Nancy Sinatra’s Songwriter Told a Radio Station to Stop Playing 1 of Her Songs
During the 1960s, Nancy Sinatra released a handful of hit classic rock songs. She collaborated with a country singer on many of them. Notably, the country singer discouraged a radio programmer from playing one of her songs.
Nancy Sinatra’s songwriter didn’t understand the meaning of 1 of the songs he wrote
Lee Hazlewood was a country singer and songwriter. He worked on many of Sinatra’s most famous songs, including “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” “Sugar Town,” “Somethin’ Stupid,” and “You Only Live Twice.” During a 1999 interview with Index Magazine, he discussed a duet he performed with Sinatra called “Some Velvet Morning.”
“‘Some Velvet Morning’ was written for a TV show with Nancy,” he recalled. “It wasn’t meant to be a single, just something for the show.” The show in question was the television special Movin’ with Nancy.
Why Lee Hazlewood didn’t want a radio programmer to play Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Some Velvet Morning’
Hazlewood remembered what audiences saw when he performed the song on the show with Sinatra. “The good guy was in black on a black horse and the bad girl was in white on a white horse,” Hazlewood said. “We were working with opposites. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I still don’t know what that song’s about.”
Hazlewood revealed he discouraged a radio programmer from playing ‘Some Velvet Morning.” “A friend of mine who programmed about a hundred radio stations got it on a few of his big stations in LA,” Hazlewood recalled. “He usually stayed on a record for a week, and if it didn’t go over he’d pull it. But he stayed on it for three weeks, so I called him and said, ‘Get off that damn thing.'”
Hazlewood explained his actions. “[‘Some Velvet Morning]’ wasn’t going anywhere,” he opined. “But he thought it would be a hit and he was right. It took three weeks to pound it into their heads.”
How ‘Some Velvet Morning’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
Despite what Hazlewood did, “Some Velvet Morning” became a minor hit in the United States. The track peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Some Velvet Morning” lasted on the chart for eight weeks.
“Some Velvet Morning” wasn’t as popular in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the song did not chart there. The track appeared on the album Nancy & Lee. Nancy & Lee reached No. 17 in the U.K. and remained on the chart for 13 weeks.
“Some Velvet Morning” became a standard. The artists who covered it are Glenn Danzig, The Webb Brothers, and Vanilla Fudge each put their spin on the song. “Some Velvet Morning” is a classic track even if Hazlewood didn’t believe in it.
