Nancy Sinatra needs no introduction, but I’ll humor you. She marks the second generation in a row to have captured the entire English-speaking world’s sexual attention after Ol’ Blue Eyes, and can claim credit to not just the face of 60s pro-woman sexuality (there’s a reason the fembots scene in Austin Powers isn’t just soundtracked by her but modeled after), but the attitude too. One of those days, her boots walked all over us, fast-forwarding the mainstream embrace of go-go and BDSM at the same time. But her plucky image was disarming for one of the darkest careers of pop hits: freezing Cher’s “Bang Bang” so ice cold that Tarantino found it suitable for Kill Bill, turning “Tomorrow Never Knows” inside out with the psychedelic black hole “Some Velvet Morning,” and even drolly making Johnny and June Cash’s “Jackson” into one giant eyeroll. But droopy-faced collaborator Lee Hazlewood was hailed as a hipster genius for these works, while Sinatra languished in career quiet until posing for Playboy in 1995 to fund a new album. Mostly managing the family estate until Morrissey tipped her to a new cult of admirers in the 2000s, she had no idea she was a respected artist, much less by such a gamut of luminaries as Jarvis Cocker, Bono or Thurston Moore. Now 73, she’s back with the new Shifting Gears, which includes such all-over-the-place standards as “MacArthur Park” and “Killing Me Softly” recorded with 40-piece orchestras. She talked to us about Lana Del Rey, her rivalry with Cher, and good reasons to pose for Playboy.So what made you decide to do some of these standards on your new album, like “Something” or “Killing Me Softly” only now?
Well, they didn’t really fit what I was doing for most of my career, you know? The truth is I didn’t want them to just die in the vault, I wanted them to get out and get some fresh air and be heard by my fans. The vocals were done over the past few years but the charts and things were recorded, oh golly, a long time ago. They’ve been waiting to be sung and released, it’s about damn time really. When you don’t have a label, it’s hard. And then when the Orchards stepped up to release digitally I got excited.What’s harder to sing, a Thurston Moore song or “Macarthur Park?”
“Macarthur Park,” definitely. Definitely. The Sonic Youth stuff is more attitude than technique, you know?Right.
These songs written by these fantastic composers like Jimmy Webb and Neil Sedaka and Neil Diamond, and then the Great American Songbook writers like Cole Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein…this is serious stuff! You’ve got to respect it.When you were first emerging as an artist, did you experience a lot of sexism or were people too afraid of your dad to mess with you?
There was always sexism…I think to a certain extent there might still be. Although young women today are breaking through more easily. Avril Lavigne comes to mind and Lady Gaga—strong women who don’t put up with any crap, obviously. I think it’s great, just great.Lana Del Rey is one of the biggest figures in pop right now, and she’s referred to herself as the “gangsta Nancy Sinatra. . .”
Right, I feel bad for her that she ever said that because it stuck with her. She’s her own person and it’s a shame that she’s been tied to me all this time. It’s good for me, but I don’t know if it is for her. [L_aughs_]It’s nice that you’re finally seeing your influence in the industry and on this generation.
When we did the 2004 Nancy Sinatra album, I learned then that Jarvis Cocker and Calexico and those people credited me for pushing them in a direction that made them successful. It was a little bit shocking to me and a little bit overwhelming. But of course I was delighted that in some small way I helped a younger person get started. You sound very young but as you get older, if that happens to you—if you’re told that you influenced someone in a good way—you’ll understand and you’ll love that we had this talk. It’s a great feeling. But that was the first that I’d ever known of it. And it was because of my daughter AJ, who’s also a singer—AJ Lambert—and she said, ‘Mom, you’re doing all the wrong stuff, you’ve gotta do stuff that’s created with the people who really love your work.’ I guess they’re 80s artists, 70s and 80s artists. I said “Wait, no musicians love my work!” [laughs] Because I’m used to not getting any respect from my peers. She said, “You’d be surprised” and boy was I. I knew about Morrissey because he approached me when I was in London, he said I’ve gotta meet you, I love your work, blah blah blah. But I didn’t know about Sonic Youth, I didn’t know about Jon Spencer, Pete Yorn. So my daughter put together that album and I think it’s a wonderful album. It was my first experience with, ‘oh yeah, you influenced a lot of people.’Before you knew of your influence on all these people, you’ve mentioned that you did Playboy for the publicity—would you recommend the experience to others now?
I did it primarily because I needed the press…I needed the attention and I needed the money. I couldn’t have gotten my One More Time album out there if I hadn’t done that pictorial. Essentially, Hugh Hefner, in giving me a hefty salary, was responsible for getting that album out. That’s not exactly true, but it’s partly true. I guess I might [recommend it] if it were a Playboy situation. With Playboy you’re protected. You’re taken care of, they look after you, they make sure everything is on the up-and-up. It’s not a scumball publication, it’s beautiful. I think if you have the chance to do something that will help you further your career, maybe you should consider doing it. Talk it over with family. But again, it’s the people that you’re working for. I’m so happy that Adam Lambert’s doing Glee, because he’s getting all that extra notice. I don’t know if you know that in the New York Times crossword puzzle from Sunday, Adam Lambert’s in there. That’s really great, it takes a lot to get into the Times crossword puzzle! So I’m gonna email his mom and tell her to look for that.Are you friends with his mom?
I’ve only met her once but we hit it off really well. And he’s my next door neighbor.Oh wow.
So we run into each other here and there, in the driveway or in the hallway or the elevator.But you don’t have any crazy stories about his, like, parties or anything…
Nah, he’s a great neighbor. Such a great guy, I’m crazy about him. What a great voice too.Has it ever annoyed you that people read sexuality into everything you’ve done, even a duet with your own father?
Oh, hell no. [Laughs] No! That’s great. It’s part of it. It’s part of everything! There was a DJ who, when he introduced “Somethin’ Stupid” on his show, he said, “And now we’re going to play the incest song.” Then that caught on. But it was funny.What’s your favorite moment your music was used in a movie or TV show?
Definitely Kill Bill, “Bang Bang.” First of all, it was a complete surprise when Quentin Tarantino got in touch. And it was a delight to know that he’d been planning on it for all those years, even when it first came out in the late 60s. And that was outstanding.Yeah, and I think my first exposure to your music was Austin Powers.
Oh yeah? That was great too, that was funny. What were they? The fembots. People on Twitter still mistake me for Jane Fonda and tell me how they loved me in Barbarella. Because of the hair I guess.Have you ever sang something because you thought you could do it better than the original?
Uh…I don’t know that I had that in mind, but I think sometimes I did do it better than the original. Like “Bang Bang.” And no offense to Cher, because her record is great and it sold millions of copies. But I like turning a song around and really hearing what the lyric says.Your version really brings out the darkness.
Another thing I like to do is take guy songs and make them girly. Like “Day Tripper” and some of the Beatles things. “Run for your life, little boy.”When was the last time you had to pay for a pair of boots?
I always have to pay for my boots! The only time I didn’t have to pay for boots was when I was traveling for the USO in Vietnam, and every [military] outfit gave me combat boots._Nancy Sinatra’s new album _Shifting Gears_ is out now, and believe it or not, she Tweets at @nancysinatra, no gangsta required._Dan Weiss writes and plays in the band Dan Ex Machina. Find him on Twitter - @kissouthejams
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Well, they didn’t really fit what I was doing for most of my career, you know? The truth is I didn’t want them to just die in the vault, I wanted them to get out and get some fresh air and be heard by my fans. The vocals were done over the past few years but the charts and things were recorded, oh golly, a long time ago. They’ve been waiting to be sung and released, it’s about damn time really. When you don’t have a label, it’s hard. And then when the Orchards stepped up to release digitally I got excited.What’s harder to sing, a Thurston Moore song or “Macarthur Park?”
“Macarthur Park,” definitely. Definitely. The Sonic Youth stuff is more attitude than technique, you know?Right.
These songs written by these fantastic composers like Jimmy Webb and Neil Sedaka and Neil Diamond, and then the Great American Songbook writers like Cole Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein…this is serious stuff! You’ve got to respect it.When you were first emerging as an artist, did you experience a lot of sexism or were people too afraid of your dad to mess with you?
There was always sexism…I think to a certain extent there might still be. Although young women today are breaking through more easily. Avril Lavigne comes to mind and Lady Gaga—strong women who don’t put up with any crap, obviously. I think it’s great, just great.
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Right, I feel bad for her that she ever said that because it stuck with her. She’s her own person and it’s a shame that she’s been tied to me all this time. It’s good for me, but I don’t know if it is for her. [L_aughs_]It’s nice that you’re finally seeing your influence in the industry and on this generation.
When we did the 2004 Nancy Sinatra album, I learned then that Jarvis Cocker and Calexico and those people credited me for pushing them in a direction that made them successful. It was a little bit shocking to me and a little bit overwhelming. But of course I was delighted that in some small way I helped a younger person get started. You sound very young but as you get older, if that happens to you—if you’re told that you influenced someone in a good way—you’ll understand and you’ll love that we had this talk. It’s a great feeling. But that was the first that I’d ever known of it. And it was because of my daughter AJ, who’s also a singer—AJ Lambert—and she said, ‘Mom, you’re doing all the wrong stuff, you’ve gotta do stuff that’s created with the people who really love your work.’ I guess they’re 80s artists, 70s and 80s artists. I said “Wait, no musicians love my work!” [laughs] Because I’m used to not getting any respect from my peers. She said, “You’d be surprised” and boy was I. I knew about Morrissey because he approached me when I was in London, he said I’ve gotta meet you, I love your work, blah blah blah. But I didn’t know about Sonic Youth, I didn’t know about Jon Spencer, Pete Yorn. So my daughter put together that album and I think it’s a wonderful album. It was my first experience with, ‘oh yeah, you influenced a lot of people.’
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I did it primarily because I needed the press…I needed the attention and I needed the money. I couldn’t have gotten my One More Time album out there if I hadn’t done that pictorial. Essentially, Hugh Hefner, in giving me a hefty salary, was responsible for getting that album out. That’s not exactly true, but it’s partly true. I guess I might [recommend it] if it were a Playboy situation. With Playboy you’re protected. You’re taken care of, they look after you, they make sure everything is on the up-and-up. It’s not a scumball publication, it’s beautiful. I think if you have the chance to do something that will help you further your career, maybe you should consider doing it. Talk it over with family. But again, it’s the people that you’re working for. I’m so happy that Adam Lambert’s doing Glee, because he’s getting all that extra notice. I don’t know if you know that in the New York Times crossword puzzle from Sunday, Adam Lambert’s in there. That’s really great, it takes a lot to get into the Times crossword puzzle! So I’m gonna email his mom and tell her to look for that.Are you friends with his mom?
I’ve only met her once but we hit it off really well. And he’s my next door neighbor.Oh wow.
So we run into each other here and there, in the driveway or in the hallway or the elevator.
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Nah, he’s a great neighbor. Such a great guy, I’m crazy about him. What a great voice too.Has it ever annoyed you that people read sexuality into everything you’ve done, even a duet with your own father?
Oh, hell no. [Laughs] No! That’s great. It’s part of it. It’s part of everything! There was a DJ who, when he introduced “Somethin’ Stupid” on his show, he said, “And now we’re going to play the incest song.” Then that caught on. But it was funny.What’s your favorite moment your music was used in a movie or TV show?
Definitely Kill Bill, “Bang Bang.” First of all, it was a complete surprise when Quentin Tarantino got in touch. And it was a delight to know that he’d been planning on it for all those years, even when it first came out in the late 60s. And that was outstanding.Yeah, and I think my first exposure to your music was Austin Powers.
Oh yeah? That was great too, that was funny. What were they? The fembots. People on Twitter still mistake me for Jane Fonda and tell me how they loved me in Barbarella. Because of the hair I guess.Have you ever sang something because you thought you could do it better than the original?
Uh…I don’t know that I had that in mind, but I think sometimes I did do it better than the original. Like “Bang Bang.” And no offense to Cher, because her record is great and it sold millions of copies. But I like turning a song around and really hearing what the lyric says.Your version really brings out the darkness.
Another thing I like to do is take guy songs and make them girly. Like “Day Tripper” and some of the Beatles things. “Run for your life, little boy.”When was the last time you had to pay for a pair of boots?
I always have to pay for my boots! The only time I didn’t have to pay for boots was when I was traveling for the USO in Vietnam, and every [military] outfit gave me combat boots._Nancy Sinatra’s new album _Shifting Gears_ is out now, and believe it or not, she Tweets at @nancysinatra, no gangsta required._Dan Weiss writes and plays in the band Dan Ex Machina. Find him on Twitter - @kissouthejams