Thank You for the Years

About Thank You for the Years

Thank You for the Years is a 2003 album by Dame Shirley Bassey. This album, a mix of new and previously released material, commemorated Bassey's 50 years in show business. Bassey marks the year 1953 as her official entry into show business, as that is the year, at the age of sixteen, she signed her first professional contract: to tour in a variety show called "Memories of Jolson". The album reached #19 in the UK Albums Chart, and earned a silver disc. In a 1999 interview with Nigel Havers in her Monte Carlo apartment, Bassey pointed to a piece of paper framed on the wall and referred to it as her first contract, at a salary of £14 a week (a considerable sum for a sixteen-year-old in 1953). However, upon closer inspection of this document, dated December 17, 1953 (three weeks before her 17th birthday), it appears to be £10 for two performances. more »