Nancy Sinatra Feels Frank Sinatra Stopped Her from Getting ‘Credit’ for Her Songs

While Frank Sinatra helped Nancy Sinatra’s career in some ways, she said he stopped her from receiving due credit for her songs. She feels people look at her music a lot differently when they take her father out of the equation. Here’s a look at what Nancy had to say — and the ways she collaborated with her father.

Nancy Sinatra said being Frank Sinatra’s daughter gave people ‘preconceived notions’

Kate Hutchinson of The Independent said Nancy’s relation to Frank was both “a help and a hindrance.” “It always was and it always will be, even to this day, because people have preconceived ideas of how I got here: nepotism,” Nancy said. She said the only ways she could overcome this attitude was by having hits of her own. Even though she had hits like “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” Nancy agreed with Hutchinson’s assessment that she never received “due credit” for her work. 

On the other hand, Nancy said there were upsides to being her father’s daughter. She was shielded from a lot of the misogyny other women in the music industry faced because nobody wanted to mess with Frank’s daughter.

Nancy Sinatra says people feel differently about her songs when they don’t think of Frank Sinatra

During a separate interview with The Believer, Erik Morse noted how a number of singers like Lana Del Rey, Morrissey, and Courtney Love see Nancy as one of the greatest singers of her era. Nancy said they only see her that way because they took her on her own terms.

“It’s a lack of prejudice,” Nancy opined. “They don’t think of Frank Sinatra when they listen to Nancy. They had respect for me as a separate person, and, of course, a great respect for Lee Hazlewood. I can’t seem to get out of this trap. I’m either Frank’s daughter or the person who sang with Lee Hazlewood.” Hazelwood was a country singer who repeatedly worked with Nancy.

“That’s OK; I don’t begrudge the men in my life,” she added. “They helped me tremendously. I’m very glad that I saw it and could take advantage of working with Lee. But I don’t know, honestly, if any other woman singing in those days would have tolerated the treatment from Lee that I put up with over the years. We had the classic love/hate relationship. I’m not ashamed to say that.”

Did Frank and Nancy Sinatra ever work together?

Despite Nancy’s mixed feelings about her father’s role in her career, she worked with him on multiple occasions. For example, they both appeared in the film Marriage on the Rocks. In the film, the Sinatras played a fictitious father and daughter. In addition, they performed a duet called “Somethin’ Stupid” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 13 weeks. The song would be the final No. 1 hit for both of them on the Billboard Hot 100. Being Frank’s daughter had its drawbacks — but it resulted in a classic love song.