My Way
| "My Way" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Frank Sinatra | ||||
| from the album My Way | ||||
| B-side | "Blue Lace" | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 4:35 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Composer(s) | Jacques Revaux | |||
| Lyricist(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Sonny Burke | |||
| Frank Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
"My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language version of the French song "Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François. It was first recorded in 1967.[1]
Background
[change | change source]Paul Anka heard the French original while on vacation in the south of France. He flew to Paris to get the rights to the song.[2] He later bought the recording, and publishing rights for one dollar.[3]
In 2000, the 1969 release of "My Way" by Frank Sinatra on Reprise Records was added into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[4]
Even though the song became one of Sinatra's most popular songs, his daughter Tina has said the singer came to hate the song: "He didn't like it. That song stuck and he couldn't get it off his shoe".[5]
David Bowie wrote the first English-language lyrics to Claude François' original song, though the lyrics and performance were only informally recorded and never published.[6]
Charts
[change | change source]The song was a success with Sinatra's version of "My Way" spending 75 weeks in the UK top 40, which is the 4th most weeks in UK chart history.[7]
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[8] | 26 |
| Canada RPM Easy Listening[9] | 2 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 4 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[11] | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[12] | 27 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening | 2 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[13] | 29 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[14] | 40 |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Jacques Revaux, l'homme derrière "Comme d'habitude/My Way"". La Croix (in French). 2019-11-13. ISSN 0242-6056. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
- ↑ "How Sinatra did it My Way – via a French pop star and a Canadian lounge act". the Guardian. 2007-07-05. Archived from the original on 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ↑ Paul Anka, "With Paul Anka, 'Rock Swings', Part Two" Archived 2017-07-01 at the Wayback Machine, interviewed on Fresh Air, WHYY, August 10, 2005
- ↑ "GRAMMY HALL OF FAME AWARD". Grammy Awards.
- ↑ "Sinatra 'loathed' My Way". BBC. 2000-10-30. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ↑ Wall, Anthony. "The Origins Of My Way".
- ↑ "Record-Breakers and Trivia". Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ Canada, Library Archives (2013-07-17). "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collections Canada. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
- ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collections Canada. 2013-07-17. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
- ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – My Way". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles – 1969". Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
