Shirley Bassey's "Jezahel"

[daviddesper]

If any of you on here like Dame Shirley but also like your football, as I do, then you might have picked up on the same thing I did tonight. Late in the NBC Sunday night game, they played an instrumental version of a song that I instantly recognized as being Shirley's "Jezahel" from wayyyy back in the 70s. Although I am sometimes uncertain about things I bring up on here, this time I am 100% sure that was the song I heard.

But as I said, it was an instrumental. So is it possible that the song really has alternate titles? What can any of you tell me about the song, its history, and the possible connection between Shirley and football?

[thommg]

If any of you on here like Dame Shirley but also like your football, as I do, then you might have picked up on the same thing I did tonight. Late in the NBC Sunday night game, they played an instrumental version of a song that I instantly recognized as being Shirley's "Jezahel" from wayyyy back in the 70s. Although I am sometimes uncertain about things I bring up on here, this time I am 100% sure that was the song I heard.

But as I said, it was an instrumental. So is it possible that the song really has alternate titles? What can any of you tell me about the song, its history, and the possible connection between Shirley and football?

With some digging on Google, I found this...
The instrumental backing section of the track "Jezahel" was sampled to form the core of the backing track to rap band Public Enemy's single "Harder than you think". This was the first single from Public Enemy's 20th anniversary album How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? released in 2007. The Public Enemy track instrumental version has been widely used as a soundtrack on TV, mainly for sport programmes and popularly by the BBC specifically featuring the Shirley Bassey instrumental backing sample as an emotionally rousing theme tune. This created a renewed popularity in the Public Enemy single and it reached No.1 in the US R&B and UK Indie charts in 2012.

So your ears did not fail you - and it was probably Shirley's track you heard!

[daviddesper]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I was quite certain of what I heard. These ears are trained to recognize Shirley, Dionne, Phyllis and quite a few other people from 50 paces!

[Guy]

LOL. Daviddesper, I'm glad you posted this. I am a big Bassey fan as well and thought I heard a clip of "Jezahel" on TV but didn't trust my ears. I am now vindicated.

[mike_sku]

"Jezahel" was a originally an Italian song by a group called Delirium. It was a big hit at the Sanremo Festival in '71 or '72. Many Italian songs from Sanremo and Canzonissima became hits in English around the same time. Another one, for example, was "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield [[Io Che Non Vivo [Senza Te]). I think Iva Zannicchi did the original.

[kenneth]

Wasn't another Dame Bassey song, "I [[Who Have Nothing)" also originally an Italian tune?

Lots of French songs crossed over back then too. "Et Maintenant" became "What Now, My Love." I know there were lots of others. I think even "Autumn Leaves" which we really know as an instrumental was also originally a French song.

[mike_sku]

"I [[Who Have Nothing)" was an original Italian song called "Uno Dei Tanti." I don't recall the year it was originally released, or the artist, though. My apologies.