505,"endTime":808.69,"body":"And then this article on the right announcing her appearance in a Christmas show again,"},{"startTime":808.69,"endTime":810.765,"body":"basically focuses on her skin color."},{"startTime":811.105,"endTime":816.073,"body":"So this is not me politicizing the subject, this is just historical documents about what"},{"startTime":816.073,"endTime":816.405,"body":"happened."},{"startTime":817.925,"endTime":823.395,"body":"A review of that Christmas show has the following bitter comment, Shirley Bassey sings with"},{"startTime":823.395,"endTime":824.125,"body":"ous abandon."},{"startTime":824.125,"endTime":828.665,"body":"While I can cope with that, putting over with a plum, a new line in"},{"startTime":828.665,"endTime":833.205,"body":"horsely slurred dentals and hissed sibilants rather shattering if you like, that sort of thing."},{"startTime":833.665,"endTime":837.525,"body":"So this 18-year-old woman had to deal with that kind of press."},{"startTime":838.665,"endTime":840.765,"body":"And then she's once more objectified."},{"startTime":840.985,"endTime":846.738,"body":"In another review of this, this is this time in the international, um, version of"},{"startTime":846.738,"endTime":851.725,"body":"variety where she's described as shapely with an emphatically sexy voice and personality."},{"startTime":852.385,"endTime":856.525,"body":"And then at the end of the article, it emphasizes her working class read and"},{"startTime":856.525,"endTime":859.285,"body":"talks about her having deserted and industrial job in Wales."},{"startTime":859.425,"endTime":860.205,"body":"How dare she."},{"startTime":862.185,"endTime":866.572,"body":"The following year she appeared at the Cafe de Paris in London, which was a"},{"startTime":866.572,"endTime":869.205,"body":"really, really major place to appear in the 1950s."},{"startTime":869.275,"endTime":873.285,"body":"This was where you would find people like Noel Coward and Marlena Dietrich."},{"startTime":873.385,"endTime":877.596,"body":"So for the young Shelly Bassey who appear there was a big deal, and suddenly"},{"startTime":877.596,"endTime":880.965,"body":"there's an intensity in the kinds of things they're saying about her."},{"startTime":881.295,"endTime":883.525,"body":"She's amongst the most striking new personalities."},{"startTime":883.705,"endTime":887.525,"body":"She still needs a little more experience, but should move safely into the top bracket."},{"startTime":887.665,"endTime":892.415,"body":"So now suddenly aged 18 or 19, sorry, we're seeing that she's going to be"},{"startTime":892.415,"endTime":893.365,"body":"a major star."},{"startTime":894.035,"endTime":896.805,"body":"Skin color is again one of the subjects of the article."},{"startTime":897.095,"endTime":901.005,"body":"Again, she's compared to, um, much more established people."},{"startTime":901.425,"endTime":905.21,"body":"And then there's this horrible comment at the end that says her presentation can be"},{"startTime":905.21,"endTime":906.725,"body":"faulted only on one minor score."},{"startTime":906.725,"endTime":911.719,"body":"Her choice of gown seems quite unsuitable for the occasion, which I find both offensive"},{"startTime":911.719,"endTime":916.713,"body":"and kind of amusing given that gowns are one of the trademarks of the majority"},{"startTime":916.713,"endTime":918.045,"body":"of Shirley Bass's career."},{"startTime":918.145,"endTime":922.675,"body":"And I feel like it's ironic that this person made this comment about the thing"},{"startTime":922.675,"endTime":927.205,"body":"that would become one of the biggest parts of her, um, iconic, um, yeah, iconography."},{"startTime":928.745,"endTime":932.93,"body":"One of the things that her first agent did to help her become more distinctive"},{"startTime":932.93,"endTime":934.605,"body":"was to commission material for her."},{"startTime":935.585,"endTime":939.898,"body":"And so he went to the person who he could afford, which was this guy"},{"startTime":939.898,"endTime":944.211,"body":"who was famous for writing these two wartime songs and asked him to write what"},{"startTime":944.211,"endTime":948.525,"body":"I'm sure was supposed to be a masterpiece called Burn My Candle at both ends."},{"startTime":948.945,"endTime":954.069,"body":"And it was with this number that became a successful, um, recording that she made"},{"startTime":954.069,"endTime":957.485,"body":"her television debut at the age of 19 in 1956."},{"startTime":957.625,"endTime":958.605,"body":"And here's a little bit of it."},{"startTime":966.235,"endTime":978.752,"body":"What if t who to turn the I opened my door and the who wants"},{"startTime":978.752,"endTime":982.925,"body":"to help me burn my"},{"startTime":992.025,"endTime":995.605,"body":"Fun, but she didn't know what she was talking about or singing about."},{"startTime":995.705,"endTime":998.645,"body":"She said, I didn't even know what it was about in an interview."},{"startTime":998.745,"endTime":1000.245,"body":"I'd never sung a risk a song."},{"startTime":1000.545,"endTime":1004.162,"body":"And I think they purposefully didn't tell me so that I could give it that"},{"startTime":1004.162,"endTime":1004.645,"body":"innocence \u003claugh\u003e."},{"startTime":1006.475,"endTime":1010.525,"body":"However, she was on her way to her career and she re recognized that one"},{"startTime":1010.525,"endTime":1014.575,"body":"of the things she needed to do was to get her career going in America,"},{"startTime":1014.575,"endTime":1018.085,"body":"partly for just commercial reasons that she needed to have an international market."},{"startTime":1018.305,"endTime":1020.925,"body":"She needed to be able to appear in multiple countries."},{"startTime":1021.385,"endTime":1026.914,"body":"And she talks in various interviews about her anxiety about this because she'd read about"},{"startTime":1026.914,"endTime":1032.444,"body":"Jim Crow laws and segregation, and she actually reported that her experiences there were okay."},{"startTime":1033.065,"endTime":1037.335,"body":"And she talks in this particular interview, um, after the quote that I've put on"},{"startTime":1037.335,"endTime":1041.605,"body":"there about how people thought she was Mexican and that is why she was okay."},{"startTime":1041.625,"endTime":1048.107,"body":"But she describes seeing many incidents and problems for African Americans, um, actually being badly"},{"startTime":1048.107,"endTime":1051.565,"body":"treated, for example, being turned away from hotels."},{"startTime":1051.565,"endTime":1054.365,"body":"And so this made her very wary of appearing in America."},{"startTime":1055.915,"endTime":1060.64,"body":"Fast forward three years and suddenly a review of another show that she was appearing"},{"startTime":1060.64,"endTime":1062.845,"body":"in is headed the new Shirley Bassey."},{"startTime":1063.585,"endTime":1068.658,"body":"And this time there's a sense that something has changed or she started to find"},{"startTime":1068.658,"endTime":1071.365,"body":"the center of gravity of her performance style."},{"startTime":1071.905,"endTime":1077.21,"body":"So it says that the whole pretty dreadful show has been transported from the realms"},{"startTime":1077.21,"endTime":1082.516,"body":"of mediocrity by the exciting presence of a new, much higher pressured and yet more"},{"startTime":1082.516,"endTime":1084.285,"body":"sophisticated and relaxed Shirley Bassey."},{"startTime":1084.285,"endTime":1089.045,"body":"And it talks about how she's now using her hands and her fingers in a"},{"startTime":1089.045,"endTime":1093.805,"body":"more economical and measured way in order to communicate her songs, which I think remains"},{"startTime":1093.805,"endTime":1098.565,"body":"one of the key qualities of her singing and her performances well into her life."},{"startTime":1098.945,"endTime":1103.97,"body":"It also talks about her being as much of an actress as a singer sounding"},{"startTime":1103.97,"endTime":1105.645,"body":"less American in her performances."},{"startTime":1105.985,"endTime":1111.051,"body":"And ends, of course, with another comment about her hairstyle and the way that she"},{"startTime":1111.051,"endTime":1116.117,"body":"looks with this bizarre comment on the bottom left about how this new look, um,"},{"startTime":1116.117,"endTime":1121.183,"body":"is giving her a more feminine and more complicated womanliness rather than the unsettled fem"},{"startTime":1121.183,"endTime":1123.885,"body":"fertile we've been accustomed to seeing from her."},{"startTime":1124.185,"endTime":1129.151,"body":"So she's now 21, 22 and dealing with these sorts of comments, we can see"},{"startTime":1129.151,"endTime":1133.125,"body":"it really was a difficult rise that she had through her career."},{"startTime":1135.395,"endTime":1139.836,"body":"Finding a out exactly how she could go or what she should do was quite"},{"startTime":1139.836,"endTime":1140.725,"body":"a complicated process."},{"startTime":1140.905,"endTime":1144.565,"body":"She herself was rather inspired by Judy Garland specifically."},{"startTime":1144.585,"endTime":1149.325,"body":"She says this in a lot of interviews, and I pulled out this little clip"},{"startTime":1149.325,"endTime":1154.065,"body":"of Garland singing the Man that Got away because although I don't think Shirley Bassey"},{"startTime":1154.065,"endTime":1158.805,"body":"sounds at all like this, I think there's something about the intensity and emotion of"},{"startTime":1158.805,"endTime":1161.965,"body":"the performance that is something that probably bassey drew upon."},{"startTime":1162.295,"endTime":1162.845,"body":"Let's listen."},{"startTime":1163.785,"endTime":1165.045,"body":"No, what happened?"},{"startTime":1166.635,"endTime":1184.925,"body":"It's all a crazy, you been through the mill."},{"startTime":1185.795,"endTime":1187.765,"body":"This is what Bassie felt inspired by."},{"startTime":1187.785,"endTime":1189.365,"body":"She also loved Frank Sinat."},{"startTime":1189.585,"endTime":1191.685,"body":"She described Sinatra as her idol."},{"startTime":1192.425,"endTime":1196.867,"body":"And then the three people to whom she was most commonly compared were Ella Fitzgerald,"},{"startTime":1196.867,"endTime":1198.645,"body":"Lena Horne and Earth, A Kit."},{"startTime":1198.705,"endTime":1201.645,"body":"So other artists of black heritage."},{"startTime":1201.985,"endTime":1205.085,"body":"And clearly that's the reason that they were being compared."},{"startTime":1205.685,"endTime":1211.001,"body":"I find her actually rather unlike all three of these vocally, but she kind of"},{"startTime":1211.001,"endTime":1216.318,"body":"invited some comparison with Lena Horne because she frequently sang the song Stormy Weather in"},{"startTime":1216.318,"endTime":1218.445,"body":"the first decade of her career."},{"startTime":1218.545,"endTime":1220.365,"body":"And this was Lena Horne's hit song."},{"startTime":1220.745,"endTime":1223.645,"body":"So here's a little bit of Lena Horne singing this"},{"startTime":1224.475,"endTime":1224.765,"body":"Rain"},{"startTime":1226.235,"endTime":1236.325,"body":"Down this pit and Pattern Beaten and spa drives me mad."},{"startTime":1237.305,"endTime":1242.751,"body":"So these are the sorts of things that she's being compared to, but still, even"},{"startTime":1242.751,"endTime":1248.198,"body":"by into the 1960s, Bassie has not yet formed around a particular kind of repertoire"},{"startTime":1248.198,"endTime":1248.925,"body":"and style."},{"startTime":1248.945,"endTime":1253.477,"body":"And I, one of the things that most surprised me while preparing this lecture was"},{"startTime":1253.477,"endTime":1257.405,"body":"finding her recording of Ave Maria, in which she sings in Head Voice."},{"startTime":1257.685,"endTime":1259.365,"body":"I rather like a classical singer."},{"startTime":1259.745,"endTime":1264.296,"body":"And it's a really impressive feat, the way that she goes from chest voices, which"},{"startTime":1264.296,"endTime":1268.847,"body":"is chest voice, which is how she normally sings into this more operatic place and"},{"startTime":1268.847,"endTime":1270.365,"body":"then back again so smoothly."},{"startTime":1271.405,"endTime":1274.862,"body":"I really think that one probably wouldn't think this was Shirley Bassey singing if one"},{"startTime":1274.862,"endTime":1276.245,"body":"just heard it on the radio."},{"startTime":1277.145,"endTime":1277.365,"body":"Oh,"},{"startTime":1307.315,"endTime":1309.805,"body":"It's a real curiosity in her career."},{"startTime":1310.185,"endTime":1314.35,"body":"And it doesn't tend to appear on her greatest hits albums, but it it's an"},{"startTime":1314.35,"endTime":1317.405,"body":"interesting one and it shows really how well she could sing."},{"startTime":1318.145,"endTime":1323.451,"body":"At some point between 1960 and 1964, something changed and I just perceive that she"},{"startTime":1323.451,"endTime":1328.405,"body":"became more comfortable with what she was doing and how she was doing it."},{"startTime":1328.825,"endTime":1333.801,"body":"And I, I would really love to attribute this to working with George Martin, the"},{"startTime":1333.801,"endTime":1338.777,"body":"famous Beatles producer on a song called I Who Have Nothing, which was recorded, I"},{"startTime":1338.777,"endTime":1343.753,"body":"think in 1963, where suddenly she sounds much more like an intense and lively Shirley"},{"startTime":1343.753,"endTime":1344.085,"body":"Bassey."},{"startTime":1344.085,"endTime":1347.965,"body":"And after this point, it's like she's in a different stage of her career."},{"startTime":1348.065,"endTime":1353.3,"body":"And I feel that we can hear that, that something has changed when we compare"},{"startTime":1353.3,"endTime":1358.536,"body":"her performances of the same song as long as He Needs Me from the musical"},{"startTime":1358.536,"endTime":1362.725,"body":"Oliver in 1960 and 1964, the 1960 version is a studio recording."},{"startTime":1362.745,"endTime":1368.255,"body":"So it was made for listening to In the Home, the 1964 version was recorded"},{"startTime":1368.255,"endTime":1369.725,"body":"live at Carnegie Hall."},{"startTime":1370.165,"endTime":1373.525,"body":"I acknowledge that those performance circumstances are quite different."},{"startTime":1373.525,"endTime":1375.845,"body":"And so of course there's gonna be some difference."},{"startTime":1376.145,"endTime":1380.776,"body":"But the second one is definitely quite a different kind of performer, it seems to"},{"startTime":1380.776,"endTime":1381.085,"body":"me."},{"startTime":1381.105,"endTime":1382.925,"body":"So let's listen to a little clip of each."},{"startTime":1383.295,"endTime":1385.285,"body":"First of all, 1960,"},{"startTime":1387.105,"endTime":1409.816,"body":"As long as he me, I know where I must be, as long as he"},{"startTime":1409.816,"endTime":1412.845,"body":"needs me."},{"startTime":1414.795,"endTime":1415.805,"body":"It's really beautiful."},{"startTime":1416.305,"endTime":1420.628,"body":"But here's the 1964 version, and from the very start, it makes you want to"},{"startTime":1420.628,"endTime":1421.205,"body":"sit up."},{"startTime":1421.605,"endTime":1421.845,"body":"I think,"},{"startTime":1423.265,"endTime":1423.485,"body":"Ah,"}]}