This Is My Life (La vita)
Encyclopedia
This Is My Life is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey
that was released in Italy on the United Artists
label (UA 9035).
Bassey had started living as a tax exile
in 1968, and was not permitted to work in Britain for two years. In 1968 Bassey performed at the Sanremo Music Festival
in Italy singing the song "La vita." This song was originally written by Bruno Canfora, with (Italian) lyrics by Antonio Amurri. For the song Bassey sang at the festival, the lyrics were partially rewritten in English by Norman Newell.
Side one of the album included only Italian songs with the exception of "La vita" which is the version with a mix of Italian and English lyrics. Side two is an edited version of the This Is My Life album that was released in Britain and the USA, with the addition of "To Give" which was only included in this album and on a single.
Of the six songs recorded in Italian on this album only "La vita" has had a CD release. It appeared on the 1994 boxset Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979
. While in exile Bassey recorded several songs that were exclusively released in Italy and also performed frequently on Italian television.
In the next step in the evolution of "La vita," Newell wrote English lyrics for the remaining Italian parts and the result was "This Is My Life." This English-only version became one of Bassey's signature songs, often the final encore that she performs in concert.
This album was released in stereo and has identical front cover art to the 1968 UK This Is My Life
but has "La vita" under "This Is My Life," and the different songlist.
Side Two.
Note: The capitalization of songs is different in Italian than in English.
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
that was released in Italy on the United Artists
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
label (UA 9035).
Bassey had started living as a tax exile
Tax exile
A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.-Legal status:...
in 1968, and was not permitted to work in Britain for two years. In 1968 Bassey performed at the Sanremo Music Festival
Festival della canzone italiana
The Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo is a popular Italian song contest, held annually in the city of Sanremo, in Italy, and consisting of a competition amongst previously unreleased songs...
in Italy singing the song "La vita." This song was originally written by Bruno Canfora, with (Italian) lyrics by Antonio Amurri. For the song Bassey sang at the festival, the lyrics were partially rewritten in English by Norman Newell.
Side one of the album included only Italian songs with the exception of "La vita" which is the version with a mix of Italian and English lyrics. Side two is an edited version of the This Is My Life album that was released in Britain and the USA, with the addition of "To Give" which was only included in this album and on a single.
Of the six songs recorded in Italian on this album only "La vita" has had a CD release. It appeared on the 1994 boxset Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979
Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979
A 5CD boxset compilation from Shirley Bassey issued in 1994, this set features 94 studio recordings on four CDs, recorded for EMI/United Artists between 1959 and 1979. Disc five features a previously unreleased live recording from Carnegie Hall...
. While in exile Bassey recorded several songs that were exclusively released in Italy and also performed frequently on Italian television.
In the next step in the evolution of "La vita," Newell wrote English lyrics for the remaining Italian parts and the result was "This Is My Life." This English-only version became one of Bassey's signature songs, often the final encore that she performs in concert.
This album was released in stereo and has identical front cover art to the 1968 UK This Is My Life
This Is My Life (Shirley Bassey album)
This Is My Life is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey. The mid to late sixties was a period of declining popularity for traditional pop. How much the changing tastes in popular music directly affected Bassey's record sales is difficult to quantify; but her record sales had been faltering since the...
but has "La vita" under "This Is My Life," and the different songlist.
Track listing
Side One.- "La vita" (Bruno Canfora, Antonio Amurri, Norman NewellNorman NewellNorman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
) - "Pronto...sono io" (Vito Pallavicini, M. Remigi)
- "Domani, domani" (Vito Pallavicini, Pino Donaggio)
- "Epirops" (Massara, Conz)
- "Chi si vuol bene vome noi..." (Domenico Modugo, Vito Pallavicini)
- "E' giorno" (Minellono, De Vita)
Side Two.
- "Now You Want to Be Loved" (Pierre Barouh, Raymond Lesenechal)
- "A Time for Us" (Nino RotaNino RotaNino Rota was an Italian composer and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti...
, Larry Kusik, Eddie SnyderEddie SnyderEdward Abraham Snyder was an American composer and songwriter. Snyder is credited with co-writing the English language lyrics and music for Frank Sinatra's 1966 hit, "Strangers in the Night"....
) - "Softly as I Leave YouSoftly, as I Leave You (song)"Softly, as I Leave You" is a popular song composed by Hal Shaper, Antonio De Vita , with original Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese....
" (Antonio De Vita, Giorgio Calabrese, Hal Shaper) - "To Give" (Bob CreweBob CreweBob Crewe is an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, record producer and fine artist. He is known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for The Four Seasons...
, Bob Gaudio) - "The JokerThe Joker (musical song)The Joker is a song by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, from the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd.-Recordings:* Anthony Newley performed the song on the original cast recording....
" (Leslie BricusseLeslie BricusseLeslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
, Anthony NewleyAnthony NewleyAnthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
) - "I Must Know" (Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
, Lil Mattis)
Note: The capitalization of songs is different in Italian than in English.
External links
- http://shirleybassey.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/italian-songs-on-cd/