In the field of prestidigitation, there is The Amazing Randi, James Randi. However, in the realm of music, the amazing Don Randi, Nancy’s longtime accompanist, has been creating magic with his keyboard for more than five decades. As Don himself notes, “Music is magic.”
Nancy’s interview on the April 10, 1995 episode of The Jon Stewart Show reached a quirky pinnacle when Jon unveiled his chroma-key-modified version of Nancy’s 1966 jukebox film of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” In his attempt to rewrite Color-Sonics history, he created an electronically engineered collaboration, in which he joins Nancy and her bevy of leggy go-go dancers. Surprised and flattered by Jon’s comedic homage to her, Nancy exclaimed to the studio audience, “Do you see why I wanted to do this show!”
Everybody wants to perform with Nancy. At least it seems that way among TV talk show hosts, who are inspired by Nancy and cannot resist the opportunity to collaborate with her. The talk show appearances also illustrate Nancy’s talent as a consummate live entertainer, as she engages the studio audiences in her performances by encouraging them to sing with her. The following two-part retrospective features some of these memorable collaborations with talk show hosts and audiences.
During the entrance for her April 12, 1995 visit to Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Nancy and Conan’s raucous terpsichorean duet set the the stage for the freewheeling interview which would follow.
Just ten days after the December 11, 1967 debut of her trailblazing Movin’ With Nancy television special, Nancy was back on NBC in another historic broadcast. For the December 21, 1967 episode of Dean Martin’s weekly variety series, the Sinatra and Martin families came together to give viewers a holiday gift in the form of Christmas-themed music and comedy. (Pictured above from the performance of “We Wish You The Merriest”: Nancy appears with Gail Martin, Dean Martin, and her dad.) As part of a medley with Gail Martin, Nancy delivers a charming version of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’,” with special, Christmas lyrics:
“These boots were made for Santa,
You got your Santa shoes.
You better get your sleigh
Because there ain’t no time to lose.”
