Frank: A Musical Journey

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Somethin’ Stupid?
03/24/2016

It wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds though because the project ran into a bit of a roadblock when executives voiced their concerns over a father/daughter duo doing a love song.  Even today when Nancy hears it called “the incest song,” she replies that it’s, “very sweet.”  When these concerns were brought to Ol’ Blue Eyes, he coolly told them that it would be okay and not to worry.

It’s a good thing they listened because the song spent four weeks in the number one position on the charts and was put on Frank’s album, “The World We Knew”.  Even more special, the song remains the first and only number one hit by a father/daughter combination.

The song itself is deceiving with it’s softly toned nature and can easily be written off as being merely “cute,” but an examination of the efficient arrangement with the insightful lyrics gives you an aha moment as you recognize what must have drawn Frank to the composition in the first place.

Nancy’s defining hit was “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” which was recorded a year earlier.  Nancy and Frank also appeared as father and daughter in the 1965 comedy film, Marriage on the Rocks, with Dean Martin and Deborah Kerr.

I’m still trying to get Leslie on stage to do this duet with me, but telling her “I love you” has never been stupid and it certainly turned out that it wasn’t for Frank and Nancy either.