“Unlike Men, The Diamonds Linger:” Bassey and Bond Beyond the Theme Song

Abstract

This chapter directs attention to Shirley Bassey’s voice as both constituting and contesting the white male gaze of the James Bond franchise. I consider Bassey in relation to the politics of race and gender as she sonically invokes a long tradition of racial mimicry by both black and white women singers. Bassey furthers this tradition in that her influence can be traced beyond her various theme songs for the Bond films in the more recent performances by white artists. As Bassey’s Welsh and mixed-race identity gives a different contour to our understanding of what and who constitutes “Britishness,” her synecdochal relationship to the James Bond film series also allows us to reconsider the possibilities for black women’s voices in cinema.