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“About Morrissey…

 “He is a special man with a huge heart and I adore him. I met him in London in 1995 when he came to visit me at my hotel. He was seeking autographs on his collection of c.d.s and l.p.s – and we’ve been friends ever since.

“I felt as though I knew him because I had ‘lived’ with him on a Smiths’ poster that my daughter had in her room for years. Both my kids introduced me to his fabulous songs early on so I was familiar with his music when he knocked on my door. It was Kismet.” ~ Nancy

Nancy “knocked” on Morrissey’s door in the 2002 documentary The Importance Of Being Morrissey, televised by the U.K.’s Channel 4 on June 8, 2003. In the following clip, Nancy and Morrissey “take tea,” as Nancy recalls his 1995 visit in London and her 2002 attendance at the military Tattoo celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee.

Eight years after their initial meeting in London, Nancy recorded a song given to her by Morrissey. The song, the transcendent “Let Me Kiss You,” would be released as a single and become part of an album featuring, according to Nancy,

“performers and songwriters who believe they were influenced by or are fans of my music.” 

The Let Me Kiss You / Bossman CD-single (2004) was issued by Sanctuary Records on Morrissey’s Attack imprint in the U.S. in this highly collectible card sleeve (pictured), which boasts a wrap-around cover photo by Nancy’s daughter Amanda.  Another image from the photoshoot appears at the top of this post. The single was issued in the U.K. in a white sleeve, with the corresponding album’s two-tone silhouette artwork on its back cover.

In a March 9, 2004 Rolling Stone article, titled “Sinatra Walks With Morrissey,” Nancy described “Let Me Kiss You”:

“[...] this song is very much a Nancy/Morrissey song. It’s gorgeous and beautiful and romantic and lovely.”

Featuring backing vocals by the song’s writers, Morrissey and Alain Whyte, “Let Me Kiss You” is part of a collaboration/tribute collection of recordings, Nancy Sinatra (2004), which was conceived and produced by Nancy’s daughter AJ. (For “Let Me Kiss You,” in particular, AJ co-produced Nancy’s track, while the original track was produced and mixed by Jerry Finn, who also produced Morrissey’s You Are The Quarry album.)

“There’s a place in the sun
For anyone who has the will to chase one
And I think I’ve found mine
Yes I do believe I have found mine”

Nancy’s version of “Let Me Kiss You”

As with the U.S. CD-single, Amanda provided the artwork for the Nancy Sinatra (2004) album.

Nancy observed the coinciding U.K. release dates for her recording of “Let Me Kiss You” and Morrissey’s version of the song:

“There is a bit of irony happening with the label and Let Me Kiss You. They released Morrissey’s single version of the song (in the UK) on the same day as mine. I can’t help but wonder why as it seems counterproductive to me. Irony and Morrissey seem to go together.”

Morrissey’s version of “Let Me Kiss You”

In the August 14, 2004 issue of Billboard, a review of Nancy’s single predicted commercial success:

“Since debuting on The Billboard Hot 100 in the mid-’60s, Nancy Sinatra has notched more than 20 entries [...] Sinatra may indeed return to it with the dreamy ‘Let Me Kiss You.’ Co-penned by Morrissey, who also provides backing vocals, the poignant ‘Kiss’ is tailor-made for Sinatra. And with Morrissey’s stamp, the song–which first appeared on his latest album, ‘You Are the Quarry’–also has its fair share of melancholia. Consider this chorus: ‘Close your eyes/And think of someone/You physically admire/And let me kiss you.’ Sinatra shines throughout. In fact, she one-ups Morrissey on his own song.”

Regarding You Are The Quarry, Nancy expressed her appreciation of Morrissey’s work:

“Morrissey’s new album is amazing. His words can make you happy, sad and angry. This is a very provocative collection of songs. My favorite (today) is ‘Crashing Bores,’ but that changes whenever I listen to it.”

Both versions of “Let Me Kiss You” would eventually appear on the U.K. singles chart. On October 18, 2004, Nancy commented on her chart success:

“This is exactly what Morrissey told me would happen when he sent me ‘Let Me Kiss You.’
I shouldn’t have doubted him.”

Several months prior to the release of the “Let Me Kiss You” singles, Morrissey had been appointed as curator of the June 2004 Meltdown arts festival. For the event at London’s South Bank venue/gallery complex, he selected some of his favorite cultural icons: Nancy was one of his bookings. With her K.A.B., Nancy performed at Royal Festival Hall on June 20.

Sinatra Family Forum moderator Ace shared some behind-the-scenes insights:

“The preparations going into a show like this have to be seen to be believed. Lights, mikes, video, mixes, both for in-ear voices and the house, cables everywhere, techs climbing to the rafters to change the gels in the spots. Almost like a ballet, but much more intensity.”

Nancy shared this photo from her perspective. Her guitarist, John DePatie, is pictured center.

 “The stage right boxes. [...] Morrissey’s was the lower right.”

Ace originally posted the following two comments and photos.

“Nancy’s cover of Morrissey’s Let Me Kiss You was accompanied by a series of photos of the two of them during a session at Nancy’s house. You may have seen this one before on her web site. Nancy’s daughter, Amanda, took the photos.”

“Backstage, after the show, she got a visit from Morrissey. He’s very much a gentleman, and a gentle man, and he loves Nancy’s music.

“The woman on the right is Linder [Sterling], who opened for Nancy, who also dropped by to pay her respects.” 

Shortly after the release of “Let Me Kiss You,” on November 11-12, 2004, Nancy opened for Morrissey at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Nancy shared this photo, on November 12, 2004:

“In his dressing room at the Universal Amphitheatre last night in between my set and his.”

Nancy remembers those shows as “Great fun.” As part of her set, she performed “100 Years” and “Friday’s Child.”

“He made me sing both when I opened for him at the Universal Amphitheatre. ”  …

Nancy had also included those songs at her Royal Festival Hall shows.

“100 Years is Morrissey’s favorite of my recordings and he asked me to sing it in London at the Royal Festival Hall. His second favorite is Friday’s Child and he had me sing that too. We did about an hour on that stage and it was heavenly. [...] It was as exciting as singing in the Hollywood Bowl, the Universal Amphitheatre and Carnegie Hall. A wonderful experience.

 “The song ["100 Years"] has a damn good message.”

“100 Years”

Radio City Music Hall, October 10, 2004…

On the eve of the October 11, 2004 release of the “Let Me Kiss You” singles in the U.K., Morrissey prefaced his performance of the song at his October 10 Radio City Music Hall concert in New York City, with an acknowledgement of Nancy and their related releases:

“Tomorrow morning in the very jolly record shops of England, my great friend Nancy Sinatra releases her single, ‘Let Me Kiss You.’ And also, tomorrow, in the jolly shops of England, old Morrissey releases ‘Let Me Kiss You.’ So, the world really isn’t such a bad place. Not really.”

After attending that show, Nancy posted the following comment and photo:

“He graciously allowed me to come to his dressingroom before his show last night at Radio CIty. You have to love this man. He’s such a special person — in so many ways…”

“His show was fantastic, by the way. [...] I was able to hear and see him perform ‘Let Me Kiss You’ again, and it was wonderful.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2012 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Celebrities, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.