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!”
In his introduction for Nancy, Jon referred to her as a “post-feminist hero.” During the interview, Nancy noted that her role as a cultural icon is rooted in the “women’s liberation” movement of the 1960s.
Five days prior to The Jon Stewart Show broadcast, in her April 5 segment of Entertainment Tonight, Nancy acknowledged that she was impacting culture once again, as her 1995 Playboy pictorial had been intended to “churn things up a little bit.“ In addition to the shrewdly calculated promotional benefits for her One More Time CD, it made an “important statement.”
In her interview on Jon’s show, Nancy discussed her most important role: mom. Having been a PTA member and a Brownie troop leader, Nancy proudly recalled her focus on raising her daughters for the past twenty years.
For Nancy’s appearance on the May 17, 1999 episode of The Howie Mandel Show, Howie would take a more direct approach than Jon, with his own surprise duet of “Boots.”
But first, Nancy opened her segment with a rousing rendition of her classic “Happy.” The Lee Hazlewood-penned-and-produced song had originally been released by Nancy as a 1968 single (Reprise 0756). In a slightly modified version (fade deleted and studio chatter added), the recording was included on her then-recently released CD, How Does It Feel? (DCC Compact Classics DZS-171). For the live performance, Nancy was backed by Howie’s “house band,” led by Steve Goldstein.
Midway in the performance, Nancy walked into the studio audience to encourage them to sing with her. For this interactive version of “Happy,” Nancy modified the lyrics by changing “he” to “you”:
“And should you need me
Well I’ll be right there
Anywhere, I don’t care
“And should you want me
I’ll say this is it, the lamp is lit
Here we go, here we go”
Nancy was “kvelling”; Howie was “plotzing”: Nancy shared the joy she had felt upon entering Howie’s studio. His show was taped at NBC’s Studio 1 in Burbank, the same studio which had been a home to Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. The memories of her appearances with Johnny made her “kvell.”
In the inset image below, Nancy appears with Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson on the set of The Tonight Show.
Nancy discussed the history and cultural ramifications of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.”
During the performance of “Boots,” Howie surprised Nancy with stomp dance moves, back-up vocals, and his 1999 take on ’60s fashion: white boots, khaki hot pants, fur vest, and a peace symbol medallion.
More talk show dancing: Nancy’s interview on the December 3, 2004 episode of The Tony Danza Show began with a hug-dance and this brief collaboration of The Pony. Nancy referenced Chris Kenner’s/Wilson Pickett’s “Land Of 1,000 Dances”: “The Pony…like Bony Maronie!”
More Pony: Tony was obviously thrilled to be singing back-up for Nancy on “Boots,” as sidekick Ereka Vetrini and show pianist Nadia DiGiallonardo did The Pony.
Leading into Nancy’s moving rendition of “Baby’s Coming Back To Me,” Tony recognized Nancy’s humanitarian efforts on behalf of veterans. And Nancy expressed her devotion to them: “… veterans are very dear to my heart …”
Written by Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker and featuring background vocals (on the studio version) by Nancy’s daughter and co-producer, AJ, “Baby’s Coming Back To Me” is a paean to peace and one of the many highlights on her stellar 2004 CD, Nancy Sinatra (Sanctuary 84729).
“Outside there’s children laughing
The radio plays my favorite song
The sun is shining
And peace broke out in the world
And no one says a cruel word
And peace is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.”
Nancy dedicated her performance to “our troops in harm’s way and all the families who are waiting at home.”
