Nancy Sinatra's Salacious "These Boots Are Meant For Walkin'
By | March 3, 2022
"These Boots are Made For Walkin" put young Nancy on the map. discogs
When it comes to the Sinatras, Ol’ Blue Eyes obviously reigns supreme. But thanks to his daughter’s 1966 "These Boots are Made For Walkin", Nancy Sinatra carved out a decent career for herself. Many people might think that Frank Sinatra’s offspring was a one-hit wonder. However, the second Sinatra managed to chart 10 times on the US Top 40 between ‘66 and ‘68.
Although, her career appeared in jeopardy until those boots walked themselves all the way to #1 around the globe. Predictably, Nancy needed to get a little dirty to move mountains of records. Reportedly, during one of the recording sessions, she was told to sing it like “a sixteen-year-old girl who f**ks truck drivers.” Here’s the story of "These Boots are Made For Walkin", a song meant for the ‘60s.
Before Hazlewood, “Nancy Nice Lady†wasn't selling enough records. lifetime
A Struggling Sinatra
Despite working under the same label, Reprise, as her father, Nancy was in danger of being dropped after her first couple singles fell on their faces. Luckily for her, things turned around when they paired her with producer Lee Hazlewood. Their first song together, “So Long Babe” became a modest hit and laid the groundwork for "These Boots are Made For Walkin" to become a massive hit.
As she told Rolling Stone, Hazlewood changed her whole career:
“He changed everything for me. He pretended to be this country shitkicker, know-nothing kind of guy, but he was highly educated. An Army veteran. A very worldly person who knew what he was doing. He used to do what he called the “dumb sound” for my records. Dumb meaning uncomplicated. It consisted mainly of the rhythm section, the drummer, the bass, three guitars all kind of chugging along. And it created a whole different thing for me.”
The right boots can go a long way. Pinterest
Made For A Lady
Ironically, Hazlewood wrote "These Boots are Made For Walkin" for himself. As he said, "It was a party song I had written two or three years before that. It was a joke to begin with.” Thankfully, young Nancy talked him out of it with the rationale, "When a guy sings it, the song sounds harsh and abusive, but it's perfect for a little girl."
When Hazlewood came over to the Chairman of the Board’s house to test some new dittys, Frank laconically looked over his paper and said, “The song about the boots is best.” What better stamp of approval could you ask for?
Nacy went on to have a reasonably successful career. Even starring in a few movies with Elvis.
Taking Advantage Of A Sinatra?
Despite the massive hit, the label allegedly still tried to pull a fast one on Nancy Sinatra of all people. According to Hazlewood, "When 'Boots' was #1 in half the countries in the world, Nancy came over to my house, and she was crying. She said, 'They didn't pick up on my option at Reprise and they said I owed them $12,000.' I said, 'You're kidding, we've got the biggest record in the world.' I rang my lawyer in New York and I rang Nancy the next day and said, 'How would you like $1 million? I've got three labels that are offering that for you right now and I can get something pretty good for myself as well.”
Of course, a little chat with Frank settled everything. “She talked to her father and he said she could write her own contract with Reprise - after all she was selling more records than him at the time."
Mini skirts became thing thanks in part to Nancy. forum.e-bodies.org
Some Regrets In The Face Of Success
Even though the song turned into a huge success and inspired women across America to pair go-go boots with mini skirts, Nancy held some reservations. From her perspective, the song didn’t fit her personality. "The image created by 'Boots' isn't the real me. 'Boots' was hard and I'm as soft as they come." As she wrote in her 1985 biography, the producer’s directions were anything but soft.
“I was still singing like Nancy NiceLady. Lee hit the talk-back switch in the booth and his deep voice blew my ears off. ‘For chrissake, you were a married woman, Nasty, you’re not a virgin anymore. Let’s do one for the truck drivers. Say something tough at the end of this one… Bite the words.” Obviously, sex sells best even if you’re a Sinatra.
