60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
8/20/64 – Shirley Bassey records “Goldfinger”
Vic Flick, long-time friend of Forgotten Hits (as well as the guitar player on this session) has quite a memorable tale to tell about the making of this record.
After an extremely long and vigorous recording session, Shirley Bassey still couldn't hit and sustain that incredible final note that ends the record.
No matter how many times the producer asked her to give it another try, she just couldn't hold it. (The session was done live so there were no computer gimmickry tricks going on here ... what you heard was the real deal.)
Finally in a last ditch effort to nail it, Shirley (in front of an entire studio filled with other musicians and orchestra members) removed her bra! Believe it or not, that "unstrapping" freed her up to belt out that last note one more time ... and nail it.
The recording is a classic ... and probably one of the best known (if not THE best known) Bond themes ever.
Dame Shirley Bassey
(with everything still intact)
You can read LOTS of great behind-the-scenes stories about being one of London's premier studio musicians in Vic Flick's book "From James Bond To The Beatles And Beyond"
