A-side Witchcraft Released Late 1957 Genre Swing, traditional pop | B-side Tell Her You Love Her Format 45", 78" | |
Recorded Capitol Records, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
May 20, 1957 | ||
"Witchcraft" is a popular song from 1957 composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was released as a single by Frank Sinatra, and reached number twenty in the U.S., spending sixteen weeks on the charts.
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Elvis Presley sang this song in The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis.
Versions
Sinatra recorded "Witchcraft" three times in a studio setting. The first recording was in 1957, for his single release, and was later released on his compilation album All the Way (1961). Sinatra re-recorded "Witchcraft" for 1963's Sinatra's Sinatra, and finally recorded it as a duet with Anita Baker for Duets (1993).
"Witchcraft" has been recorded by many other artists, including Sarah Vaughan, on her 1962 album You're Mine You, Ella Fitzgerald, on Ella Returns to Berlin (1961), and Bill Evans on Portrait in Jazz (1959). Another version was featured in the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus. Siouxsie Sioux performed it in concert with her second band The Creatures and a brass section in 1998: it was then included on their live cd, Zulu. Robert Smith of The Cure recorded a version of the song for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie Unleashed!, a 14-track collection of songs "inspired by" the filmmaker's stop-motion creation Frankenweenie, released on 25 September 2012. Anthony Strong released a version of the song on his 2013 album Stepping Out. Heard in Fifty Shades of Grey (film)
Grammys
At the 1st Grammy Awards, Frank Sinatra was nominated for six Grammy awards, with Sinatra's recording of "Witchcraft" being nominated for the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and Nelson Riddle's arrangement nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement. Sinatra had two albums nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.
This song was also sung live by Peggy Lee.