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"Somethin' Stupid" is a song written by C. Carson Parks and originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as "Carson and Gaile". It is best known in the hit version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter, Nancy Sinatra.[1]

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Original recording by Carson and Gaile

Original recording by Carson and Gaile[edit][]

In the early 1960s, Carson Parks was a folk singer in Los Angeles. He was an occasional member of The Easy Riders, and also performed with The Steeltown Three, which included his younger brother Van Dyke Parks. In 1963 he formed the Greenwood County Singers, later known as The Greenwoods, who had two minor hits and included singer Gaile Foote. Before the Greenwoods disbanded, Parks and Foote married and, as Carson and Gaile, recorded an album forKapp RecordsSan Antonio Rose, which included the track "Something Stupid". The recording was then brought to the attention of Frank Sinatra.[2][3]

Frank and Nancy Sinatra[edit][]

The most successful and best-known version of the song was issued as a single by Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra and subsequently appeared on Frank's album The World We Knew. Frank had played Parks' recording to his daughter's producer, Lee Hazlewood, who recalled "He asked me, 'Do you like it?' and I said, 'I love it, and if you don't sing it with Nancy, I will.' He said, 'We're gonna do it, book a studio.'"[2][3] Their rendition was recorded on February 1, 1967. Al Casey played guitar on the recording. Hazlewood and Jimmy Bowen were listed as the producers of the single, with arrangement by Billy Strange.[1]

The single spent four weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine weeks atop the easy listening (now adult contemporary) chart, becoming Frank's second gold single as certified by the RIAA and Nancy's third.[4] It was the first and only instance of a father-daughter number-one song in America. Nancy Sinatra has said she thinks it's "very sweet" that some people refer to it as the "Incest Song".[5] The single also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart the same year.[1]

Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman version[edit][]

"Somethin' Stupid"
[1]
Single by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
from the album Swing When You're Winning
Released December 14, 2001
Format CD singlecassetteDVD single
Recorded 2001
Genre Soft rockvocal jazz
Length 2:50
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) C. Carson Parks
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"Better Man"

(2001)

"Somethin' Stupid"

(2001)

"Mr Bojangles" /"I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen"

(2002)

Nicole Kidman singles chronology
"Come What May"

(2001)

"Somethin' Stupid'"

(2001)

"One Day I'll Fly Away"

(2002)

Music video
"Somethin' Stupid" on YouTube

British singer Robbie Williams recorded "Somethin' Stupid" as a duet in 2001 with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman. The song appeared on Williams' 2001 album, Swing When You're Winning, and it topped the UK Singles Chart at the end of the year. The song became Williams' first Christmas number-one single in the United Kingdom, and fifth as a featured artist. The single sold 98,506 copies in its first week and 366,000 copies over all earning a Silver Certification by the BPI. It was also listened when Esther sang to it on Esther Barbero Comes To Town the 2nd season finale The three musketeers.

The song was the 30th best selling single of 2001 in the UK. The song also became another number-one single for Williams in New Zealand, being certified Gold,[6] and became, at the time, his best selling single in Europe charting inside the top ten in most countries. In Australia, it became Williams' fourth top ten single, earning a Gold certification for over 35,000 copies sold.[7] These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Somethin' Stupid".

Track listing[edit][]

UK CD single

  1. "Somethin' Stupid" – 2:51
  2. "Eternity" (Orchestral version) – 5:32
  3. "My Way" (Live at the Albert Hall) – 6:59
  4. "Somethin' Stupid" (video) – 3:08

UK DVD single

  1. "Somethin' Stupid" (video) – 3:06
  2. "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (audio) – 2:35
  3. "That's Life" (audio) – 3:07

Charts[edit][]

Chart (2001–02) Peak

position

Australia (ARIA)[8] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[11] 6
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[12] 25
Denmark (Tracklisten)[13] 6
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[citation needed] 1
France (SNEP)[14] 14
Germany (Media Control Charts)[15] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[citation needed] 2
Italy (FIMI)[16] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[20] 9
Portugal (Billboard)[21] 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[22] 9
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[23] 2[citation needed]
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 17
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 3
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 1

Certifications[edit][]

Country Certification (if any) Sales/shipments
Australia Gold[7] 35,000+
Austria Gold[26] 15,000+
France Silver[27] 100,000+
Germany Gold[28] 250,000+
New Zealand Gold[6] 7,500+
Switzerland Gold[29] 20,000+
United Kingdom Silver[30] 378,000+

Other artists[edit][]

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