Released March 1967 Genre Pop Label Reprise | Format Vinyl record (7") Length 2:37 | |
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B-side "I Will Wait for You" (Frank) | ||
"Somethin' Stupid", also "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. The song is best known for the 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2001, a cover version by British singer Robbie Williams and actress Nicole Kidman reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
Carson and Gaile version
In the early 1960s, Carson Parks was a folk singer in Los Angeles. He was an occasional member of The Easy Riders, and also performed with The Steeltown Three, which included his younger brother Van Dyke Parks. In 1963, he formed the Greenwood County Singers, later known as The Greenwoods, who had two minor hits and included singer Gaile Foote. Before the Greenwoods disbanded, Parks and Foote married and, as Carson and Gaile, recorded an album in 1966 for Kapp Records, San Antonio Rose, which included the song "Something Stupid". The recording was then brought to the attention of Frank Sinatra.
Frank and Nancy Sinatra version
The most successful and best-known version of "Somethin' Stupid" was issued in 1967 as a single by Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra and subsequently appeared on Frank's album The World We Knew. Frank had played Parks' recording to his daughter's producer, Lee Hazlewood, who recalled "He asked me, 'Do you like it?' and I said, 'I love it, and if you don't sing it with Nancy, I will.' He said, 'We're gonna do it, book a studio.'" Their rendition was recorded on February 1, 1967. Al Casey played guitar on the recording and Hal Blaine was the drummer. Hazlewood and Jimmy Bowen were listed as the producers of the single, with arrangement by Billy Strange.
The single spent four weeks at number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine weeks atop the easy listening (now adult contemporary) chart, becoming Frank's second gold single as certified by the RIAA and Nancy's third. It was the first and only instance of a father-daughter number-one song in America. Nancy Sinatra has said she thinks it's "very sweet" that some people refer to it as the "Incest Song". The single also reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart the same year. It was also nominated for the Record Of The Year at the 10th Grammy Awards, losing to the 5th Dimension's upbeat hit song "Up, Up And Away".
Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman version
British singer Robbie Williams recorded a cover version of "Somethin' Stupid" as a duet in 2001 with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman. The song appeared on Williams' 2001 album, Swing When You're Winning, and it topped the UK Singles Chart at the end of the year. The song became Williams' first Christmas number-one single in the United Kingdom, and fifth as a featured artist. The single sold 98,506 copies in its first week and 366,000 copies over all earning a Silver Certification by the BPI. The accompanying music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell.
The song was the 30th best selling single of 2001 in the UK. The song also became another number-one single for Williams in New Zealand, being certified Gold, and became, at the time, his best selling single in Europe charting inside the top ten in most countries. In Australia, it became Williams' fourth top ten single, earning a Gold certification for over 35,000 copies sold.
Track listings
UK CD single
- "Somethin' Stupid" – 2:51
- "Eternity" (Orchestral version) – 5:32
- "My Way" (Live at the Albert Hall) – 6:59
- "Somethin' Stupid" (video) – 3:08
UK DVD single
- "Somethin' Stupid" (video) – 3:06
- "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (audio) – 2:35
- "That's Life" (audio) – 3:07