VIA PRESS RELEASE | Acclaimed archival label Light in the Attic (LITA) continues their partnership with legendary singer, actress, activist, and icon Nancy Sinatra with a definitive reissue of her 1966 album Nancy In London.
Originally released on the heels of her hit debut album, Boots, and her sophomore follow-up How Does That Grab You?, the album was cut in three days at Pye Studios where The Kinks, Petula Clark, and David Bowie recorded their songs in the mid-1960s. By going directly to the source and choosing songs like “On Broadway,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” and “This Little Bird,” the album has an unequivocally British feel. The album also includes Nancy and Lee Hazlewood’s timeless duet “Summer Wine.”
Due out September 6th in vinyl, CD, and digital formats, with the LP edition being offered on classic black wax and special limited-edition colored wax (including “Summer Wine” red or “Little Bird Blue” with peach splatter)—click here to pre-order. All formats feature audio freshly remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin.
Pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), the vinyl edition is presented in an expanded gatefold jacket accompanied by a 20-page booklet (featuring a new Q&A with Sinatra conducted by the reissue’s GRAMMY®-nominated co-producer Hunter Lea, plus never-before-seen photos from the artist’s personal archive). All music configurations, plus limited-edition autographed vinyl, will also be made available at Nancy’s Bootique.
Nancy In London marks the latest release in LITA’s ongoing Nancy Sinatra Archival Series, a partnership with the celebrated artist, which honors her musical legacy through lovingly curated reissues, including her 1966 debut Boots, 1966’s How Does That Grab You?, 1968’s Nancy & Lee, and 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again (both with Lee Hazlewood), as well as the broadly-acclaimed 2021 career-spanning retrospective Start Walkin’ 1965-1976 and its 2023 companion Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978. The series also includes a wealth of limited-edition merch and other special releases.
More about Nancy In London: “Strawberries, cherries, and an angel’s kiss in spring…” were the immortal words sung by a twenty-five-year-old Nancy Sinatra on a frigid spring day in a London recording studio during the sessions for Nancy In London, her third LP in four months. Writes reissue producer Hunter Lea, “1966 was the beginning of Nancy-mania.”
Indeed, after several years of struggling to find her place amid a changing musical landscape, Nancy (the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra) entered the charts at the top of the year with her first No.1 hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Penned by the Oklahoma-born songsmith Lee Hazlewood, the tune became a bold anthem for female empowerment—launching Sinatra’s career, as well as one of music’s most unlikely, yet compelling, creative partnerships.
In the swinging sixties, London was the epicenter of hip. The small island was creating cultural waves and capturing hearts around the world with exports like the miniskirt, the British Invasion, and James Bond. From being an early adopter of Mary Quant fashions and covering The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones on her first album Boots, to recording one of the most iconic James Bond theme songs, “You Only Live Twice,” in 1967, Nancy was a bona fide Anglophile.
In addition to recording Nancy In London and “You Only Live Twice,” Nancy returned to London in 1969 to work with producer Mickie Most. For the first time ever, LITA’s reissue of Nancy In London presents all of the previously unheard tracks that Nancy recorded with Mickie during these sessions in their entirety.
In a candid Q&A with Lea, Sinatra recounts the London sessions: “Mickie was funny. He would bring in people off the street to have them sing on the records. He wanted that raw, unrehearsed, kind-of-crazy feel…I loved those songs. I was sorry that they didn’t happen for him and for me. ‘The Highway Song,’ I think, is one of the best records I ever made. ‘Colors Are Changing’ is kind of silly. ‘Zodiac Blues’ is ridiculous, but it’s fun.”
Arriving in August 1966, during a period of extraordinary productivity, Nancy In London was Sinatra’s third of three albums released that year. In the years following, Sinatra’s star continued to rise with a series of best-selling albums (including those with Hazlewood) and such hit singles as “Sugar Town” (1966), “Somethin’ Stupid” (1967 duet with her father), and the 1967 Bond film theme “You Only Live Twice.”
After stepping back from the industry in the ’70s to focus on her young family, Sinatra returned to the spotlight in the mid-’90s, releasing a string of new albums, including the star-studded Nancy Sinatra, which paired the artist with some of her biggest fans (including Morrissey, U2, Calexico, and Sonic Youth). Since then, Nancy’s legacy has only continued to grow. In more recent years, her impact has been recognized by the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, and Rolling Stone, while in 2020, “Boots” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame.
Most recently, Beyoncé sampled “The Boot Are Made for Walkin’” on Cowboy Carter (2024). Today, Sinatra remains a force in the industry, as new generations discover her influential catalog, which boasts nearly 20 studio albums and dozens of charting singles.
