Music Friday: Let's Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the release of “Goldfinger,” the title song of one of the all-time great James Bond thrillers.

Many music critics recognize Dame Shirley Bassey's brass-infused, big band rendition of the John Barry-Leslie Bricuss-Anthony Newley composition as the gold standard for all movie soundtracks.

Goldfinger is also often cited as the best film of the Bond franchise. The film borrows its name from Auric Goldfinger, a villain who hatches a plan to increase the value of his own gold holdings by raiding Fort Knox and contaminating the US bullion supply with radiation. He also has a penchant for gilding his victims.

In the song, Bassey describes "the man with the Midas touch."

She sings, “Golden words he will pour in your ear / But his lies can’t disguise what you fear / For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her / It’s the kiss of death from / Mister Goldfinger / Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold / This heart is cold.”

“Goldfinger” presented a challenging recording session for the then-27-year-old Bassey. A frustrating series of retakes due to musical and technical issues forced the session to extend throughout the night. Bassey remembered how composer Barry demanded that the dramatic final note of the song be held for an extended count — seven seconds to be exact.

“I was holding it and holding it,” Bassey said. “I was looking at John Barry and I was going blue in the face, and he’s going, ‘Hold it just one more second.’ When it finished, I nearly passed out.”

“Goldfinger” was an instant global phenomenon — in record stores and at the box office. The single netted Bassey her only Top-10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song peaked at #8 and charted in seven countries. The movie had a production budget of $3 million and grossed $125 million. It opened officially in the US on December 22, 1964.

Bassey’s remarkable rendition of “Goldfinger” has stood the test of time. In 2008, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2013, the then-76-year-old Bassey performed the song during the Academy Awards as part of a tribute to the James Bond franchise’s 50th anniversary.

A native of Cardiff, Wales, Bassey went on to record the theme songs for two other James Bond films, including Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979). In 2000, she became a Dame in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. She was honored for her services to the performing arts.

In October of this year, the now 87-year-old Bassey placed more than 80 of her own jewels on the auction block at Sotheby’s Paris to benefit her favorite charities. According to Sotheby’s, every jewel in the sale represented a particular moment in Bassey’s life, as well as iconic performances.

Bassey has always been excited to talk about her life-long love affair with fine jewelry, especially diamonds.

“I fell in love with jewelry when I first discovered natural pearls as an up-and-coming singer, and I bought myself my first string of pearls – the first piece of jewelry I’d ever bought,” Bassey told naturaldiamonds.com. “However, I quickly graduated to my lifelong passion for diamonds, which preceded the recording of ‘Diamonds Are Forever.'”

She explained that she accepted the offer to sing the title track of the 1971 Bond flick because the lyrics “rang true” to her: “Diamonds never lie to me / For when love’s gone, they’ll luster on / Diamonds are forever, forever, forever.”

Please check out the video of Bassey’s memorable live performance of “Goldfinger” at the Royal Albert Hall in 1974. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Goldfinger”
Written by John Barry, Leslie Bricuss and Anthony Newley. Performed by Shirley Bassey.

Goldfinger
He’s the man, the man with the Midas touch
A spider’s touch
Such a cold finger
Beckons you to enter his web of sin
But don’t go in

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her
It’s the kiss of death from

Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her
It’s the kiss of death from

Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold

He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold
He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold

Credit: Photo by Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.