Shirley Bassey - He Was Beautiful (1991 Recording)

1991 (Shirley Bassey recorded this beautiful song written by Jazz favorite Cleo Laine on her 1991 CD titled, 'Keep The Music Playing). Bassey is known around the world as the lady who poccesses a very powerful high fidelity voice, but here she shows the softer rich side of her amazing vocal abilities, throughout the song incorporating all note levels in the mix. Many listening to this song will say, Shirley sounds different on this recording; it's because she wants to, and because she is able to....

ABOUT the CD, Keep The Music Playing:
Keep the Music Playing is a 1991 album by Shirley Bassey. The album was recorded in the UK at the Westgreen Studios and in the Netherlands at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum. The album is a mixture of contemporary pop ballads, such as "I Want to Know What Love Is" from Foreigner, the Jennifer Rush power ballad "The Power Of Love", and the more gentle "Still" from Lionel Richie, combined with standards from the field of jazz and pop, such as "He Was Beautiful", the sweet jazz ballad from Cleo Laine. Several of the songs are sung with a grand, operatic pop style, which may have roots in her 1984 album I Am What I Am, which she recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the fact that in the latter mid-1980s she started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer. Bassey returned to the Beatles with "Yesterday", as she had previously covered "Something" and "Fool on the Hill" successfully in the 1970s, and had performed "Hey Jude" frequently live. Another previously successful formula was used for the closing track "Dio, Come Ti Amo (Oh God How Much I Love You)" an Italian original in the tradition of "This is My Life" and "Natalie". ("Dio, Come Ti Amo" was the Italian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966, performed in Italian by Domenico Modugno). The album was a commercial success and entered the UK album charts in May 1991, peaking at number 25.[1] The original release was on vinyl, cassette and CD, the CD was issued by Dino Records in the UK and ZYX Records in Germany. FreeStyle Records is now defunct but this album has been re-issued on CD many times on various labels. This was the last Shirley Bassey album to be issued on a vinyl LP format.

LYRICS:
He was beautiful, beautiful to my eyes
From the moment I saw him, the sun filled the sky
He was so, so beautiful, beautiful just to hold
In my dreams, he was springtime, winter was cold

How could I tell him what I so clearly could see?
Though I longed for him
Another trusted me completely
So I never could be free

It was beautiful, knowing now that he cared
I will always remember moments we shared
Now it's all over, still the feelings linger on
For my dream keeps returning, now that he's gone

For it was beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful to be loved

Special Thanks to Pieter, Astrid and others from the Shirley Bassey blog, Tal from the Diamond Bassey website, and all those who have contributed wonderful pictures of Shirley!

[RM-ljbv]

Dame Shirely, THE BEST, I've met her twice, South Africa and Scotland.

[beagle]

Before my time . My parents flew 500 miles to see her . Loved every second.

[MrPeclo]

I Have & i like this fabulous album C.D.

[angelwatching]

To my husband who past this year. He was beautiful, it was beautiful to be loved.

[ashleywilliams]

the version by the Welsh songstress Iris williams is outstanding although I love Cleo's and have some of her amazing recordings....give Iris williams a try on this one she even took the song into the charts..

[winanci]

Haha. My head was trying to find the title of this song as I only remembered the tone. SO i typed some of the lyrics that I remember "How could I tell him what I ..." ... It is Cavatina !!!!

[rickok]

Now that's what you call a collar.

[margretsims]

I recall being in London in 1977 and someone mentioned her name; I said I had never heard of her....he explained it's all controlled has Streisand and Europe has SB

[deanchovan]

Cleo Laine did not compose the song, Stanley Meyers did.... She added the Lyrics