"That's Life" is a popularsong written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon and first recorded in 1963 by Marion Montgomery. The song has an uplifting message that, despite the ups and downs in life, one should not give up but keep positive, because soon one will be "back on top."[1]
Marion Montgomery was signed to Capitol Records after being discovered by singer Peggy Lee. Montgomery recorded "That's Life", written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon, in 1963. It was released the same year, but failed to chart.[2]
While "That's Life" was first recorded by Marion Montgomery, the song came to the attention of Frank Sinatra when he heard O.C. Smith's chart-climbing version in his car in 1965. He stopped the car, called his daughter Nancy and told her to find the publisher of the song because he wanted to record it; she did. Sinatra first performed the song on his television special A Man and His Music – Part II in 1966, with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle.[citation needed]
The recorded version, made on July 25, 1966 at United Recording, Hollywood, was arranged and conducted by Ernie Freeman and produced by Jimmy Bowen.[4] The trio had previously worked together earlier in 1966 on "Strangers in the Night",[5] which got Sinatra the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal.[6] For "That's Life", the background singers were the vocal contractor and singer B.J. Baker, along with Gwen Johnson and Jackie Ward. 40 first-chair musicians were also assembled for Sinatra's recording including Glen Campbell and many of the members of the Wrecking Crew. Sinatra took two passes at the song. He ended the first take with, "Oh yeah." Bowen asked him to perform it again, which annoyed 'one take' Sinatra – resulting in the biting performance Bowen was looking for - which Sinatra tagged with the defiant, "My, My." LA session player Mike Melvoin performed the Hammond organ solo on the recording.[citation needed]
Bowen's vision for the rest of the album was to mirror "That's Life" onto the other songs so they all sounded similar, rather than fill it with what he viewed as typical Sinatra-style songs. This was as a result of his work on the Strangers in the Night album, where Bowen felt that the titular single did not match the rest of the album, which was more of a classic Sinatra sound. So for the That's Life album, the other album tracks had similar brass accompaniments.[7]
Both the album and the song proved major successes for Sinatra. The song was a number-four hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached number one on the Easy Listening chart for three weeks in December 1966/January 1967.[8] In Canada, the song reached number three.[9] Sinatra's recording of "That's Life" was later used in the 1993 film A Bronx Tale alongside his recording of "Same Old Song and Dance".[10] It was also featured in the 2004 video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2, and also plays during the game's credits.[11] The song was also in the 1988 film License to Drive, a scene where the main character puts clown makeup on and the final scene of the 2019 film Joker, and during the final scene of the final episode of the sixth season of the NBC television comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Other versions
1960s to 1970s
Although the O.C. Smith version had proved successful in areas such Detroit and Los Angeles, it was not until Sinatra's cover of it went high in the charts that the earlier version was released nationally.[12] As well as the Smith release, "That's Life" was recorded on several albums following Sinatra's success with it, including the Aretha Franklin album Aretha Arrives,[13] in addition to recordings by The Temptations, Shirley Bassey, and James Brown.[14][15] Brown recorded the song for his 1968 album Live at the Apollo, Volume II. Brown's studio-recorded version appeared on the soundtrack for the 1999 film EDtv.[15]The Peddlers recorded a version in 1969 which was released on a single.[16]
1980s to 2000s
Former Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth, released a version and video, in 1986, for his first solo LP Eat 'Em and Smile.[17]Deana Martin also recorded "That's Life" on her 2016 released album, Swing Street.
↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (28 January 1967). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p.34. Nielsen.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
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