Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (/ˈbæsi/; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh vocalist whose career began in the mid-1950s, best known both for her powerful voice and for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). In January 1959, Bassey became the first Welsh person to gain a No. 1 single.\n', '

In 2000, Bassey was made a Dame for services to the performing arts. In 1977 she received the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years. Bassey has been called "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century."\n', '

Shirley Veronica Bassey was the sixth and youngest child of Henry Bassey and Eliza Jane Start, and was born on Bute Street in Tiger Bay (Butetown), Cardiff, Wales. She grew up in the adjacent community of Splott. Her father was Nigerian, and her mother was English, from Teesside in the northeast of England. \n', '

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