Frankie (song)

"Frankie"
Single by Sister Sledge
from the album When the Boys Meet the Girls
B-side "Hold Out Poppy"
Released 1985
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Denise Rich[1][2]
Producer(s) Nile Rodgers[3]

"Frankie" is a song by Sister Sledge that was released as a single in 1985. It is taken from their album When the Boys Meet the Girls.[3]

Overview

The song was written by Denise Rich (under the pseudonym "Joy Denny") after dreaming while on a flight from the United States to Switzerland.[2] According to the NOW 5 album the song was written about Frank Sinatra.

The song was produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers,[3] who had co-produced the sisters' earlier hits such as "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family". The sisters suggested the song to him, but he hated it on first hearing. A week later, he went back to them saying he could not stop singing it and so he insisted that the band recorded it.

A marked contrast to the disco cuts which had made them internationally famous in the late 1970s, this girl-pop number became a hit in the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks at number one in June and July 1985.[4] It fared much less well in the US where it peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 32 in the Billboard R&B chart.[5]

References

  1. 2.0 2.1 Edward Wong (2000-10-11). "Public Lives; Songwriter Who Doubles as Friend of Bill". The New York Times (United States). Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  2. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Sister Sledge - Frankie (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 450–1. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. Alex Henderson. "Sister Sledge | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
Preceded by
"You'll Never Walk Alone" by The Crowd
UK number-one single
June 23, 1985
Succeeded by
"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" by Eurythmics
Preceded by
"You'll Never Walk Alone" by The Crowd
Irish Singles Chart number-one single
June 29, 1985 - July 20, 1985
Succeeded by
"Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer