Luck Be A Lady

Written by Frank Loesser in 1950 for the musical Guys and Dolls, this song was first performed onstage by Robert Alda as gambler Sky Masterson. Though Frank Sinatra would seem to be the obvious choice to play the lead role in the 1955 film version, he was assigned to Nathan Detroit, while Brando snagged the part of Masterson. "Frank always lamented that he didn't have the Marlon Brando role, which he should have had because the songs were more adaptable to Frank. Brando couldn't really sing," Charles Pignone, Senior Vice President of Frank Sinatra Enterprises, explained in a Songfacts interview. In fact, Sinatra was instrumental in adapting the song: "When you hear 'Luck Be A Lady' and how it's done specifically in the play, Frank was the one that told Billy May how to arrange it and changed the tempo a bit so it would be different. Of course, it fits Frank like a glove," Pignone added.

Sinatra included the song in his concert repertoire and was gracious when referring to the role he lost to Brando. He would introduce the number by saying Brando was "not a great singer, but probably the greatest actor ever."

Sinatra recorded this as a duet with Chrissie Hynde for his 1994 album, Duets II. Hynde never met Frank Sinatra when she laid down her vocals. She recalled to Q magazine: "I never do my homework, that's always been a problem for me. I thought I would figure it out when I got there. He'd already recorded his parts, so when I started singing - and I didn't really know the song because I never watch musicals - I realized it was in an odd key for me. I would rather have done it with him but when you're asked to be on a record with Frank Sinatra you're not going to say no, are you?"