I had a sneaking suspicion Shirley Bassey was gonna set the Oscar’s on fire last night-in fact, I predicted as much to a couple of co-workers while watching the Daytona 500.   But, I don’t know if anyone could have predicted her absolutely show-stopping performance of “Goldfinger”, coming at the end of the video salute to 50 Years of 007.

Shame on us for not paying attention. Shirley Bassey, Dame Commander of the Order of the Britsh Empire, has been a legend around the world for decades,  a tribute to her extraordinary talent.  And as she demonstrated so ably last night-while her range has diminished a bit, her ability to sing, to interpret and command an audience, has not.

Make your own comparisons. Here is last night’s performance, at the end of the 007 video tribute, and her performance of “Goldfinger” some 45 years earlier.  To each, I say BRAVO!, Dame Bassey.