60 years ago today, one of the best-selling music artists of all time scored his first No. 1 hit in the United States in more than a decade.
Frank Sinatra experienced a slight career decline in the late 40s and early 50s. In 1950, he suffered a hemorrhage in his throat that jeopardized his career. That same year, he divorced his first wife, Nancy, after she had an affair with Ava Gardner.
Sinatra enjoyed a career revival with hits such as “Young at Heart” (1954) and “Learnin’ the Blues” (1955). At the time, Sinatra and his fans could not have guessed that “Learnin’ the Blues” would be his last No. 1 hit for the next 11 years.
In April 1966, Sinatra released a new song called “Strangers in the Night”. And the same song will reach on 2 July 1966 Number 1 in America board hot 100Beating the Beatles’ “Paperback Writer”.
As wall street journal Noted, it was Sinatra’s first No. 1 hit since “Learnin’ the Blues” 11 years earlier. Needless to say, this was a big statement from Sinatra, proving that he is still at the top of his game.
60 years ago today, on July 2nd, 1966, Frank Sinatra’s ‘Strangers in the Night’ began a 1-week run at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 💯.
It was performed live at the Concert for the Americas concert in the Dominican Republic on August 20, 1982. pic.twitter.com/MjIbMFfPA5– Boston Radio Watch®️ (@bostonradio) 2 July 2026
“Paperback Writer” returned to the top spot a week later, while “Strangers in the Night” dropped to number 3. A year later, Frank and his daughter Nancy released “Something Stupid”, another hit that charted at the top. board Hot 100.
Frank Sinatra hated ‘Strangers in the Night’
(Photo by Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Even though “Strangers in the Night” revived Sinatra’s career, the music legend actually hated the song.
according to page sixSinatra’s widow Barbara once claimed that “Strangers in the Night” was his most hated song. Sinatra reportedly called it “a piece of (expletive)” and “the worst (expletive) song I’ve ever heard”.
