Witchcraft (1957 song)
| "Witchcraft" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Frank Sinatra | ||||
| A-side | Witchcraft | |||
| B-side | Tell Her You Love Her | |||
| Released | Late 1957 | |||
| Format | 45", 78" | |||
| Recorded |
Capitol Records, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California May 20, 1957 | |||
| Genre | Swing, traditional pop | |||
| Length | 2:54 | |||
| Label |
Capitol (US, 45") | |||
| Writer(s) | Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh | |||
| Producer(s) | Dave Cavanaugh | |||
| Frank Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Witchcraft" is a popular song from 1957 composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was released as a single by Frank Sinatra, and reached number twenty in the U.S., spending sixteen weeks on the charts.
Composed as an instrumental piece by Coleman for the revue Take Five, lyrics were added by Leigh, and "Witchcraft" was subsequently recorded by Sinatra in May 1957, in an arrangement by Nelson Riddle.[1]
Elvis Presley sang this song in The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis.
Versions
Sinatra recorded "Witchcraft" three times in a studio setting. The first recording was in 1957, for his single release, and was later released on his compilation album All the Way (1961). Sinatra re-recorded "Witchcraft" for 1963's Sinatra's Sinatra, and finally recorded it as a duet with Anita Baker for Duets (1993).
| Recording Date | Company | Format | Album | Track:Album | Album Date | Collaborators | Arranged by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1957 | Capitol | Studio | The Complete Capitol Singles Collection | 3/13:3/5 | September 3, 1996 | Nelson Riddle | |
| April 30, 1963 | Reprise | Studio | Sinatra's Sinatra | 5/12:1/1 | 1963 | Nelson Riddle | |
| July 9, 1993 | Capitol | Electronic duet | Duets | 11/13:1/1 | July 9, 1993 | Anita Baker | Nelson Riddle |
"Witchcraft" has been recorded by many other artists, including Sarah Vaughan, on her 1962 album You're Mine You, Ella Fitzgerald, on Ella Returns to Berlin (1961), and Bill Evans on Portrait in Jazz (1959).[2] Another version was featured in the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus. Siouxsie Sioux performed it in concert with her second band The Creatures and a brass section in 1998: it was then included on their live cd, Zulu.[3] Robert Smith of The Cure recorded a version of the song for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie Unleashed!, a 14-track collection of songs "inspired by" the filmmaker's latest stop-motion creation Frankenweenie, released on 25 September 2012.[4] Anthony Strong released a version of the song on his 2013 album Stepping Out. Heard in Fifty Shades Of Grey (Film)[5]
Awards
Grammys
At the 1st Grammy Awards, Frank Sinatra was nominated for six Grammy awards, with Sinatra's recording of "Witchcraft" being nominated for the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Vocal Performance, Male, and Nelson Riddle's arrangement nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement. Sinatra had two albums nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.
This song was also sung live by Peggy Lee.
References
- ↑ "Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft". The-main-event.eu. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
- ↑ "Bill Evans Trio* - Portrait In Jazz (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1959-12-28. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
- ↑ "The Creatures (Siouxsie's second band) - Zulu (cd) at Discogs". Discogs.com. July 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ↑ "Stream: Robert Smith covers Sinatra standard "Witchcraft" for Frankenweenie Unleashed!". Slicingupeyeballs.com. 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
- ↑ "Anthony Strong - Stepping Out (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22.