''Nice 'n' Easy'' is the eighteenth studio album by
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, released on July 25, 1960.
All the songs, with the notable exception of the title song, are sung as
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s and were arranged and conducted by
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...
. The title song was a last-minute substitute for the originally planned "
The Nearness of You," which did not appear on the original LP.
The album spent nine weeks at number one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
stereo album chart, and one week at number one on the corresponding mono album chart.
[Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Albums 1955-2001 (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2001), 1177.] At the
1961 Grammy Awards, ''Nice 'n' Easy'' was nominated for the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
as
Album of the Year,
Best Male Vocal Performance,
Best Arrangement. The song "Nice 'n' Easy" was released as a single in 1960 and made it to number 60 on the charts. It was also recorded by Charlie Rich in 1964, Peggy Lee in 1966, Alex Chilton in 1989, Michael Buble in 2004, Natalie Cole in 2008, and Barbra Streisand in 2011.
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...
recorded a cover version as a single (Reprise Records RS.20756 "Happy" b/w " Nice 'n' Easy"); it is also included in the CD version of her album "
Nancy" as a bonus track.
In 2000 it was voted number 545 in
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums
''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...
''.
Track listing
# "Nice 'n' Easy" (
Alan Bergman,
Marilyn Keith,
Lew Spence) – 2:45
# "
That Old Feeling" (
Lew Brown
Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...
,
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...
) – 3:33
# "
How Deep Is the Ocean? (How High Is the Sky?)" (
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
) – 3:15
# "
I've Got a Crush on You
"I've Got a Crush on You" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It is unique among Gershwin compositions in that it was used for two different Broadway productions: ''Treasure Girl'' (1928), when it was introduced by ...
" (
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
,
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...
) – 2:16
# "
You Go to My Head" (
J. Fred Coots,
Haven Gillespie) – 4:28
# "
Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" (
Rube Bloom,
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...
) – 3:22
# "
Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (
Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter.
Biography
Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early age an ...
,
Harry Ruby) – 3:18
# "(I Got A Woman Crazy For Me)
She's Funny That Way
"She's Funny That Way" or "He's Funny That Way" is a popular song, composed by Neil Moret, with lyrics by Richard Whiting. It was composed for the short film ''Gems of MGM'' in 1929 for Marion Harris, but the film was not released until 1931. Ha ...
" (
Neil Moret
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname ...
,
Richard A. Whiting) – 3:55
# "
Try a Little Tenderness
"Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods.
Early versions
It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorde ...
" (
Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly,
Harry M. Woods) – 3:22
# "
Embraceable You" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 3:24
# "
Mam'selle" (
Mack Gordon
Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...
,
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwic ...
) – 2:48
# "
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
" (Mercer) – 2:57
#: ''Bonus tracks included on the 1991 CD reissue:''
# "
The Nearness of You" (
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...
,
Ned Washington
Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Life and career
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...
) – 2:43
# "
Someone to Watch Over Me" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 2:57
# "
Day In, Day Out" (Bloom, Mercer) – 3:07
# "
My One and Only Love" (
Robert Mellin,
Guy Wood
Guy B. Wood (24 July 1911 – 23 February 2001) was a musician and songwriter born in Manchester, England. Wood started his career in music playing saxophone in dance bands in England. He moved to the United States in the 1930s, where he worked f ...
) – 3:12
The album was remixed and remastered in 2020. The bonus tracks for the CD are "The Nearness of You" and excerpts of the sessions for "I've Got a Crush on You" and "Nice 'n' Easy".
"Someone to Watch Over Me", "Day In, Day Out", and "My One and Only Love", which came from totally unrelated sessions, were removed from this reissue.
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
1960 albums
Frank Sinatra albums
Albums produced by Dave Cavanaugh
Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle
Albums conducted by Nelson Riddle
Albums recorded at Capitol Studios
Capitol Records albums