I wouldn’t say I’m a Nancy/Lee connoisseur exactly, I just have one of them “The Very Best of…” Nancy Sinatra compilations. It mainly features songs written/produced (and occasionally performed together with) Hazlewood. Almost all of them are good, with “Some Velvet Morning” being my personal favourite. I think I should dig deeper into Nancy’s discography myself, actually.

“These Boots…” is a big chunk of fun. It’s like an S&M party hosted by Walt Disney. You just know you should be grooving to it, simply because it’s such a groovy song. Something you can get down and twist to on the dancefloor and do that funny eye thing Travolta and Thurman did in Pulp Fiction. Quite the crowd pleaser and guaranteed to put a smile on my face as well as many others. In the context of the year it was released, was it one of the best #1′s? Well, I would have given it an upper 9.

“Some Velvet Morning” is a properly schizophrenic track. Drifting from Lee Hazlewood’s sleazy listening drawl, to Nancy’s airy-fairy ring-around the roses psychedelic waltz. It’s probably one of the weirdest things I have heard from the 60′s. And I love its bi-polar charm.

Firstly, its one of my earliest memories – certainly my first ever Top of The Pops memory, watching TOTP to see the gimmick of Nancy Sinatra being followed around the set by a clump of empty boots (on puppet strings) once she uttered the immortal lines – “are ya ready boots? Start walkin…”.
Secondly, its a really funky, sneering song with a descending bass that walks all over you in the opening bars, and – well – its kinda kinky with it too. I love it – for me its a 10. It has feminist “attitude” to burn.. (“I just got me a brand new box o’ matches”… ho ho ) – its one of my “guilty secret” favourite songs.

I can see how it’s a bit historic, in that it’s far and away the SASSIEST thing ever to top the charts. Not that it exactly opens the floodgates for sass in the same way that the Beatles opened the floodgates for Scousers with guitars and silly haircuts, but later on pop will be a lot more about sassiness and girl power so I can see how this does represent some kind of landmark.

Also, that boingy descending bassline thing is awesome, and clearly the makers of Futurama thought so too, seeing as they built their theme music around it many years later.

Good Gravy!

I must make sure I’m Google’s #1 for that name!

It has become campy over the years because we’ve come to associate this subject matter (girls on top, basically) with campiness. Just picking another couple of Number Ones, see also ‘I Will Survive’ or ‘Survivor’. All three, when sung by a woman, are strong statements of empowerment. When sung by a man they become ‘ooh, hark at you, you big queen’.

Alan Connor may be interested to note, for his Resurrection Watch, a cover version by Alan Connor, which you can download here:

http://www.alanconnor.co.uk

Never thought this song was all that great. I’m more of a “Some Velvet Morning” kinda guy.

Jessica Simpson & Willie Nelson

(Of course a song can be both campy and be a song of emancipation.)

One cover version that hasn’t been mentioned is Hazlewood’s own, also recorded in ’66, which adds spoken commentary about the making of the record and the fact that it sold a million. (he doesn’t quite say “Suckers!” but comes close).

And yes, bothe the Nancy and Lee versions would get a 10 from me.

Jeff W

PS Please take no notice of Vicus Scurra. The poor lad means well but he clearly has the bass turned down on his stereo…

Nice to see “Secret Love” up there. It’s one hell of an under-appreciated ballad.

Brian

Marcello – agreed on “You Only Live Twice”, amazing record, I’m not sure I’ve been aware of two different versions and must track them down.

I’ve more to say about pop and cynicism but will try and save it for an entry sometime.

I think if her singles had kept on flopping Ms S’ career wd have been diverted discreetly away from pop.

“Good Vibrations” isn’t in the same league – this is a lot closer to The Monkees, I think, though oddly enough, I find it easier to take a manufactured group than a manufactured song.

the comment i meant to leave wz:
“my boots” is also better than “ulysses”!1

but it seems less komikal now