Nancy Sinatra

In the mid 1960s Nancy Sinatra took the image of a girl crying over her diary for a boy who wouldn’t behave, and changed it to a woman who let her men know in no uncertain terms just how things were going to be. Songs like “So Long Babe” and ”How Does that Grab You, Darlin'?” helped her do it.

“These Boots Are Made for Walkin” kicked open the doors for a whole new category of women in rock. Nancy’s tough girl attitude preceded women’s liberation and created the first rebel chick singer. A female revolution was born.

Armed with a signature style, catchy songs, memorable album covers and sexy, soft but confident pictures in magazines, Nancy hit the charts 22 times, becoming a role model for young, independent women as well as an icon of pop culture – Rock and Roll would never be the same!

After “Boots” went to #1 in 1966, the theme of independence and free thinking that appealed to women and men was perpetuated by “How Does That Grab You”, a #7 charter and “Sugar Town”, a #4 chart record. Nancy’s recording of the title song of the James Bond movie, “You Only Live Twice”, became an anthem for many who still request it when she performs today. Her legendary #1 record with her father, “Somethin' Stupid”, is always on the “best of” lists, as are many of her duets with her mentor/producer Lee Hazlewood. “Jackson”, “Some Velvet Morning”, “Sand”, “Summer Wine” and others were also chart records.

In the book, Rolling Stone: Women in Rock, Karen Schoemer wrote, “Nancy’s combination of pristine innocence and vamp-o-rama sex appeal was a perfect expression for the (‘60s).” “Nancy was the first woman to turn the tables on men by using the same technique perfected by Elvis Presley,” wrote James Vickerson for his book Women on Top.

The core of her original band (some of whom still perform with her) was the world famous “Wrecking Crew”, L.A.’s finest rhythm section, who also worked with the Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, Phil Spector and other rock legends. Producers Nancy considers herself fortunate to have worked with are Don Costa, Bones Howe, Snuff Garrett, Charles Calello, Jimmy Bowen, Tutti Camarratta, Lee Hazlewood, L. Russell Brown, Billy Strange and Duane Eddy and now AJ and Matt Azzarto. Nancy’s current band has included former Guns & Roses Guitarist Gilby Clarke and Drummers, Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello’s band and Clem Burke of Blondie.

A staple of television variety shows, Nancy appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Show, The Bobby Darin Show, Johnny Carson, Laugh-In, The Perry Como Show, The Kraft Music Hall, Hollywood Palace and many others including Hippodrome and Top of the Pops in the UK.

During the Vietnam War, Nancy was a favorite pin-up for the GI’s on battlefields and ships. For them, she represented the ideal girl to come home to. In the liner notes of her “Sugar” album, Lee Hazlewood tried to explain the dichotomy of the Nancy persona which seemed to capture so many hearts. He called her “a girl and a woman who is quiet and noisy, square yet hip.”

Nancy often jokes about her film career, but the fact remains she did seven movies, two of which, “Speedway” with Elvis and “The Wild Angels” with Peter Fonda, made her the top female box-office draw two years in a row.

There were many other milestones along the way: record breaking appearances in Las Vegas, Juke Box Awards, Grammy nominations and an Emmy winning television special, conceived and produced by Nancy, called “Movin' with Nancy”.

Nancy has written two books about her legendary father with the hope of setting the record straight about his life. She is also pursuing the commission of a statue of Frank to be placed in Times Square near the Paramount Theatre (where Frank created a record breaking sensation and incited the birth of the ‘Bobby Soxers’), as a lasting gift to the city of New York. For several years, she has been working toward establishing the National Museum of American Music, an educational facility and repository for the collected libraries of the greatest contributors to the heritage of American music. Work will soon begin on a documentary film about her father.

She continues to be very active in politics and charitable causes, including Songs Of Love, which creates original songs, personalized for children with terminal illnesses, Jerry Lewis’ MDA Telethon and the Thalians, who operate mental health clinics out of Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Over the years requests from fundraisers for donations of pairs of Nancy’s boots have resulted in auctions benefiting many worthy organizations.

In 1995, after raising her two daughters and seeing them happily ensconced in college, Nancy re-started her career with her “One More Time” album and a Playboy pictorial. The latter demonstrated once again that sexuality and feminism are not mutually exclusive. She performed sold-out rock shows in the United States and Scandinavia. Nancy concentrated on reconnecting with a rock music audience by playing such famous venues as the Limelight in New York City, RPM in Toronto, the Fillmore in San Francisco, the Trocadero in Philadelphia and the Whisky, Viper Room and House of Blues in Los Angeles.

It was on tour that Nancy learned first-hand of the influence she had had on many young rockers. Kim Deal of The Breeders and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth were but two of the musicians who came to Nancy’s shows to express their appreciation for her lighting the way. Madonna has been quoted as saying “Nancy Sinatra was a huge influence on me. I wanted to put on my go-go boots and walk all over someone”. In an early interview, she said “…my two oldest fantasies. One was to be Nancy Sinatra; the other was to be a Nun. I used to sing These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ in front of the mirror, in my uniform skirt”. Kelly Osbourne stated she patterned her video for Papa Don’t Preach after “Nancy Sinatra’s kinky Boots video”.

In July of 1999, the United States Postal Service enlisted Nancy to unveil their Peace Symbol stamp. The unveiling was an evening to remember, with these two American icons together on stage at the Whisky A Go-Go on the world famous Sunset Strip, revisiting the “Summer of Love.” At this event, Nancy received official commendations from the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California for her efforts on behalf of the peace movement and for her consistent support of our military troops and Veterans. She also was presented with the key to the City of West Hollywood.

August 2002 marked Nancy’s first ever concert performance in the UK. The sold-out event was recorded by and broadcast on the BBC. In 2003, her version of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) " was handpicked by Director Quentin Tarantino for his film “Kill Bill Volume I.” Tarantino chose Nancy’s cover of the song as the theme for the movie’s opening credits. According to the director, Nancy’s version of “Bang Bang” is “the music the movie will work to the beat of… That was in my head six years ago when I first came up with ‘Kill Bill’. Nancy’s version is so soulful. She sings it like poetry. It gives you new respect for what a wonderful vocalist she is”.

In production for Nancy is a series of collaborations with recording artists such as Morrissey, Jon Spencer, Reno, Calexico, Sonic Youth, Pete Yorn, Steve Van Zandt and Jarvis Cocker, which will result in an album of contemporary pop standards. The first single, the Morrissey penned “Let Me Kiss You” will be released by ATTACK/Sanctuary Records in September 2004; Nancy’s self-titled CD will be released via Sanctuary Records in September as well. The first live presentation of songs from the new album occurred in a sold out performance by Nancy and her band at the June 2004 Meltdown Festival in London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Having achieved a nearly 40-year legacy in rock and roll, Nancy created the platform for contemporary rebel-chicks such as, Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde, Deborah Harry, Shirley Manson, Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani. Nancy is scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in recognition of her career achievements and her contributions to society.

Growing up as the child of one of the greatest icons in American music can't be easy, but Nancy Sinatra managed to create a sound and style for herself fully separate from that of her (very) famous father, and her sexy but strong-willed persona has endured with nearly the same strength as the image of the Chairman of the Board. Nancy Sinatra was born in the Summer of 1940, while her father, Frank Sinatra, was singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra; as the daughter of show business royalty, Nancy grew up in the spotlight, and made her first appearance on television with her father in 1957. It wasn't long before Nancy developed aspirations of her own as a performer -- she had studied music, dancing, and voice through much of her youth -- and in 1960 she made her debut as a professional performer on a television special hosted by her father and featuring guest star Elvis Presley, then fresh out of the Army. After appearing in a number of movies and guest starring on episodic television, Nancy was eager to break into music, and she signed a deal with her father's record label, Reprise. However, her first hit single, 1966's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," made it clear she had the talent and moxie to make it without her father's help. Sounding both sexy and defiant, and belting out a definitive tough-chick lyric over a brassy arrangement by Bill Strange (and with the cream of L.A.'s session players behind her), "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" was an immediate and unstoppable hit, and took the "tuff girl" posturing of the Shangri-Las and the Ronettes to a whole new level. A number of hits followed, including "How Does That Grab You," "Sugar Town," and the theme song to the James Bond picture You Only Live Twice. Nancy also teamed up with her father for the single "Somethin' Stupid," which raced to the top of the charts in 1967. Most of Nancy's hits were produced by Lee Hazlewood, who went on to become a cult hero on his own and recorded a number of memorable duets with her, including "Sand," "Summer Wine," and the one-of-a-kind epic "Some Velvet Morning." Nancy reinforced her "bad girl" persona in 1966 with co-starring role opposite Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels, the Roger Corman film that helped kick off the biker flick cycle of the 1960s and early '70s; she also teamed up with Elvis Presley in the 1968 movie Speedway. Nancy continued to record into the early '70s, but in 1970 she married dancer Hugh Lambert (a brief marriage to British singer and actor Tommy Sands ended in 1965), and she devoted most of her time to her new life as a wife and mother, as well as working with a number of charitable causes. In 1985, she published the book -Frank Sinatra: My Father, and became increasingly active in looking after her family's affairs; she published a second book on Frank Sinatra in 1998 and currently oversees the Sinatra Family website. In 1995, Nancy returned to the recording studio with a country-flavored album called One More Time, and she helped publicize it by posing for a sexy photo spread in Playboy magazine. Nancy launched a concert tour in support of the album, and in 2003 teamed up with Hazlewood to record a new album together, Nancy & Lee 3, which sadly was not released in the United States. However, Nancy soon returned to the recording studio at the urging of longtime fan Morrissey, and in the fall of 2004 she released a new disc simply entitled Nancy Sinatra, an ambitious set which included contributions from members of U2, Pulp, Calexico, Sonic Youth, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and other contemporary rock performers. The album's release was followed by more live work from Nancy, including a memorable appearance at Little Steven's International Underground Garage Rock Festival 2004, in which she performed songs from her new album as well as "These Boots Are Made for Walkin" backed by an all-star band (including a horn section) and flanked by dozens of frugging go-go dancers. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide