On this day (April 15) in 1967, Frank and Nancy Sinatra started a four-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their duet “Somethin’ Stupid.” They became the first father-daughter duo to take a single to the top of the chart. Their interpretation of the song popularized it and inspired other notable duos to put their spin on it.
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C. Carson Parks wrote “Somethin’ Stupid” and originally recorded it with his wife, Gaile Foote, in 1966 under the name Carson and Gaile for their album San Antonio Rose. While their version of the song wasn’t a hit, it caught Sinatra’s attention, and he knew it was perfect for his daughter.
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Nancy and Frank Sinatra Turn “Somethin’ Stupid” into Something Great
“Somethin’ Stupid” is about an unbalanced relationship where one partner is just having a good time and the other is in love. Throughout the song, the couple shares many romantic moments before the narrator ruins the moment “by saying somethin’ stupid like, ‘I love you.’”
According to Songfacts, Frank Sinatra’s label had some misgivings about him recording it with Nancy. They feared that a love song performed by a father and daughter would carry some awkward connotations. As a result, executives at Reprise Records tried to talk Ol’ Blue Eyes into scrapping the song. He refused and included the song on his album The World We Know.
Their version of “Somethin’ Stupid” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for four weeks. Additionally, it topped the publication’s Adult Contemporary chart for a whopping nine weeks and earned the duo a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. The song was also an international hit, going to No. 1 in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Norway, Austria, Australia, Canada, and Ireland.
Frank and Nancy Sinatra became the first and only father-daughter duo to launch a single to the top of the Hot 100. They were the first to top the UK Singles Chart, but Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne duplicated the feat with “Changes” in 2003.
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