The European Film Awards were originally called the "Felix Awards".

The Félix Award is a music award, given on an annual basis to artists in the Canadian province of Quebec.

The first Félix awards were presented on September 23, 1979, by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois (ADISQ). The award trophy was created in 1979 by Marc-André Parisé, a sculptor in the region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.

The awards are named in honour of Quebec songwriter Félix Leclerc.

In contrast to the Juno Awards, whose nominations are based on record sales, nominations and winners of the Félix are decided by ADISQ members.

The awards have sometimes been controversial. In 1983, songwriter Luc Plamondon attracted controversy by using his acceptance speech to denounce copyright law. In 1990, Céline Dion publicly refused the Félix for anglophone artist of the year for her English-language album Unison, not considering herself an anglophone artist.

See also[link]

• List of Quebec musicians
• Music of Quebec
• Culture of Quebec

External links[link]

• ADISQ

Dame Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey at Wembley Arena, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Shirley Veronica Bassey
Born	(1937-01-08) 8 January 1937 (age 75) Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales
Genres	Popular music
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1953–present
Labels	Philips, Columbia, United Artists, Decca, Geffen
Website	www.dameshirleybassey.com

Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937^[1]), is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the mid-1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century".^[2][3] In the US, in particular, she is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979) and is the only artist to record more than one Bond theme song. Bassey is also a UNESCO Artist for Peace.^[2][4][5]

Birth to 1959[link]

"Born above a brothel in a docklands slum",^[6] Shirley Veronica Bassey was the sixth and last child of Eliza Jane Start^[7] and Henry Bassey in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales (now called Cardiff Bay), of paternal Nigerian and maternal English descent.^[2][8][9] Bassey's mother also had four children from previous relationships, two of whom lived in the Bassey household. Eliza had married previously, to Alfred Metcalfe, and upon her marriage to Bassey, Eliza Jane Metcalfe listed Alfred Metcalfe as her father on the marriage registry. It has thus been theorized that she never divorced Alfred, and that her marriage to Bassey was bigamous.^[10] Eliza and Henry's second child died in infancy, so Shirley was born into a household of three sisters, two half-sisters, and one brother.^[11] A year later her father was arrested and charged with having sex with a minor, was tried, imprisoned for five years, then deported.^[12] After Henry's arrest, Eliza and the children moved to the nearby steelworking district of Splott.^[13]

As a preteen attending Moorland Road School, Bassey's strong voice was noticed by teachers and students alike, though without encouragement: "...everyone told me to shut up. Even in the school choir the teacher kept telling me to back off till I was singing in the corridor! [A classmate] recalled her singing 'Can't help lovin' that man of mine' from Showboat with such feeling that she made [their] teacher uncomfortable."^[14] After leaving Splott Secondary Modern School at the age of 14, Bassey first found employment packing at a local factory while singing in local public houses and clubs in the evenings and weekends.^[15]

In 1953, Bassey signed her first professional contract, to sing in a touring variety show Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson.^[16] She next took up a professional engagement in Hot from Harlem, which ran until 1954. By this time Bassey had become disenchanted with show business, and had become pregnant at 16 with her elder daughter, Sharon—the father has not been identified—^[6] so she went back to waiting tables in Cardiff.

In 1955, a chance recommendation to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent, put Bassey firmly on course for her destined career. He saw talent in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star. She toured various theatres until she was seen by Jack Hylton whose interest in her put her firmly on the road to stardom. He invited her to star in Al Read's Such Is Life at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. During the show's run, Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a recording deal. Bassey recorded her first single, entitled "Burn My Candle", and Philips released it in February 1956, when Bassey was 19. Owing to the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but it sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of "Stormy Weather". Further singles followed, and in February 1957, Bassey had her first hit with "The Banana Boat Song", which reached No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart.^[17] During that year, she also recorded under the direction of American producer Mitch Miller in New York for the Columbia label, producing the single "If I Had a Needle and Thread" b/w "Tonight My Heart She Is Crying". She then travelled to Las Vegas to make her American stage début at El Rancho Vegas.^[18] In mid-1958, she recorded two singles that would become classics in the Bassey catalogue. "As I Love You" was released as the B-side of another ballad, "Hands Across the Sea"; it did not sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium things began to pick up. In January 1959, it reached No. 1 and stayed there for four weeks. It thus became the first number 1 single by a Welsh artist.^[19] Bassey also recorded "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" at this point, and while "As I Love You" raced up the charts, so too did this record, with both songs being in the top three at the same time. A few months later, Bassey signed to EMI's Columbia label, and the second phase in her recording career had begun.

1960 to 1979[link]

In the early and mid-1960s, Bassey had numerous hits on the UK charts, and five albums in the Top 15. Her 1960 recording of "As Long As He Needs Me" from Lionel Bart's Oliver! reached No. 2, and had a chart run of 30 weeks.^[5] On 13 November 1960, Bassey made her début performance on American television, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[20] In 1962, Bassey's collaboration with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra produced the album Let's Face the Music (No. 12) and the single "What Now My Love" (No. 5). Other Top Ten hits of the period included her second No. 1, the double A-side "Reach for the Stars"/"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (1961), "I'll Get By" (also 1961), and a cover version of the Ben E. King hit "I (Who Have Nothing)" in 1963.^[17] During this period, Bassey appeared on the cover of Ebony magazine, and sang at a Washington gala celebrating the end of President Kennedy's second year in office.^[21]

In 1965, Bassey enjoyed her only U.S. Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit with the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger. The single peaked at No. 8, while the original soundtrack of Goldfinger hit No. 1 in the U.S. that same year. Also in 1965, she sang the title track for the spoof James Bond film The Liquidator, and had a Top 20 live album recorded during a sell-out run at London's Pigalle.

From 1964 onwards the "Goldfinger" single had a lasting impact on her career: writing for the sleeve notes of Bassey's 25th Anniversary Album, Clayton (1978) notes that: "Acceptance in America was considerably helped by the enormous popularity of ("Goldfinger")...But she had actually established herself there as early as 1961, in cabaret in New York. She was also a success in Las Vegas...'I suppose I should feel hurt that I've never been really big in America on record since "Goldfinger"...But, concertwise, I always sell out.'..."^[22] This was reflected in the fact that Bassey had only one solo LP to reach the Top 20 in a US chart (R&B, Live at Carnegie Hall), and she was technically a one-hit wonder, making only one appearance in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, "Goldfinger". But in the aftermath of "Goldfinger" her UK sales started to falter as well: only two of her singles would enter the UK Top 40 until 1970. She had signed to United Artists, and her first album on that label, 1966's I've Got a Song for You, spent one week on the chart; from there until 1970, only two albums would chart, one of those a compilation. In 1967 came the release of one of her best-known singles "Big Spender", although it charted just outside the UK Top 20.^[17]

Bassey started living as a tax exile in 1968, and was not permitted to work in Britain for almost two years.^[9][23] Also in 1968, at the Sanremo Festival in Italy, she performed "La vita", an Italian song by Bruno Canfora and Antonio Amurri, with some lyrics re-written in English by Norman Newell for her performance. Her version of the song with chorus sung in Italian became a Top 40 hit on the Italian chart, and Bassey recorded several songs in Italian, some appearing on a 1968 Italian album titled La vita.^[24] (Later, Newell would write English lyrics for the rest of "La vita", and the result was "This Is My Life".) But her UK sales continued to suffer.

Bassey performing in Germany in 1973

Bassey's UK comeback came in 1970, leading to one of the most successful periods of her career. In this year, she returned to the UK with a record breaking run of performances at the Talk of the Town nightclub. Also in that year, she released the album Something, which showcased a new Bassey style, a shift from traditional pop to more contemporary songs and arrangements (the single of the same name was more successful in the UK charts than the original Beatles recording - the only artist to have achieved this), though Bassey would never completely abandon what had been her forte, standards, show tunes, and torch songs. "Something" was also a Top 10 U.S. hit on the Adult Contemporary chart. Other singles of this period included the top ten hit "Never Never Never" (1973) – the latter reaching the Top 10 in the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart, the UK Top 10 and and number one in Australia and South Africa. The success of "Something" (single No. 4, album No. 5) spawned a series of successful albums on the UA label, including Something Else (1971), And I Love You So (1972), I Capricorn (1972), Never Never Never (1973), Good, Bad but Beautiful (1975), Love, Life and Feelings (1976), You Take My Heart Away (1977) and Yesterdays (1978). Bernard Ighner wrote and duetted with Bassey for the track "Davy" on the Nobody Does It Like Me album (1974). Additionally, two of Bassey's earlier LPs entered the charts, 1967's And We Were Lovers (re-issued as Big Spender), and 1962's Let's Face the Music (re-issued as What Now My Love). Two compilations, The Shirley Bassey Singles Album (1975) and 25th Anniversary Album (1978) both made the UK top three: The Shirley Bassey Singles Album her highest charting album at number two and earning a gold disc, and 25th Anniversary Album going platinum.^[17][25]

Between 1970 and 1979, Bassey had 18 hit albums in the UK Albums Chart.^[5] Her 1978 album The Magic Is You featured a portrait by the photographer, Francesco Scavullo. In 1973, her sold-out concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall were recorded and released as a two-LP set, Shirley Bassey: Live at Carnegie Hall. This album and the majority of her recordings from this period have been re-mastered and released on CD by EMI and BGO Records. In 1971, she recorded the theme song for Diamonds Are Forever. The recording featured as part of Sydney, Australia's 2007 New Year's celebration.

Bassey appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, broadcast on Christmas Day in 1971.^[26] In 1976, Bassey starred in the six-episode The Shirley Bassey Show, the first of her television programs for the BBC, followed by a second series of six episodes in 1979. The final show of the first series was nominated for the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1977. The series featured guests including Neil Diamond, Michel Legrand, The Three Degrees and Dusty Springfield; filmed in various locations throughout the world as well as in the studio. In 1978, Bassey pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly "after shouting abuse in the street and pushing a policeman".^[4] Bassey closed out the decade with her third title theme for the Bond films, Moonraker (1979).

1980 to 1999[link]

Throughout most of the 1980s, Bassey focused on charitable work and performing occasional concert tours throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, having ended her contract with EMI-United Artists and taking what she referred to as 'semi-retirement'. In 1982 Bassey recorded an album entitled All by Myself and made a TV special for Thames Television called A Special Lady with guest Robert Goulet. In 1983 she recorded a duet with Alain Delon, "Thought I'd Ring You", which became a hit single in Europe. Bassey was now recording far less often but released an album in 1984 of her most famous songs, I Am What I Am, performed with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis. In 1986, she released a single and video to support the London Tourist Board, "There's No Place Like London", co-written by Lynsey de Paul and Gerard Kenny. In 1987 she recorded an album of James Bond themes, The Bond Collection, but was apparently unhappy with the results so she declined to release it. (Five years later it was released anyway, Bassey sued in court, and all unsold copies were withdrawn).^[27] Also in 1987, Bassey provided vocals for Swiss artists Yello on "The Rhythm Divine", a song co-written by Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie.^[2] In 1989, she released an album sung entirely in Spanish, La Mujer. In the latter mid-1980s Bassey had started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer, and her 1991 album Keep the Music Playing displayed a grand, operatic pop style on several songs (perhaps also influenced by her album with the LSO seven years earlier).

In 1994 EMI released the five-CD box set Bassey – The EMI/UA Years 1959 – 1979. The accompanying booklet opened with a poem by Marc Almond. In 1996, Bassey collaborated with Chris Rea in the film La Passione, appearing in the film as herself and releasing the single "'Disco' La Passione". The remix of this single proved a major club hit throughout Europe^{[citation needed]}, though charting just outside the UK top 40.^[17] Bassey released a new recording the following year, "History Repeating", written for her by the Propellerheads and scoring a No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart, and No. 10 on the US Dance Chart.^[28] It was also a top ten hit in Italy.^[24] The liner notes of the Propellerheads' album Decksandrumsandrockandroll included the lines "We would like to extend our maximum respect to Shirley Bassey for honouring us with her performance. We are still in shock ..." Bassey celebrated her 60th birthday in 1997 with two open-air concerts, at Castle Howard and Althorp Park, and another TV special. The resulting live album The Birthday Concert received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.^[29] On 7 October 1998 in Egypt, Bassey performed for a benefit at an open air concert close to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.

In the 1998 film Little Voice, Bassey was one of three central figures along with Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, and Bassey's track "Goldfinger" featured in the movie. Jane Horrocks, the lead actress in the film, went on to impersonate Bassey both on record and television, as well as during a UK tour.

In 1998 Bassey was sued in a breach of contract case by her former personal assistant, who also accused Bassey of hitting her and making an ethnic slur. Bassey won the case.^[4] The episode was lampooned by Alexander Baron in his one-act play, The Trial of Shirley Bassey.

The following year, she performed the official song for the rugby World Cup, "World in Union", with Bryn Terfel at the opening ceremony at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, wearing a gown designed on the Welsh flag. Their single made the Top 40, and Bassey contributed two more songs to the official album Land of My Fathers, which reached No. 1 on the UK compilations chart, and went silver.^[25][30]

2000 to date[link]

In 2001, Bassey was principal artiste at the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th Birthday celebration. On 3 June 2002 Shirley Bassey was one of a prestigious line up of artists including Elton John, Paul McCartney, Queen, The Corrs, Annie Lennox, Eric Clapton, Tony Bennett, Cliff Richard, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Ricky Martin, Phil Collins and Tom Jones who performed at the Queen’s 50th Jubilee Party at Buckingham Palace. Then, in 2003, Bassey celebrated 50 years in show business, releasing the CD Thank You for the Years, which was another Top 20 album. A gala charity auction of her stage costumes at Christie's, Dame Shirley Bassey: 50 Years of Glittering Gowns, raised £250,000 (US$500,000) for the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Appeal.^[31] Bassey topped the bill at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance, introducing her new song "The Living Tree".

Two popular Audiences with Shirley Bassey have aired on British television, one in 1995 that attracted more than 10 million viewers in the UK, with the most recent in 2006. Bassey returned to perform in five arenas around the UK in June the same year, culminating at Wembley. She also performed a concert in front of 10,000 people at the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in North Wales broadcast by BBC Wales.

Marks & Spencer signed her for their Christmas 2006 James Bond-style television advertising campaign. Bassey is seen in a glamorous Ice Palace singing a cover version of Pink's song "Get the Party Started", wearing an M&S gown.

"The Living Tree", written, produced and originally recorded by the group Never the Bride, was released as a single on 23 April 2007, marking Bassey's 50th anniversary in the UK Singles Chart – and the record for the longest span of Top 40 hits in UK chart history.^[5] Bassey performed a 45 minute set at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival wearing a pink Julien Macdonald dress, and customised Wellington boots.^[32] A new album, Get the Party Started, was subsequently released on 25 June 2007 and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 6.^[17] The single of the title song reached No. 3 on the U.S. Dance Chart.^[33] The same year, Bassey performed "Big Spender" with Elton John at his annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to raise money for The Elton John AIDS Foundation.^[34] In 2007, Bassey performed in Fashion Rocks in aid of The Prince's Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.

From left to right: Sting, Debbie Harry, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Bassey and Bruce Springsteen at Carnegie Hall 2010

She was rushed to hospital in Monaco on 23 May 2008 to have an emergency operation on her stomach after complaining of abdominal pains. She was forced to pull out of the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute concert because of her illness.^[35] A biography, Diamond Diva, was published in 2008. In 2009 her granddaughter appeared on The X Factor.^[36]

In 2009, Bassey recorded the album, The Performance, with James Bond composer David Arnold as co-producer (with Mike Dixon). A number of artists wrote songs expressly for Bassey, including Manic Street Preachers, Gary Barlow, KT Tunstall, Pet Shop Boys, Nick Hodgson of the Kaiser Chiefs, John Barry and Don Black.

Bassey headlined at the BBC Electric Proms on 23 October 2009, in her only full live set of 2009.^[4][37]

In November 2009, she performed several of the new songs from The Performance on various TV shows: The Graham Norton Show, The Paul O'Grady Show and as the guest singer on Strictly Come Dancing.

Bassey performed at the Rainforest Foundation Fund 21st Birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City on 13 May 2010.

On 30 March 2011, Bassey performed at a gala celebrating the 80th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev.^[38] She also performed at the Classical Brit Awards in 2011, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to John Barry.^[39]

On 21 May 2011, Bassey became the godmother of P&O Cruise's latest ship Adonia at the naming ceremony in Southampton, England.

On 20 June 2011, Bassey sang "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger", accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, at the John Barry Memorial Concert the Royal Albert Hall in London.

On 29 September 2011, the BBC broadcast a 70 minute drama, entitled Shirley, depicting Bassey's early life and career.^[40] Ruth Negga played the title role.

Personal life[link]

Bassey has been married twice, her husbands being:

• Kenneth Hume (died 1967), a gay film producer, whom she married in 1961.^[6][41] The couple separated in 1964 and divorced in 1965, in the wake of the singer's affair with actor Peter Finch. Bassey then announced to the press that she and Finch would not be marrying, telling the press, "It simply wouldn't work out. Just now I am not ready for marriage to anyone. I feel I have to be free".^[42] A year later, Hume sued the actor and another man, John McAuliffe, for being "indiscreet" with the singer.^[43] Both Finch and McAuliffe were cited as co-respondents in the Hume-Bassey divorce.^[44] For her part, Bassey was named as co-respondent in 1965 when Finch's wife, South African actress Yolande Turner, divorced the actor.^[45]

• Sergio Novak, the assistant manager of the Excelsior Hotel in Rome, Italy. Bassey and Novak were married from 1968 until they divorced in 1979.^[46] Novak served as Bassey's manager throughout this time. With Novak she adopted her grand-nephew, Mark.^[8][9]

The fathers of Bassey's two daughters, Sharon Bassey (aka Sharon Novak, born 1954) and Samantha Bassey (aka Samantha Novak, born 1963), are unknown.^[47][48] However, Bassey's first husband suggested that Samantha, born during the couple's marriage, was the result of an affair between Bassey and Peter Finch. In 1965, according to an article in Jet, "There is a big dispute in London over who is the father of tempestuous singer Shirley Bassey's baby. Although one-time boy friend English actor Peter Finch agreed that the child may not belong to Shirley's divorced husband, Kenneth Hume, Finch insists it does not belong to him ... "^[43][49]

In 1985, Samantha Novak, age 21, was found dead in the River Avon in Bristol, England. Bassey has always maintained that the death of her daughter was not a suicide.^[4] On 24 March 2010, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they were undertaking fresh inquiries into the death of Novak, and specifically claims that the convicted killer Michael Moffat was involved in her death.^[50] However, in October 2010 it was reported that the investigation came to an end and concluded that there "is no evidence of any criminal act involved" in Novak's death.^[51]

Bassey's granddaughter Tatjana Novak-Kimsey, daughter of the singer's one-time estranged son, Mark Novak, was a contestant on The X Factor.^[52] (In a 2009 interview, Bassey stated that she and her son had reconciled.)^[4]

Bassey has four grandsons through her daughter, Sharon Novak.^[53]

Bassey currently resides in Monte Carlo.

Awards and achievements[link]

"For services to entertainment", Bassey was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) on 31 December 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II.^[54] She was invited to perform in 2002 at the Party at the Palace, a public celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. She was awarded France's top honour, the Legion d'Honneur, to signify her popularity and importance in the culture of France.

• 1972 (1972) – Best Female Singer – TV Times
• 1973 (1973) – Best Female Singer – TV Times
• 1974 (1974) – Best Female Entertainer – American Guild of Variety Artists
• 1976 (1976) – Best Female Singer – Music Week
• 1976 (1976) – 22-day British tour to mark twenty years as a recording artist
• 1976 (1976) – EMI Award for twenty years as a recording artist – UK
• 1977 (1977) – Best British Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years – BRIT Award
• 1977 (1977) – Golden Rose of Montreux nomination for The Shirley Bassey Show
• 1991 (1991) – Walk of Fame, Star Boulevard – plaque unveiled in Rotterdam^[55]
• 1993 (1993) – CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• 1995 (1995) – Showbusiness Personality of the Year – Variety Club of Great Britain
• 1997 (1997) – Grammy nomination – The Birthday Concert (recorded live at Althorp Park)
• 1998 (1998) – Longest run by a solo artist (ten shows) – Royal Festival Hall, London
• 1999 (1999) – Légion d'Honneur – France
• 1999 (1999) – Madam Tussaud's waxwork unveiled in London (second model in Las Vegas)
• 2000 (2000) – DBE – Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• 2000 (2000) – Most Successful British Female Singer – Guinness Book of Records^{[citation needed]}
• 2003 (2003) – Outstanding Contribution to Music – National Music Awards, UK^[56]
• 2003 (2003) – Lifetime Achievement Award (inaugural award) – Western Mail Welsh Woman of the Year Awards^[57]
• 2004 (2004) – 100 Great Black Britons, Bassey voted into the top ten
• 2004 (2004) – Artist for Peace Award – UNESCO
• 2005 (2005) – Avenue of Stars – plaque unveiled in London
• 2008 (2008) – "Goldfinger" – United Artists single (1964) inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame^[58]

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Miss Shirley Bassey - John L. Williams (2010)
• Shirley Bassey: Diamond Diva – Peter Hogan (2008)
• Cardiff: Rebirth of a Capital (Foreword by Shirley Bassey) – Ungersma, Hurn (2005)
• Shirley Bassey: Welsh History Stories – Evans, Stokes, ap Emlyn, ap Emlyn (2003)
• Shirley Bassey: An appreciation – Muriel Burgess (1998, reprinted 1999)
• My Life on Record and in Concert – Shirley Bassey (Bloomsbury, 1998)
• The Trial of Shirley Bassey – A Play in One Act – Alexander Baron (1998)
• Shirley Bassey: This Is My Life (Piano/vocal/guitar) – Sheet music book
• Shirley Bassey: You're the Voice (Piano/vocal/guitar) – Sheet music book
• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles – 14th Edition – ISBN 0-85156-156-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles – 16th Edition – ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums – 7th Edition – ISBN 0-85112-619-7
• The Book of Golden Discs – 2nd Edition – ISBN 0-214-20512-6
• The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits – ISBN 0-85112-250-7

See also[link]

	Book: Shirley Bassey
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• List of best-selling music artists

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shirley Bassey

• Dame Shirley Bassey — official website
• Shirley Bassey discography at Discogs
• Shirley Bassey at the Internet Movie Database
• The Bassey Blog — fansite
• Diamond Bassey — fansite
• The Songs of Shirley Bassey (archived site) — interviews with Shirley Bassey, plus an extensive discography
• The Dame Shirley Bassey Message Board — forum fansite
• Shirleybassey.nl — extensive CD discography with tracklists
• Shirley Bassey biography on BBC Wales
• Event data as RDF

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Cy Young
Pitcher
Born: (1867-03-29)March 29, 1867 Gilmore, Ohio
Died: November 4, 1955(1955-11-04) (aged 88) Newcomerstown, Ohio
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 6, 1890 for the Cleveland Spiders
Last MLB appearance
October 11, 1911 for the Boston Rustlers
Career statistics
Win–loss record	511–316
Earned run average	2.63
Strikeouts	2,803
Teams
Cleveland Spiders (1890–1898) St. Louis Perfectos (1899–1900) Boston Americans / Red Sox (1901–1908) Cleveland Naps (1909–1911) Boston Rustlers (1911)
Career highlights and awards
Threw first World Series pitch (1903) World Series champion (1903) Pitched a perfect game on May 5, 1904 Pitched three no-hitters Major League Baseball All-Century Team MLB Records 511 career wins 316 career losses 7,354 2/3 innings pitched 815 career games started 749 career complete games 25 1/3 consecutive hitless innings pitched
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1937
Vote	76.12%

Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career (1890–1911), he pitched for five different teams. Young established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for a century. Young compiled 511 wins, which is most in Major League history and 94 ahead of Walter Johnson who is second on the list.^[1] Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. One year after Young's death, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the previous season's best pitcher.

In addition to wins, Young still holds the Major League records for most career innings pitched (7,355), most career games started (815), and most complete games (749).^[2][3][4] He also retired with 316 losses, the most in MLB history.^[5] Young's 76 career shutouts are fourth all-time.^[6] He also won at least 30 games in a season five times, with ten other seasons of 20 or more wins.^[7] In addition, Young pitched three no-hitters, including the third perfect game in baseball history, first in baseball's "modern era".^[a] In 1999, 88 years after his final Major League appearance and 44 years after his death, editors at The Sporting News ranked Cy Young 14th on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".^[8] That same year, baseball fans named him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Young's career started in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders. After eight years with the Spiders, Young was moved to St. Louis in 1899. After two years there, Young jumped to the newly-created American League, joining the Boston franchise. He was traded back to Cleveland in 1909, before spending the final two months of his career with the Boston Rustlers. After his retirement, Young went back to his farm in Ohio, where he stayed until his death at age 88 in 1955.

Early life[link]

Cy Young was the oldest child born to McKinzie Young Jr. and Nancy Miller. The couple had four more children: Carl, Lon, Ella, and Otto. When the couple married, McKinzie's father gave him the 54 acres (220,000 m²) of farm land he owned.^[9] Young was born in Gilmore, a tiny farming community located in Washington Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He was christened Denton True Young. Some sources later, and even today, list his middle name erroneously as "Tecumseh", apparently as a result of being nicknamed "The Chief" by teammates.^[10]

He was raised on one of the local farms and went by the name Dent Young in his early years.^[11] Young was also known as "Farmer Young" and "Farmboy Young". Young stopped his formal education after he completed the sixth grade^[12] so he could help out on the family's farm. In 1885, Young moved with his father to Nebraska, and in the summer of 1887, they returned to Gilmore.

Cy Young played for many amateur baseball leagues during his youth, including a "semi-pro" Carrollton team in 1888. Young pitched and played second base. The first box score known containing the name Young came from that season. In that game, Young played first base and had three hits in three at-bats. After the season, Young received an offer to play for the minor league Canton team, which started Young's professional career.^[9]

Professional career[link]

Before Major League Baseball[link]

Young began his professional career in 1889 with the Canton, Ohio team of the Tri-State League, a professional minor league. During his tryout, Young impressed the scouts, recalling years later, "I almost tore the boards off the grandstand with my fast ball."^[13] Cy Young's nickname came from the fences that he had destroyed using his fastball. The fences looked like a cyclone (tornado) had hit them. Reporters later shortened the name to "Cy", which became the nickname Young used for the rest of his life.^[14] During Young's one year with the Canton team, he won 15 games and lost 15.^[11]

Franchises in the National League, the major professional baseball league at the time, wanted the best players available to them. Therefore, in 1890, Young signed with the Cleveland Spiders, a team which had moved up from the American Association to the National League the previous year.

Cleveland Spiders[link]

On August 6, 1890, Young's major league debut, he pitched a three-hit shutout.^[15] While Young was on the Spiders, Chief Zimmer was his catcher more often than any other player. Bill James, a baseball statistician, estimated that Zimmer caught Young in more games than any other battery in baseball history.^[16]

Early on, Young established himself as one of the harder-throwing pitchers in the game. Bill James wrote that Zimmer often put a piece of beefsteak inside his baseball glove to protect his catching hand from Young's fastball.^[16] In the absence of radar guns, however, it is difficult to say just how hard Young actually threw. Young continued to perform at a high level during the 1890 season. On the last day of the season, Young won both games of a doubleheader.^[12] In the first weeks of Young's career, Cap Anson, the player-manager of the Chicago Colts spotted Young's ability. Anson told Spiders' manager Gus Schmelz, "He's too green to do your club much good, but I believe if I taught him what I know, I might make a pitcher out of him in a couple of years. He's not worth it now, but I'm willing to give you $1,000 ($25,867 today) for him." Schmelz replied, "Cap, you can keep your thousand and we'll keep the rube."^[17]

An 1893 baseball card of Young

Two years after Young's debut, the National League moved the pitcher's position back by 5 feet (1.5 m). Since 1881, pitchers had pitched within a "box" whose front line was 50 feet (15 m) from home base, and since 1887 they had been compelled to toe the back line of the box when delivering the ball. The back line was 55 feet 6 inches (16.92 m) away from home. In 1893, 5 feet (1.5 m) was added to the back line, yielding the modern pitching distance of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m). In the book The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, sports journalist Rob Neyer wrote that the speed with which pitchers like Cy Young, Amos Rusie, and Jouett Meekin threw was the impetus that caused the move.^[18]

The 1892 regular season was a success for Young, who led the National League in wins (36), ERA (1.93), and shutouts (9). Just as many contemporary Minor League Baseball leagues operate today, the National League was using a split season format during the 1892 season.^[19] The Boston Beaneaters won the first-half title, and the Spiders won the second-half title, with a best-of-nine series determining the league champion. Despite the Spiders' second half run, the Beaneaters swept the series, five games to none. Young pitched three complete games in the series, but lost two decisions. He also threw a complete game shutout, but the game ended in a 0–0 tie.

The Spiders faced the Baltimore Orioles in the Temple Cup, a precursor to the World Series, in 1895. Young won three games in the series and Cleveland won the Cup, four games to one. It was around this time that Young added what he called a "slow ball" to his pitching repertoire to reduce stress on his arm. The pitch today is called a changeup.^[12]

In 1896, Young lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when Ed Delahanty of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a single.^[20] On September 18, 1897, Young pitched the first no-hitter of his career in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Although Young did not walk a batter, the Spiders committed four errors while on defense. One of the errors had originally been ruled a hit, but the Cleveland third baseman sent a note to the press box after the eighth inning, saying he had made an error, and the ruling was changed. Young later said, that, despite his teammate's gesture, he considered the game to be a one-hitter.^[21]

Shift to St. Louis[link]

Prior to the 1899 season, Frank Robison, the Spiders owner, bought the St. Louis Browns, thus owning two clubs simultaneously. The Browns were renamed the "Perfectos," and restocked with Cleveland talent. Just weeks before the season opener, most of the better Spiders players were transferred to St. Louis, including fellow pitcher Pete McBride and three future Hall of Famers: Young, Jesse Burkett, and Bobby Wallace.^[22] The roster maneuvers failed to create a powerhouse Perfectos team, as St. Louis finished fifth in both 1899 and 1900. Meanwhile, the depleted Spiders lost 134 games, the most in MLB history, before folding. Young spent two years with St. Louis, which is where he found his favorite catcher, Lou Criger. The two men were teammates for a decade.^[12][23]

Move to the American League[link]

Young in 1902

In 1901, the rival American League declared major league status and set about raiding National League rosters. Young left St. Louis and joined the American League's Boston Americans for a $3,500 contract ($97,776 today). Young would remain with the Boston team until 1909. In his first year in the American League, Young was dominant. Pitching to Criger, who had also jumped to Boston, Young led the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA^[b], thus earning the colloquial AL Triple Crown for pitchers.^[7] Young won almost 42% of his team's games in 1901, accounting for 33 of his team's 79 wins.^[24] In February 1902, before the start of the baseball season, Young served as a pitching coach at Harvard University. The sixth-grade graduate instructing Harvard students delighted Boston newspapers.^[12] The following year, Young coached at Mercer University during the spring. The team went on to win the Georgia state championship in 1903, 1904, and 1905.^[25]

The Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first modern World Series in 1903. Young, who started Game One against the visiting Pirates, thus threw the first pitch in modern World Series history. The Pirates scored four runs in that first inning, and Young lost the game. Young performed better in subsequent games, winning his next two starts. He also drove in three runs in Game Five. Young finished the series with a 2–1 record and a 1.85 ERA in four appearances, and Boston defeated Pittsburgh, five games to three games.

After one-hitting Boston on May 2, 1904, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Rube Waddell taunted Young to face him so that he could repeat his performance against Boston's ace. Three days later, Young pitched a perfect game against Waddell and the Athletics.^[a2] It was the first perfect game in American League history.^[a3][26][27] Waddell was the 27th and last batter, and when he flied out, Young shouted, "How do you like that, you hayseed?" Waddell had picked an inauspicious time to issue his challenge. Young's perfect game was the centerpiece of a pitching streak. Young set major league records for the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched and the most consecutive innings without allowing a hit; the latter record still stands at 25.1 innings, or 76 hitless batters.^[28][29] Even after allowing a hit, Young's scoreless streak reached a then-record 45 shutout innings. Before Young, only two pitchers had thrown perfect games.^[a3] This occurred in 1880, when Lee Richmond and John Ward pitched perfect games within five days of each other, although under somewhat different rules: the front edge of the pitcher's box was only 45 feet (14 m) from home base (the modern release point is about 10 feet (3.0 m) farther away); walks required eight balls; and pitchers were obliged to throw side-armed. Young's perfect game was the first under the modern rules established in 1893. One year later, on July 4, 1905, Rube Waddell beat Young and the Americans, 4–2, in a 20-inning matchup. Young pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings before he gave up a pair of unearned runs in the final inning. Young did not walk a batter and was later quoted: "For my part, I think it was the greatest game of ball I ever took part in."^[30] In 1907, Young and Waddell faced off in a scoreless 13-inning tie.

A 1911 baseball card of Young

In 1908, Young pitched the third no-hitter of his career. Three months past his 41st birthday, Cy Young was the oldest pitcher to record a no-hitter, a record which would stand 82 years until 43-year-old Nolan Ryan surpassed the feat. Only a walk kept Young from his second perfect game. After that runner was caught stealing, no other batter reached base. At this time, Young was the second-oldest player in either league. In another game one month before his no-hitter, he allowed just one single while facing 28 batters.^[24] On August 13, 1908, the league celebrated "Cy Young Day." No American League games were played on that day, and a group of All-Stars from the league's other teams gathered in Boston to play against Young and the Red Sox.^[31] When the season ended, he posted a 1.26 ERA, which gave him not only the lowest in his career, but also gave him a Major League record of being the oldest pitcher with 150+ innings pitched to post a season ERA under 1.50.

Cleveland Naps and retirement[link]

Young was traded back to Cleveland, the place where he played over half his career, before the 1909 season, to the Cleveland Naps of the American League. The following season, 1910, he won his 500th career game on July 23 against Washington.^[32] He split 1911, his final year, between the Naps and the Boston Rustlers.

On September 22, 1911, Young shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1–0, for his last career victory.^[33] In his final start two weeks later, the last eight batters of Young's career combined to hit a triple, four singles, and three doubles.^[34]

After baseball[link]

Young (far left) with (L to R) Jake Stahl, Bill Carrigan and Michael T. McGreevy during spring training in 1912.

From 1912 until his death in 1955, Cy Young lived and worked on his farm. His wife, Robba, whom he had known since childhood, died in 1933.^[9][12] After she died, Young tried several jobs, and eventually moved in with friends John and Ruth Benedum and did odd jobs for them. Young took part in many baseball events after his retirement.^[12] In 1937, 26 years after he retired from baseball, Cy Young was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was among the first to donate mementos to the Hall.

On November 4, 1955, Cy Young died on his farm at the age of 88. He was buried in Peoli, Ohio.^[35]

Baseball legacy[link]

Young retired with 511 career wins, which remains the record for most career wins by a pitcher. At the time, Pud Galvin had the second most career wins with 364. Walter Johnson, then in his fourth season, finished his career with 417 wins and, as of 2012, remains second on the list. In 1921, Johnson broke Young's career record for strikeouts.^[36]

Cy Young's career is seen as a bridge from baseball's earliest days to its modern era; he pitched against stars such as Cap Anson, already an established player when the National League was first formed in 1876, as well as against Eddie Collins, who played until 1930. When Young's career began, pitchers delivered the baseball underhand and fouls were not counted as strikes. The pitcher's mound was not moved back to its present position of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) until Young's fourth season; he did not wear a glove until his sixth season.^[12]

A photo of Young taken in 1908 was the source for a painting that was displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Young led his league in wins five times (1892, 1895, and 1901–1903), finishing second twice. His career high was 36 in 1892. He had fifteen seasons with twenty or more wins, two more than the runners-up, Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn. Young won two ERA titles during his career, in 1892 (1.93) and in 1901 (1.62), and was three times the runner-up. Young's earned run average was below 2.00 six times, but this was not uncommon during the dead-ball era. Although Young threw over 400 innings in each of his first four full seasons, he did not lead his league until 1902. He had 40 or more complete games nine times. Young also led his league in strikeouts twice (with 140 in 1896, and 158 in 1901), and in shutouts seven times.^[7] Young led his league in fewest walks per nine innings thirteen times and finished second one season. Only twice in his 22-year career did Young finish lower than 5th in the category. Although the WHIP ratio was not calculated until well after Young's death, Young was the retroactive league leader in this category seven times and was second or third another seven times.^[7] Cy Young is tied with Roger Clemens for the most career wins by a Boston Red Sox pitcher. They each won 192 games while with the franchise.^[37]

Particularly after his fastball slowed, Young relied upon his control. Young was once quoted as saying, "Some may have thought it was essential to know how to curve a ball before anything else. Experience, to my mind, teaches to the contrary. Any young player who has good control will become a successful curve pitcher long before the pitcher who is endeavoring to master both curves and control at the same time. The curve is merely an accessory to control."^[17] In addition to his exceptional control, Young was also a workhorse who avoided injury. For nineteen consecutive years, from 1891 through 1909, Cy Young was in his leagues' top ten for innings pitched; in fourteen of the seasons, he was in the top five. Not until 1900, a decade into his career, did Young pitch two consecutive incomplete games.^[21] By habit, Young restricted his practice throws in spring training. "I figured the old arm had just so many throws in it," said Young, "and there wasn't any use wasting them." Young once described his approach before a game:

"I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh, I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day."^[17]

By the time of his retirement, Young's control had faltered. Young had also gained weight.^[12] In three of his last four years, he was the oldest player in the league.^[7]

In 1956, about one year after Young's death, the Cy Young Award was created. The first award was given to Brooklyn's Don Newcombe. Originally, it was a single award covering the whole of baseball. The honor was divided into two Cy Young Awards in 1967, one for each league.

On September 23, 1993, a statue dedicated to him was unveiled by Northeastern University on the site of the Red Sox's original stadium, the Huntington Avenue Grounds. It was there that Young had pitched the first game of the 1903 World Series, as well as the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. A home plate-shaped plaque next to the statue reads:

"On October 1, 1903 the first modern World Series between the American League champion Boston Pilgrims (later known as the Red Sox) and the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates was played on this site. General admission tickets were fifty cents. The Pilgrims, led by twenty-eight game winner Cy Young, trailed the series three games to one but then swept four consecutive victories to win the championship five games to three."^[39]

See also[link]

Biography portal

Notes[link]

• a.^{^ [a2][a3]} Although the phrase "perfect game" appeared in record books as early as 1922, and was a common expression years before that, Major League Baseball did not formalize the definition of a "perfect game" until 1991, long after Young's death. Nonetheless, Young's 1955 obituary also used the phrase.

"An official perfect game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."^[40]

• b.^{^} Although not an actual award, many baseball fans and experts call a pitcher who leads his league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA the Triple Crown winner.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cy Young

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cy Young

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Cy Young managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Cy Young at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• BaseballEvolution.com Profile Page at Baseball Evolution