Three top entertainers can be seen in their performing heyday in a new addition to the ever-expanding archive of historic clips from The Ed Sullivan Show. Peggy Lee, Sergio Franchi, and Nancy Sinatra join forces on the October 1, 1967 edition of the celebrated variety series to perform a medley of pop tunes old and new.
The performance begins and ends with “One Of Those Songs,” originally written by Gerard Calvi and with English lyrics by Will Holt. It came to be closely associated with much-loved showbusiness giant Jimmy Durante and was also recorded by the Ray Charles Singers, Trinifold Lopez, and by English favourites Max Bygraves and Danny La Rue. The medley also incorporates Sinatra’s chart-topping smash of early 1966, “These Boots Are are For Walkin’,” which hit No.1 in the US, the UK and many other countries.
The Italian tenor and actor Sergio Franchi may be somewhat less familiar to some modern viewers, but he was a hugely popular star who had first appeared on Sullivan in 1962, the year he signed a seven-album deal with RCA Victor. Franchi made no fewer than 35 albums over his long career, recording in both Italian and English, and appeared frequently in other TV shows and as an actor, notably in 1969’s The Secret of Santa Victoria. He died in 1990.
Sinatra was some five albums into her pop career at the time of the show, and had enjoyed further success both in the US and internationally with such singles as “How Does That Grab You, Darlin’?” and “Sugar Town.” Earlier in 1967 she topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic again with her father Frank on “Somethin’ Stupid,” and had begun her highly successful recording partnership with Lee Hazlewood.
Lee was continuing her long run at Capitol Records, for whom she released two LPs in 1967, Extra Special! and Somethin’ Groovy! The second of those albums provided a link to the Sinatras, as it opened with the peerless vocalist’s version of “Somethin’ Stupid.” The edition of Sullivan featuring Lee, Franchi, and Sinatra also had a stand-up comedy spot by the rising George Carlin.
Watch all the latest archival videos from The Ed Sullivan Show on the program’s official YouTube channel.