Nancy Sinatra promoted her newest project and shared the lessons she’s learned from her father during an interview with Rolling Stone.
After leaving the music industry in the 70s to raise her daughters and advocate for political causes, Sinatra, now 80, is back in the spotlight. Her daughter, Amanda Erlinger, spearheaded Sinatra’s latest project – a collection of her work beginning in the mid-1960s. The new collection, Start Walkin’ 1965–1976, also includes reissues of 1966’s Boots and 1968’s Nancy & Lee. You can purchase the new album on February 5.
During an interview about her life, Sinatra shares the best advice she’s ever received.
“Well, my dad (Frank Sinatra) was pretty good at advice. And he gave me the advice about owning my own masters. He started Reprise, his label, because he was unable to own his masters at Capitol Records. And he made it possible for all the artists on Reprise to own their own masters after a certain period of time. I heard Taylor Swift’s masters were sold again. That’s a shame. I would say to young people: Don’t despair, hold on to your dreams, and don’t let anybody else own them,” says Sinatra.
Sinatra added that she also learned, from her father, that consistency is a crucial part of performance.
“He was a genius, he enjoyed it. He made the audience feel at home. The biggest thing I learned was consistency. He was meticulous about how he dressed. His shoes were always spotless. He was so professional,” says Sinatra.
Nancy Sinatra Made The Miniskirt Famous
Before Sinatra, miniskirts weren’t a thing in the United States. It wasn’t until she was shopping in England and came across a store selling miniskirts that Sinatra had ever seen one. She knew immediately that she loved the trend and that others would do so as well. Because mini dresses were not yet available in the U.S., Sinatra had to improvise for her “These Boots Were Made For Walking,” music video.
“They were nowhere to be found in the United States. And I just knew the miniskirt was going to catch on. I didn’t have minidresses, so I used long sweaters instead. The “Boots” video with the black-wool sweater was my first attempt at a minidress,” says Sinatra. “…And they became kind of iconic. I guess that they were different and they were daring and were on the cutting edge of what was to become the miniskirt,” she continues. “It’s pretty cute, but it was an accident. I guess if I had any good instinct at all, it was about the fact that miniskirts would be a smash hit and would last forever. I mean, they’ve never gone away,” says Sinatra.
Neither will your mark on music history ever go away, Nancy!
