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
"All the Way"
(1957)
"Witchcraft"
(1957)
"Mistletoe and Holly"
(1957)

"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.

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).[1] 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.[2] 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 stop-motion creation Frankenweenie, released on 25 September 2012.[3] Anthony Strong released a version of the song on his 2013 album Stepping Out. Heard in Fifty Shades of Grey (film)[4]

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 Male Pop Vocal Performance, 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 Recording Package.

This song was also sung live by Peggy Lee.

References

  1. "Bill Evans Trio* - Portrait In Jazz (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1959-12-28. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  2. "The Creatures (Siouxsie's second band) - Zulu (cd) at Discogs". Discogs.com. July 1999. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. "Stream: Robert Smith covers Sinatra standard "Witchcraft" for Frankenweenie Unleashed!". Slicingupeyeballs.com. 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  4. "Anthony Strong - Stepping Out (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
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