About the Song "Strangers in the Night"

Local.com
June 23, 2011

Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra's body of work is so extensive and eminent that it is difficult to pinpoint “the best.” “Strangers in the Night” is certainly among the most well-known of his songs although it is surrounded by a bit of controversy and trivia. Sentimental and fetching, “Strangers in the Night” is a definitive piece of the Sinatra corpus.

History
“Strangers in the Night” was recorded by Sinatra in 1966, but its history was already muddled. The melody was written by Croatian composer Ivo Robic for a song festival. The tune fell flat, so Robic sold the rights to German composer Bert Kaempfert for the score of spoof spy film, “A Man Could Get Killed.” American songwriters Eddie Snyder and Charles Singleton began with a scene of a man sitting across from a woman in a bar and wrote the lyrics to “Strangers in the Night.”

Awards and Accolades
The song won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture in 1967. It won four Grammy Awards at the 9th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical. One of the most recorded songs in history, “Strangers in the Night” topped the U.K. charts for three weeks in June 1966. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 No.1 for one week in July 1966.

Controversy
While recording “Strangers in the Night,” Frank Sinatra demonstrated his cantankerous side. Future country music star Glen Campbell was brought in at the last minute on guitar. Unfamiliar with the song, he stumbled through the first take. Sinatra, accustomed to completing a recording session with one take, hurled insults and slurs at the young musician.

Trivia
Sinatra's explosive session with Campbell ended with his famous scat rendition in the last few seconds. The “doo-be-doo-be-doo” that makes the song memorable allegedly gave the cartoon “Scooby Doo” its name. “Strangers in the Night” has been covered by a great many artists, including James Brown, Vikki Carr, Petula Clark, Brenda Lee, Peggy Lee, Barry Manilow, Al Martino, Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, Matt Monro, Jim Nabors, Wayne Newton, Johnny Rivers, The Supremes, Mel Torme, The Ventures, Andy Williams and Young-Holt Unlimited. Despite its success, Sinatra reportedly hated the song, offering expletive-laced rants to concert-goers.

References
“The Telegraph”; Eddie Snyder (obituary); March 31, 2011
IMDb: Golden Globe Awards for 1967
Grammy: 9th Annual Grammy Awards
Billboard: Weekly Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Songs From the First 50 Years
SongFacts: Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra