| "That's Life" | |
|---|---|
| Song byMarion Montgomery | |
| Released | 1963 (1963) |
| Genre | Traditional pop |
| Label | Capitol |
| Songwriters | |
"That's Life" is apopular song written byDean Kay andKelly Gordon, and first recorded in 1963 byMarion 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]
The most famous version is byFrank Sinatra, released on his 1966 albumThat's Life. Sinatra recorded the song after hearing an earlier recording of it byO.C. Smith; the song proved successful and reached the #4 on theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart. Following the success of Sinatra's version, it was subsequently recorded by a number of artists includingAretha Franklin,James Booker,Shirley Bassey,James Brown,Van Morrison,David Lee Roth,Michael Bolton,Lady Gaga,Michael Bublé,Russell Watson,Deana Martin, andHolt McCallany. Sinatra's version appeared in the 1993 filmA Bronx Tale, the 1995 filmCasper, the 2019 filmJoker and its 2024 sequelJoker: Folie à Deux, the 2004 video gameTony Hawk's Underground 2, as well as thesixth season finale ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine, while a cover byBono was on thesoundtrack ofThe Good Thief (2002). The song was sung by Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez) in the episode "Bad Hair Day" of the television showModern Family.
Marion Montgomery was signed toCapitol Records after being discovered by singerPeggy 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]
| "That's Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byFrank Sinatra | ||||
| from the albumThat's Life | ||||
| B-side | "The September of My Years" | |||
| Released | November 1966 | |||
| Recorded | July 25, 1966 | |||
| Studio | United Recording, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Jimmy Bowen | |||
| Frank Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
While "That's Life" was first recorded by Marion Montgomery, the song came to the attention ofFrank Sinatra when he heardO.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 specialA Man and His Music – Part II in 1966, with an arrangement byNelson Riddle.[citation needed]
The recorded version, made on July 25, 1966 atUnited Recording, Hollywood, was arranged and conducted byErnie Freeman and produced byJimmy Bowen.[4] The trio had previously worked together earlier in 1966 on "Strangers in the Night",[5] which got Sinatra theGrammy Award forBest Male Vocal.[6] For "That's Life", the background singers were the vocal contractor and singerB.J. Baker, along with Gwen Johnson andJackie Ward. 40 first-chair musicians were also assembled for Sinatra's recording includingGlen Campbell and many of the members of theWrecking 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".[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 theStrangers 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 theThat's Life album, the other album tracks had similarbrass accompaniments.[7]
Both the album and the song proved major successes for Sinatra. The song was a number-four hit on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart and reached number one on theEasy 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 filmA Bronx Tale alongside his recording of "Same Old Song and Dance".[10] It was also featured in the 2004 video gameTony Hawk's Underground 2, and also plays during the game's credits.[11] The song was also in the 1988 filmLicense to Drive, a scene where the main character puts clown makeup on and the final scene of the 2019 filmJoker, and during the final scene of the final episode of the sixth season of theNBC television comedy seriesBrooklyn Nine-Nine.
Although the O.C. Smith version had proved successful in areas such as 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 theAretha Franklin albumAretha Arrives,[13] in addition to recordings byThe Temptations,Shirley Bassey, andJames Brown.[14][15] Brown recorded the song for his 1968 albumLive at the Apollo, Volume II. Brown's studio-recorded version appeared on the soundtrack for the 1999 filmEDtv.[15]The Peddlers recorded a version in 1969 which was released on a single.[16]
Former Van Halen frontman,David Lee Roth, released a version and video, in 1986, for his first solo LPEat 'Em and Smile.[17]Deana Martin also recorded "That's Life" on her 2016 released album,Swing Street.
This was not the only occasion when the song appeared on a film's soundtrack. In 2002, a recording byBono and composed byElliot Goldenthal appeared on thesoundtrack forThe Good Thief.[18] The song was also covered in "Opening Night", a second-season episode of the American television seriesSmash, byKatharine McPhee andMegan Hilty.[19]Vik Sahay performed the song on an episode ofPreacher.
Lady Gaga performed the song in the American musical thriller filmJoker: Folie à Deux (2024).[20] She released her version of the song onHarlequin (2024), a companion album to the film.[21]
Frank Sinatra version
| David Lee Roth version
Van Morrison with Georgie Fame version
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[24] Frank Sinatra version | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Frank Sinatra version | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] Frank Sinatra version | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Frank Sinatra version | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Certain revisions by Dean Kay writer of "That's Life" and recording session attendee. deankay.com
| Westlife | |
|---|---|
| Coast to Coast | |
| World of Our Own | |
| Unbreakable | |
| Turnaround | |
| ...Allow Us to Be Frank | |
| Face to Face | |
| The Love Album | |
| Back Home | |
| Where We Are | |
| Gravity | |
| Greatest Hits | |
| Spectrum | |
| Wild Dreams |
|
| Other songs | |
