"Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" is a song composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

, called, originally, "Bessie (With The Laughing Face)". It was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1944. Many, perhaps most, people—including, for a time, Sinatra himself—wrongly assume or assumed the song was composed specifically for Sinatra's wife or

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...

, each named Nancy; the adjustment in name indeed was inspired by Sinatra's daughter.

Origin

Former broadcast executive and music historian Rick Busciglio tells the story of the song's inception as related to him by Van Heusen:

Notable recordings

* Pharoah Sanders, William Henderson, Stafford James, Eccleston W. Wainwright - '' Welcome to Love'' (1991) * Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans,

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

- '' Know What I Mean?'' (1961) *

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ...

-
Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane
' (2001) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

- ''

Perfectly Frank ''Perfectly Frank'' is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 1992 and recorded as a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Part of Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success, it achieved gold record status in the United States and won the Grammy ...

'' (1992) *

Corry Brokken Cornelia Maria "Corry" Brokken (3 December 1932 – 31 May 2016) was a Dutch singer, television presenter and jurist. In 1957, she won the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Net als toen", representing the Netherlands. ...

- ''Voor Nancy'' (1971) *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

- '' Dedicated To You'' (1961) *

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

- ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

'' (1962) *

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

- '' Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman'' (2009) *

The Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

- ''Softly'' (1961) *

The Four Freshmen The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the barbershop tradition. The singers accom ...

- ''Voices in Standards'' (1996), ''Four Freshmen And Five Saxes/ The Four Freshmen and Five Guitars'' (1998) *

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

- '' The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark'' (1962) * The

Johnny Mann John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist. Career Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...

Singers - ''The Songs of Sinatra'' (1962) *

Flip Phillips Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic conce ...

- ''Phillips Head'' (1975) * Frank Sinatra - ''

Sinatra's Sinatra ''Sinatra's Sinatra'' is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1963. Ten of the album's twelve tracks are re-recorded versions of songs that Sinatra had previously released, with "Pocketful of Miracles" and "Call Me Irresponsibl ...

'' (1963) *

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

- '' The Warm Moods'' (1961) *

Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...

- '' Mark Tremonti sings Sinatra'' (2022)

In popular culture

* In the '' Sopranos'' episode, "Watching Too Much Television,"

Paulie Gualtieri Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Sirico on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', one of the chief henchmen of series protagonist Tony Soprano. Sirico originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior ...

returns from jail to a big welcome back party at the Bada Bing! club. Following a group toast,

Silvio Dante Silvio Manfred Dante is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos'', played by Steven Van Zandt. He is the consigliere and right-hand man to Tony Soprano in the DiMeo crime family. John Magaro portrays a young Silvio Dante in ...

cues up some music and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" begins to play. Paulie, lost in emotion for a few moments, finally smiles and says "my song." Bobby Bacala is seen asking Silvio "What the fuck? Why is this his song?" * An episode of ''

The Commish ''The Commish'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in Eastbridge, New ...

'' entitled "Nancy with the Laughing Face" features a guest character named Nancy who is played by

Wendie Malick Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom '' Dream On'', and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC si ...

. It aired in October 1994 as part of the fourth season. * In a 1973 episode of '' Doctor Who'', ''

The Green Death ''The Green Death'' is the fifth and final serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 May to 23 June 1973. It was the last regular appe ...

'', a member of the environmental activists group the Wholeweal community is referred to by its leader Clifford Jones as "Nancy with the Laughing Face" to

Jo Grant Josephine "Jo" Grant, later Jo Jones, is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Jo was introduced by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in the first episode of ''D ...

during her visit to the community's hub, the "Nuthutch". * The song was a favorite of President Ronald Reagan, with Frank Sinatra singing a rendition entitled "Nancy (with the Reagan Face)" at his first

inaugural ball United States presidential inaugural balls are large social gatherings, both white tie and black tie, held to celebrate the commencement of a new term of the President of the United States. Planned and sanctioned by the Presidential Inaugura ...

in 1981.

References

External links

* from lecture "Confessions of An Ad Man," by Rick Busciglio telling the story of the creation of the song. {{authority control 1944 songs Songs with lyrics by Phil Silvers Songs with music by Jimmy Van Heusen Frank Sinatra songs Ray Charles songs The Fleetwoods songs Tony Bennett songs 1940s jazz standards