These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

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"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
Single by Nancy Sinatra
from the album Boots
Released	February 1966
Format	7" single
Genre	Pop
Length	2:42
Label	Reprise Records
Writer(s)	Lee Hazlewood
Producer(s)	Lee Hazlewood
Chart positions
#1 (U.S.) #1 {UK)
Nancy Sinatra singles chronology
"So Long, Babe" (1965)	"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (1966)	"How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" (1966)

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" is a pop song composed by Lee Hazlewood and first recorded by Nancy Sinatra. It was released in February, 1966, and hit #1 in the United States and United Kingdom Pop charts. Subsequently, many cover versions of the song have been released in a range of styles: pop, rock, country, dance, and industrial (see selected list below). Jessica Simpson made #14 in the United States in 2005 with her version.

The song is often incorrectly listed as "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" and "These Boots Are Made for Walking."

Contents 1 Song information 2 Charts 2.1 Nancy Sinatra version 3 Jessica Simpson version 4 Recording and release 5 Music video 6 Charts 6.1 Jessica Simpson version 7 Alternate Versions and Remixes 8 Selected list of recorded versions 9 Trivia 10 External links

[edit] Song information

Sinatra was encouraged by Hazlewood to sing the song as if she were a sixteen-year-old girl giving the brush-off to a forty-year-old man. Sinatra's recording of the song was made with the help of notable Los Angeles session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. This session included Hal Blaine on drums, Tommy Tedesco and Billy Strange on guitars, Ollie Mitchell, Roy Caton and Lew McCreary on horns, Carol Kaye on electric bass, and Chuck Berghofer on double bass, providing the notable bass line.

According to Carol Kaye, "Arranger Billy Strange believed in using the two basses together. Producer Lee Hazlewood asked Chuck to put a sliding run on the front of the tune. Chuck complied by playing notes about three tones apart (4-6 frets apart), but Lee stopped the take. "No Chuck, make your sliding notes closer together", and that is what you hear."

The second single taken from her debut album, and follow-up to the minor hit "So Long, Babe," the song became an instant success. In late February 1966, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a move it replicated in similar charts across the world.

When the single was first released, some thought it had to do with the subway strike in New York. That same year, Sinatra recorded an early music video for the song. It was produced by Color-Sonics, and played on Scopitones video jukeboxes. In 1986, for the song's twentieth anniversary, cable station VH1 played this music video.

The song was adopted by troops in the Vietnam War when they marched, and Sinatra traveled there in the mid- to late-1960s to perform for the U.S. soldiers. It was used on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Sinatra also sang it on an episode of China Beach in the late-1980s. In 2005, Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded a revamped version of the song using Sinatra's original vocal track. It appeared on the CD Ride to the Wall, Vol. 2, with proceeds going to help Vietnam veterans.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Nancy Sinatra version

Chart (1966)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
Uk Singles Chart	1

[edit] Jessica Simpson version

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
Single by Jessica Simpson
from the album The Dukes of Hazzard Original Soundtrack
Released	2005
Format	Digital download, digital maxi single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:58
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Lee Hazlewood; Jessica Simpson (uncredited)
Producer(s)	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Certification	Gold (RIAA Platinum ARIA)
Chart positions
#2 (Australian) #4 (UK) #10 (New Zealand) #12 (Austrian) #14 (U.S.) #16 (Swiss) #17 (Germany)
Jessica Simpson singles chronology
"What Christmas Means to Me" (2004)	"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (2005)	"A Public Affair" (2006)

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" is a song recorded by Jessica Simpson for the soundtrack to the film The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). It was written by Lee Hazlewood and originally recorded by Nancy Sinatra, whose version was first released in 1966 (see These Boots Are Made for Walkin'). Simpson's cover was co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and it was released as the soundtrack's first single in 2005 (see 2005 in music). It became Simpson's fifth top-twenty single in the United States and its music video drew some controversy because of its sexual imagery.

[edit] Recording and release

Simpson's version of the song is performed from the point of view of her character in The Dukes of Hazzard, Daisy Duke, and it has several major differences from Sinatra's version. The song's lyrics were changed almost completely as Simpson felt that they did not accurately convey the feelings needed for the film; in the original Sinatra dealt with a cheating boyfriend, while in the new version Simpson version explore Daisy Duke's personality and experiences. She rewrote the majority of the lyrics herself, although some elements were retained such as the opening line "You keep saying you got something for me..." and the spoken "Are you ready, boots? Start walkin'".

Simpson also added some new music to her version of the song. Whereas the original version did not have a bridge, she created one for the cover. A risqué rap-like/spoken breakdown was added after the bridge. Because of the legalities of songwriting, Simpson is not credited for the new music or lyrics that she wrote. The production of the song was altered as well. Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis gave the cover a country-inspired production because of its relationship to the film The Dukes of Hazzard, but they also added a more hip hop-like beat. "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" is the production duo's first song to contain elements of country music.

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" peaked at fourteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and in late 2005 the RIAA certified the single Gold for 500,000 legal downloads or more. Its digital downloads were high, but radio airplay was low. It reached the top twenty on Billboard's Pop 100 chart, and was Simpson's first single to appear on the chart. It became her biggest hit in Australia, where it reached number two and remained in the top forty for twenty-four weeks, and also became her first Top 5 hit in the UK, where it peaked at number four. It reached the top ten in New Zealand and the top twenty in Austria and Switzerland.

[edit] Music video

The video, directed by Brett Ratner, has caused some controversy because of its sexual imagery. The scene was well publicized, with Simpson admitting to the public and the media that she went on the South Beach diet to achieve her well toned look in the video. Because of its sexual imagery, the music video is banned, India, Venezuela, and all Middle Eastern and North African nations except Israel, Iraq, and Turkey. In Malaysia, it was occasionally edited with some of the scenes removed.

The video begins with Simpson (as Daisy Duke) climbing out of the General Lee (the famous car owned by the Duke family) into a bar. Simpson, a waitress at the bar, flirts with customers as she grinds and dances on the bar stand. After one customer slaps her buttocks with his hand, Simpson punches him and the man's fall causes a fight to break out between the bar patrons. Unfazed, Simpson sings the song with the assistance of Willie Nelson on guitar and backup vocals, and several female dancers join her during the song's "Can I get a handclap..." spoken/rapped breakdown. After recovering from their injuries, the men join Simpson and the dancers in a square dance. This scene is intercut with shots of a figure entering a barn, and at the video's end it is revealed the figure is Simpson wearing nothing but a pink bikini. She washes the General Lee, spending much of her time grinding in a sexually suggestive manner against the car. The music video also features Jessica Simpson belly dancing.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Jessica Simpson version

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	14
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	12
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	36
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	35
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
UK Singles Chart	4
New Zealand Singles Chart	10
Austria Singles Chart	12
Swiss Singles Chart (Switzerland)	16
German Singles Chart	17

[edit] Alternate Versions and Remixes

1. Album Version / Original Version — 3:58. This version appeared on the soundtrack and was used for the music video.
2. Single Version / Original Radio Edit — 3:35. This is the version included on the single with re-recorded vocals and contains more pop influences than the Original Version.
3. Radio Edit — 3:28. This is the short -edited- version of the single version, and was released to radio stations only, for promotional use.
4. Instrumental — 3:38. Available only on the 12'' Vinyl Single.
5. Scott Storch Remix
6. E-Smoove Vocal Mix
7. Bimbo Jones Remix Vocal
8. Bimbo Jones Radio Edit
9. Bimbo Jones Dub
10. Ed n' Richie Club Mix
11. Gomi & Escape's Club Mix
12. Gomi & Escape's Dub
13. Joe Bermudez Club Mix (Unreleased)

[edit] Selected list of recorded versions

• 1966 Nancy Sinatra, U.S. #1, UK #1
• 1966 Lee Hazlewood, the songwriter's own version
• 1966 Mrs. Miller, on the album Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits
• 1966 Jane Morgan, on the album Fresh Flavor
• 1967 Loretta Lynn, a country version
• 1969 Symarip, a Reggae version on the album Skinhead Moonstomp
• 1974 The Residents, avant garde music group, on the album Meet the Residents
• 1977 Amanda Lear, on the album I Am a Photograph
• 1978 Nick Cave's first band The Boys Next Door, a new wave version
• 1982 Paula Yates on the B.E.F. album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One
• 1985 Megadeth, on the album Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! — their version was produced more as a parody than as a cover. When the album started selling well, the writer of the song, Lee Hazlewood, began demanding that the song be omitted, due to its being a "perversion of the original". Dave Mustaine made the point that Hazlewood had been paid royalties for years before his complaint, but eventually omitted the song anyway. A censored version of the track can be found on the album's 'deluxe edition' released in 2002. (sample (help·info))
• 1989 Operation Ivy, a version titled "One of These Days" from the album Energy
• 1989 Kon Kan, a dance music remix/remake
• 1989 Crispin Glover, on the album The Big Problem ≠ The Solution. The Solution = Let It Be
• 1991 Anita Lane and Barry Adamson
• 1991 Jewel on the album Revolution in Heaven
• 1992 Billy Ray Cyrus, on the album Some Gave All
• 1993 LaToya Jackson, on the album From Nashville to You
• 1995 Boy George, on the album Rareties
• 1998 Geri Halliwell, formerly of the Spice Girls, for the Rugrats in Paris: The Movie soundtrack
• 1999 Amanda Lear, on the album Amanda '98 - Follow Me Back in My Arms (Bang! mix)
• 2000 Sarge, on the album Distant.
• 2001 French Affair, on the album Desire
• 2001 KMFDM, on the Boots EP
• 2002 The Fixx, on the album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear
• 2003 Star Academy 3, on the album Fait Sa Bamba
• 2004 Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots, for a bonus feature on the Shrek 2 DVD.
• 2005 Lil Kim, the theme for the TV show Growing Up Gotti
• 2005 Little Birdy, on their single "Excited"
• 2005 Jessica Simpson, for The Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack, U.S. #14. See These Boots Are Made for Walkin' for more information.
• 2006 Fulham Flurries, on the album It's Only A Game: Hits & Misses From the Crazy World of British Football
• 2006 Miss Piggy, a parody called "These Bites Are Made For Poppin", sung for a Pizza Hut commercial.
• 2006 Yuna Ito, a single in Japan for a Daihatsu commercial

[edit] Trivia

The lyrics of the song have been used in an advertisement for the Pulsar 180cc DTSi motorcycles, by Bajaj Automobile Ltd., India.

[edit] External links

• Lyrics
• Video clip

Preceded by "Lightnin' Strikes" by Lou Christie	Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Nancy Sinatra version) February 26, 1966	Succeeded by "Ballad of the Green Berets" by SSgt Barry Sadler
Preceded by "Michelle" by The Overlanders	UK number one single (Nancy Sinatra version) February 17, 1966	Succeeded by "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" by The Walker Brothers