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Frank Sinatra is an icon to many world wide. He has the most recognizable voice in music. He was born on Dec. 12, 1915 in Hoboken, NJ.

He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954's From Here to Eternity, and won 11 Grammy Awards.

Later on his life he suffered from senile dementia. He had his first heart attack in 1997 and his second one in May 1998 led to his death on May 14.

Singles are listed with B-side immediately succeeding. Where a song is listed as (by X), or (instrumental), Sinatra does not feature. Number indicates highest chart position on combined Billboard charts. Information on singles from here

[edit] With the Harry James Orchestra (Columbia) (1939)

1939

"From the Bottom of My Heart" / "Melancholy Mood" (Brunswick Records)

"It's Funny to Everyone but Me" (21) (by Jack Lawrence) / "Vol Visto Gailey Star" (by Jack Palmer)

"Here Comes the Night" / "Feet Draggin' Blues" (instrumental)

"My Buddy" / "Willow Weep For Me" (instrumental)

"On a Little Street in Singapore" (27) / "Who Told You I Cared?"

"Ciribiribin" / "Avalon" (instrumental)

1940

"Every Day of My Life" (17) / "Cross Country Jump" (instrumental)

"All or Nothing at All" (1) / "Flash" (instrumental) (re-issued 1943)

[edit] With the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (RCA Victor) (1940-1942)

1940

"Too Romantic" / "Sweet Potato Piper" (by The Pied Pipers)

"The Sky Fell Down" / "What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry?" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Shake Down The Stars" / "Moments in the Moonlight"

"Say It (Over And Over Again)" (12) / "My, My" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Polka Dots And Moonbeams" (18) / "I'll Be Seeing You"

"The Fable Of The Rose" / "This Is The Beginning Of The End"

"Imagination" (8) / "Charming Little Faker" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Devil May Care" / "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" (12)

"It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" / "You're Lonely And I'm Lonely" (9)

"April Played the Fiddle" / "I Haven't Time to be a Millionaire"

"Yours Is My Heart Alone" / "Hear My Song Violetta"

"I'll Never Smile Again" (by The Pied Pipers) / "Marcheta" (instrumental) (1)

"All This And Heaven Too" (12) / "Where Do You Keep Your Heart?"

"East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" / "Head On My Pillow"

"And So Do I" (by Connie Haines) / "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" (with The Pied Pipers) (11)

"Only Forever" (by Allan Storr) / "Trade Winds" (10)

"Love Lies" (17) / "The Call Of The Canyon" (14)

"Whispering" / "Funny Little Pedro" (by The Pied Pipers)

"I Could Make You Care" (17) / "The World Is In My Arms"

"Our Love Affair" (5) / "That's For Me" (by Connie Haines)

"Looking For Yesterday" / "I Wouldn't Take A Million" (by Connie Haines)

"We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)" (3) / "Tell Me At Midnight"

"You're Breaking My Heart All Over Again" / "Shadows On The Sand"

"Two Dreams Met" (by Connie Haines) / "When You Awake"

"I'd Know You Anywhere" / "You've Got Me This Way" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Do You Know Why?" / "Isn't That Just Like Love?" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Anything" / "Another One of Them Things"

"You Say The Sweetest Things" (by Connie Haines and The Pied Pipers) / "Not So Long Ago"

"Stardust" (with The Pied Pipers) (7) / "Swanee River" (instrumental)

1941

"Oh! Look at Me Now" (with Connie Haines and The Pied Pipers) (2) / "You Might Have Belonged To Another" (14)

"Dolores" (with The Pied Pipers) (1) / "I Tried" (21)

"Do I Worry?" (with The Pied Pipers) (4) / "Little Man With A Candy Cigar" (by Jo Stafford)

"Without a Song" / "Deep River" (instrumental)

"It's Always You" / "Birds of a Feather" (by Connie Haines)

"You're Dangerous" (by Connie Haines) / "You Lucky People You"

"Everything Happens To Me" (9) / "Watcha Know Joe" (by Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers)

"Let's Get Away from It All" (with Jo Stafford, Connie Haines and The Pied Pipers) (7)

"Kiss The Boys Goodbye" (by Connie Haines) / "I'll Never Let a Day Pass By"

"Love Me As I Am" / "Nine Old Men" (by The Pied Pipers)

"Neiani" / "This Love Of Mine" (with The Pied Pipers) (3)

"I Guess I'll Have To Dream The Rest" (with The Pied Pipers) (12) / "Loose Lid Special" (instrumental)

"You And I" (11) / "Free For All" (with The Pied Pipers)

"Blue Skies" / "Backstage At The Ballet" (instrumental)

"Pale Moon (An Indian Love Song)" / "Hallelujah"

"Two In Love" (9) / "A Sinner Kissed An Angel" (15)

"Embraceable You" (by Jo Stafford) / "The Sunshine of Your Smile"

"Violets For Your Furs" / "Somebody Loves Me" (by The Pied Pipers)

"I Think of You" (20) / "Who Can I Turn To?" (by Jo Stafford)

"It Isn't a Dream Anymore" / "How Do You Do Without Me?"

1942

"Winter Weather" (by The Pied Pipers) / "How About You?" (8)

"The Last Call for Love" (17) / "Poor You" (by The Pied Pipers) (15)

"I'll Take Tallulah" (with Jo Stafford, Tommy Dorsey and The Pied Pipers) (15) / "Not So Quiet Please" (instrumental)

"(You're a) Snootie Little Cutie" (with Connie Haines and The Pied Pipers) / "Moonlight On The Ganges" (instrumental)

"Somewhere a Voice is Calling" / "Well Git It" (instrumental)

"Just As Though You Were Here" (6) / "The Street of Dreams" (with The Pied Pipers) (17)

"Be Careful, It's My Heart" (13) / "Take Me" (5)

"He's My Guy" (by Jo Stafford) / "Light A Candle In The Chapel" (21)

"A Boy In Khaki, A Girl In Lace" (by Jo Stafford) / "In The Blue Of Evening" (1)

"There Are Such Things" (1) / "Daybreak" (with The Pied Pipers) (17)

[edit] First solo singles (Bluebird Records) (1942)

1942

"Night and Day" (16) / "The Night We Called It a Day"

"The Lamplighter's Serenade" / "The Song Is You"

All songs featuring Axel Stordahl and his Orchestra.

[edit] Columbia singles (1943-1952)

1943

"Close to You" (10) / "You'll Never Know" (2)

"Sunday, Monday or Always" (9) / "If You Please"

"People Will Say We're in Love" (3) / "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" (12)

All songs performed A cappella with The Bobby Tucker Singers.

1944

"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" (4) / "A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening" (11) (both songs performed A cappella with The Bobby Tucker Singers)

"White Christmas" (with The Bobby Tucker Singers) (7) / "If You are But a Dream" (19)

"Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)" (2) / "I Dream of You" (7)

1945

"What Makes the Sunset?" (13) / "I Begged Her"

"Ol' Man River" / "Stormy Weather" (with The Ken Lane Singers)

"I Should Care" (8) / "When Your Lover Has Gone"

"Dream" (5) / "There's No You"

"Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)" / "If You are But a Dream" (reissue)

"Homesick - That's All" (23) / "A Friend of Yours" (with The Ken Lane Singers)

"If I Loved You" (7) / "You'll Never Walk Alone" (with The Ken Lane Singers) (9)

"The Charm of You" / "I Fall In Love too Easily"

"My Shawl" / "Stars In Your Eyes" (with the Xavier Cugat Orchestra)

"Lily Belle" / "Don't Forget Tonight Tomorrow" (with The Charioteers) (9)

"White Christmas" (reissue) / "Mighty Lak' a Rose"

"Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" (10) / "The Cradle Song"

"America the Beautiful" (with The Ken Lane Singers) / "The House I Live In" (22)

1946

"Oh! What It Seemed to Be" (1) / "Day by Day" (5)

"Full Moon and Empty Arms" (17) / "You are too Beautiful"

"All Through the Day" (7) / "Two Hearts are Better Than One"

"They Say It's Wonderful" (2) / "The Girl That I Marry" (11)

"From This Day Forward" (18) / "Something Old, Something New" (21)

"Soliloquy (Part 1 & 2)"

"Five Minutes More" (1) / "How Cute Can You Be?"

"One Love" / "Somewhere In The Night"

"Begin The Beguine" (23) / "Where Is My Bess?"

"The Coffee Song" (6) / "The Things We Did Last Summer" (8)

"Silent Night" (with The Ken Lane Singers) / "Adeste Fideles"

"Jingle Bells" (with The Ken Lane Singers) / "White Christmas" (reissue)

"September Song" (8) / "Among My Souvenirs"

1947

"This Is The Night" (11) / "Hush-A-Bye Island"

"That's How Much I Love You" (with The Page Cavanaugh Trio) (10) / "I Got A Gal I Love (In North And South Dakota)"

"I Want To Thank Your Folks" / "Why Shouldn't It Happen To Us?"

"It's The Same Old Dream" (with Four Hits and a Miss) / "The Brooklyn Bridge"

"Sweet Lorraine" / "Nat Meets June" (by Nat King Cole and June Christy)

"I Believe" (5) / "Time after Time" (16)

"Mam'selle" (1) / "Stella by Starlight" (21)

"Almost Like Being In Love" (20) / "There But For You Go I"

"Tea for Two" / "My Romance" (with Dinah Shore)

"Ain'tcha Ever Comin' Back" (21) / "I Have But One Heart" (13)

"Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)" (26) / "The Stars Will Remember"

"I've Got a Home In That Rock" / "Jesus Is a Rock (In a Weary Land)" (with The Charioteers)

"So Far" (8) / "A Fellow Needs A Girl" (24)

"The Dum Dot Song" (with The Pied Pipers) (21) / "It All Came True" (with Alvy West and the Little Band)

"You're My Girl " (23) / "Can't You Just See Yourself?"

1948

"What'll I Do?" (23) / "My Cousin Louella" (With The Tony Mottola Trio) (24)

"But Beautiful" (14) / "If I Only Had a Match"

"For Every Man There's a Woman" / "I'll Make Up for Everything"

"But None Like You" / "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye" (With The Tony Mottola Trio)

"I've Got a Crush on You" (featuring Bobby Hackett) / "Ever Homeward"

"All of Me" (21) / "I Went Down to Virginia"

"It Only Happens When I Dance With You" (19) / "A Fella With an Umbrella"

"Nature Boy" (A cappella with The Jeff Alexander Choir) (7) / "S'posin'" (With The Tony Mottola Trio)

"Just for Now" (21) / "Everybody Loves Somebody" (25)

1949

"Kiss Me Again" / "My Melancholy Baby"

"Autumn in New York" (27) / "(Once Upon) A Moonlight Night"

"Señorita" / "If I Steal a Kiss"

"A Little Learnin' Is a Dangerous Thing" (Part 1 & 2) (with Pearl Bailey)

"Sunflower" (14) / "Once In Love With Amy"

"Why Can't You Behave?" (with The Phil Moore Four) / "No Orchids For My Lady"

"Comme Ci Comme Ca" / "While the Angelus Was Ringing"

"If You Stub Your Toe On The Moon" (with The Phil Moore Four) / "When Is Sometime?"

"Bop! Goes My Heart" (with The Phil Moore Four) / "Where Is the One?"

"Some Enchanted Evening" (6) / "Bali Ha'i" (18)

"The Right Girl For Me" / "Night After Night"

"The Hucklebuck" (with The Ken Lane Quintet) (10) / "It Happens Every Spring"

"Let's Take an Old Fashioned Walk" (with Doris Day and The Ken Lane Singers) (17) / "Just One Way To Say I Love You"

"It All Depends on You" / "I Only Have Eyes For You" (with The Ken Lane Singers)

"Don't Cry Joe" (with The Pastels) (9) / "The Wedding of Lili Marlene"

"Bye Bye Baby" (with The Pastels) / "Just a Kiss Apart"

"If I Ever Love Again" (with The Double Daters) / "Every Man Should Marry"

"That Lucky Old Sun" (16) / "Could'Ja?" (with The Pied Pipers)

"Mad About You" / "(On the Island of) Stromboli"

"The Old Master Painter" (with The Modernaires) (13) / "Lost in the Stars"

1950

"Sorry" (28) / "Why Remind Me?" (with The Modernaires)

"(We've Got A) Sure Thing" (with The Modernaires) / "Sunshine Cake" (with Paula Kelly)

"Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" (10) / "God's Country" (with The Jeff Alexander Choir) (25)

"Kisses and Tears" (with Jane Russell and The Modernaires) / "When The Sun Goes Down"

"American Beauty Rose" (with Mitch Miller's Dixieland Band) (26) / "Just An Old Stone House"

"Poinciana (Song of the Tree)" / "There's No Business Like Show Business"

"Peachtree Street" (with Rosemary Clooney) / "This is the Night" (reissue)

"Goodnight Irene" (with The Mitch Miller Singers) (5) / "My Blue Heaven"

"Life Is So Peculiar" (with Helen Carroll and The Swantones) / "Dear Little Boy of Mine" (with The Mitch Miller Singers)

"One Finger Melody" (9) / "Accidents Will Happen"

"Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (14) / "I Guess I'll Have to Dream the Rest" (with The Whippoorwills)

"Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" (with The Swanson Quartet) / "Remember Me In Your Dreams" (with The Whippoorwills)

1951

"I Am Loved" / "You Don't Remind Me"

"Take My Love" / "Come Back To Sorrento"

"Love Means Love" / "Cherry Pies Ought to Be You" (with Rosemary Clooney)

"You're The One (For Me)" (17) / "Faithful" (with The Skylarks)

"We Kiss in a Shadow" (22) / "Hello Young Lovers"

"Love Me" / "I Whistle a Happy Tune"

"Mama Will Bark" (with Dagmar) (21) / "I'm a Fool to Want You"

"It's A Long Way From Your House To My House" / "I Fall In Love With You Ev'ry Day"

"Castle Rock" (8) / "Deep Night" (with Harry James and his Orchestra)

"April in Paris" / "London by Night"

1952

"I Hear A Rhapsody" (24) / "I Could Write a Book" (with The Jeff Alexander Choir)

"Feet of Clay" / "Don't Ever Be Afraid To Go Home"

"My Girl" / "Walkin' in the Sunshine"

"Luna Rossa (Blushing Moon)" (with The Norman Luboff Choir) / "Tennessee Newsboy"

"Bim Bam Baby" (20) / "Azure-Te (Paris Blues)" (30)

"The Birth of the Blues" (19) / "Why Try To Change Me Now?"

"I'm Glad There Is You" / "You Can Take My Word for It Baby" (with The Page Cavanaugh Trio)

1953

"Shelia" (with The Jeff Alexander Choir) / "Day by Day" (reissue)

1954

"I'm a Fool to Want You" (reissue) / "If I Forget You"

All Orchestras conducted by Axel Stordahl, unless otherwise noted

[edit] Capitol singles (1953-1962)

Sinatra's Capitol singles were released on The Complete Capitol Singles Collection (1996)

1953

"I'm Walking Behind You" (7) / "Lean Baby" (25)

"I've Got the World on a String" (14) / "My One and Only Love" (28)

"From Here to Eternity" (15) / "Anytime, Anywhere"

"South Of The Border (Down Mexico Way)" (18) / "I Love You"

1954

"Young at Heart" (2) / "Take a Chance"

"Don't Worry 'Bout Me" (17) / "I Could Have Told You" (21)

"Three Coins in the Fountain" (4) / "Rain (Falling From the Skies)"

"The Gal That Got Away" (21) / "Half as Lovely (Twice as True)" (23)

"It Worries Me" (30) / "When I Stop Loving You"

"The Christmas Waltz" / "White Christmas"

"You, My Love" / "Someone to Watch over Me"

1955

"Melody of Love" / "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" (with Ray Anthony and his orchestra)

"Why Should I Cry Over You?" / "Don't Change Your Mind About Me" (with June Hutton and the Pied Pipers)

"Two Hearts, Two Kisses (Make One Love)" / "From the Bottom to the Top" (with The Nuggets and Big Dave's Music)

"Learnin' the Blues" (1) / "If I Had Three Wishes"

"Not as a Stranger" / "How Could You Do a Thing Like That to Me?"

"Same Old Saturday Night" (65) / "Fairy Tale"

"Love and Marriage" (5) / "The Impatient Years"

"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" (23) / "Weep They Will"

1956

"Flowers Mean Forgiveness" (35) / "You'll Get Yours" (67)

"(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know" (30) / "Five Hundred Guys" (73)

"You're Sensational" (52) / "Wait for Me" (theme from Johnny Concho) (75)

"True Love" (by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly) / "Well, Did You Evah!" (with Bing Crosby)

"Mind if I Make Love to You?" / "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (with Celeste Holm)

"Hey! Jealous Lover" (6) / "You Forgot All the Words"

"Can I Steal A Little Love?" (20) / "Your Love for Me" (60)

1957

"Crazy Love" (60) / "So Long, My Love" (74)

"You're Cheatin' Yourself (If You're Cheatin On Me)" / "Something Wonderful Happens In Summer"

"All the Way" (15) / "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" (84)

"Witchcraft" (20) / "Tell Her You Love Her"

"Mistletoe and Holly" / "The Christmas Waltz" (with The Ralph Brewster Singers)

1958

"Nothing In Common" / "How are Ya Fixed for Love?" (with Keely Smith) (97)

"Monique" (from Kings Go Forth) / "Same Old Song and Dance"

"Mr Success" (41) / "Sleep Warm"

"To Love and Be Loved" / "No One Ever Tells You"

1959

"French Foreign Legion" (61) / "Time After Time"

"High Hopes" (with 'A Bunch 'o Kids') (30)/ "All My Tomorrows"

"Talk to Me" (38) / "They Came to Cordura"

1960

"River, Stay 'Way from My Door" (82) / "It's Over, It's Over, It's Over"

"Nice 'N' Easy" (60) / "This Was My Love"

"Old MacDonald" (25) / "You'll Always Be the One I Love"

1961

"My Blue Heaven" / "Sentimental Baby"

"American Beauty Rose" / "Sentimental Journey"

1962

"I've Heard That Song Before" / "The Moon Was Yellow" (99)

"I'll Remember April" / "Five Minutes More"

"Five Minutes More" / "I Love Paris"

[edit] Reprise singles (1961-1983)

Sinatra's Reprise singles were released as part of The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995)

1961

"The Second Time Around" (50) / "Tina"

"Granada" (64) / "The Curse of an Aching Heart"

"I'll Be Seeing You" (58) / "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)"

"Imagination" / "It's Always You"

"I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" / "East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)"

"There Are Such Things" / "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"

"Without a Song" / "It Started All Over Again"

"Take Me" / "Daybreak"

"Pocketful of Miracles" (34) / "Name It and It's Yours"

"Ring a Ding Ding!"

1962

"Stardust" (98) / "Come Rain or Come Shine"

"Ev'rybody's Twistin'" (75) / "Nothin' But the Best"

"Goody Goody" / "Love Is Just Around The Corner"

"The Look of Love" / "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"

"The Look of Love" / "Indiscreet"

"Me And My Shadow" (with Sammy Davis, Jr.) / "Sam's Song" (by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin)

1963

"Call Me Irresponsible" (78) / "Tina" (reissue)

"I Have Dreamed" / "Come Blow Your Horn"

"A New Kind of Love" / "Love Isn't Just for the Young"

"Fugue for Tinhorns" / "The Oldest Established" (with Dean Martin and Bing Crosby)

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" / "How Shall I Send Thee?" (by Les Baxter's Balladeers)

1964

"Stay with Me (Theme From "The Cardinal")" (81) / "Talk to Me Baby"

"My Kind of Town" / "I Like to Lead When I Dance"

"Softly, as I Leave You" (27) / "Then Suddenly Love"

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" / "The Little Drummer Boy" (with Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians)

"We Wish You the Merriest" / "Go Tell It On the Mountain" (with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians)

"Somewhere in Your Heart" (32) / "Emily"

1965

"Anytime at All" (46) / "Available"

"Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)" (57) / "Here's to the Losers"

"I Can't Believe I'm Losing You" (60) / "Forget Domani" (78)

"When Somebody Loves You" / "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love"

"Ev'rybody Has the Right to Be Wrong!" / "I'll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her"

"It Was a Very Good Year" (28) / "Moment To Moment"

1966

"Strangers in the Night" (1) / "Oh, You Crazy Moon"

"Summer Wind" (25) / "You Make Me Feel So Young" (with Count Basie & His Orchestra (live))

"That's Life" (4) / "September of My Years"

1967

"Somethin' Stupid" (with Nancy Sinatra) / "I Will Wait for You"

"Somethin' Stupid" (with Nancy Sinatra) (1) / "Give Her Love"

"The World We Knew (Over and Over)" (30) / "You Are There"

"This Town" (53') / "This is My Love"

1968

"I Can't Believe I'm Losing You" / "How Old Am I?"

"Cycles" (23) / "My Way of Life" (64)

"Whatever Happened to Christmas" / "I Wouldn't Trade Christmas" (with Frank Sinatra, Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra)

1969

"Rain in My Heart" (62) / "Star!"

"My Way" (27) / "Blue Lace"

"Love's Been Good to Me" (75) / "A Man Alone"

"Goin' Out of My Head" (79) / "Forget to Remember"

"I Would be in Love (Anyway)" (88) / "Watertown"

"What's Now is Now" / "The Train"

1970

"Lady Day" / "Song of the Sabiá"

"Feelin' Kinda Sunday" (with Nancy Sinatra) / "Kids" (by Nancy Sinatra)

"Something" / "Bein' Green"

1971

"Life's a Trippy Thing" (with Nancy Sinatra) / "I'm Not Afraid"

"I Will Drink The Wine" / "Sunrise In The Morning"

1973

"Let Me Try Again" (63) / "Send in the Clowns"

"You Will be My Music" / "Winners"

1974

"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" (83) / "I'm Gonna Make It All The Way"

"You Turned My World Around" (83) / "Satisfy Me One More Time"

1975

"Anytime (I'll Be There)" (75) / "The Hurt Doesn't Go Away"

"I Believe I'm Gonna Love You" (47) / "The Only Couple on the Floor"

"A Baby Just Like You" / "Christmas Mem'ries"

1976

"The Saddest Thing of All" / "Empty Tables"

"I Sing the Songs" / "Empty Tables"

"Stargazer" / "The Best I Ever Had" (featuring Sam Butera)

"Dry Your Eyes" / "Like a Sad Song"

"I Love My Wife" / "Send in the Clowns"

1977

"Night and Day" (disco version) / "Everybody Ought to Be In Love"

1980

"Theme from New York, New York" (32) / "That's What God Looks Like to Me"

"You and Me (We Wanted It All)" / "I've Been There!"

1981

"Say Hello" / "Good Thing Going (Going Gone)"

1983

"Here's to the Band" / "It's Sunday" (with Tony Mottola)

"To Love a Child" / "That's What God Looks Like to Me"

[edit] Qwest singles (1984)

Sinatra's Qwest singles were released as part of The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995), and originally appeared on L. A. Is My Lady (1984).

1984

"Teach Me Tonight" / "The Best of Everything"

"Mack the Knife" / "It's All Right With Me"

"L. A. Is My Lady" / "Until The Real Thing Comes Along"

[edit] Original LPs

Columbia Records introduced the LP album on June 21, 1948; prior to that albums were collections of 78s in a booklet resembling a photo album, rarely more than four records to a set.

[edit] Columbia albums

1946

March - The Voice of Frank Sinatra first issued as 78rpm-album C-112; reissued as ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6001 in June 1948 US #1

1947

April - Songs by Sinatra first issued as 78rpm-album C-124; reissued as ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6087 in January 1950 US #2

1949

June - Frankly Sentimental issued as 78rpm-album C-185 and ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6059 the following month

1950

March - Dedicated to You issued as 78rpm-album C-197 and ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6096

October - Swing and Dance with Frank Sinatra issued as ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6143

November - Christmas Songs by Sinatra issued as 78rpm-album C-167 and ten-inch 33rpm LP CL-6019 US #7

1955

The Voice twelve inch LP CL 743>

[edit] Capitol albums

Sinatra's Capitol studio albums were released on Concepts (1992), and his entire Capitol recordings released on the 1998 album The Capitol Years.

1954

January - Songs for Young Lovers issued as ten-inch 33rpm LP W1432 (US #3)

August - Swing Easy! issued as ten-inch 33rpm LP W1429 (US #3, UK #5)

1955

April - In the Wee Small Hours (US #2 for 18 weeks)

1956

March - Songs for Swingin' Lovers (US #2, UK #1 for 3 weeks)

November - This Is Sinatra! (singles compilation) (US #8, UK #1 for 4 weeks)

1957

January - Close to You and More (US #5, UK #2)

June - A Swingin' Affair! (US #7, UK #1 for 7 weeks)

September - Where Are You? (US #3)

September - A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (US #18)

1958

January - Come Fly with Me (US #1 for 5 weeks, UK #2)

March - This Is Sinatra Volume 2 (singles compilation) (US #8, UK #3)

September - Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely – Grammy Award for Best Album Cover (US #1 for 5 weeks, UK #5)

1959

January - Come Dance with Me! – Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (US #2, UK #2)

April - Look to Your Heart (singles compilation) (US #8, UK #5)

July - No One Cares (US #7)

1960

July - Nice 'n' Easy (US #1 for 1 week, UK #4)

1961

January - Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (US #6, UK #6)

March - All the Way (singles compilation) (US #4)

July - Come Swing With Me (US #12, UK #13)

1962

March - Point of No Return (US #18)

July - Sinatra Sings of Love and Things (singles compilation) (US #21)

[edit] Reprise albums

1961

March - Ring-A-Ding-Ding (US #6, UK #9)

July - Swing Along With Me (retitled Sinatra Swings) (US #6, UK #8)

October - I Remember Tommy (US #5, UK #10)

1962

February - Sinatra and Strings (US #8, UK #6)

July - Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (US #19, UK #14)

October - All Alone (US #26)

November - Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (UK #12)(released in the US April, 1993)

December - Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First (with Count Basie) (US #16, UK #2)

1963

May - The Concert Sinatra (US #11, UK #8)

August - Sinatra's Sinatra (US #8, UK #7)

1964

March - Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (US #10)

April - America, I Hear You Singing (with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring) (US #116)

August - It Might as Well Be Swing (with Count Basie) (US #13, UK #17)

August - 12 Songs of Christmas (with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring)

November - Softly, as I Leave You (US #19, UK #20)

1965

June - Sinatra '65: The Singer Today (singles compilation) (US #9)

August - September of My Years – Grammy Award for Album of the Year (US #5)

November - My Kind of Broadway (US #30)

November - A Man and His Music – Grammy Award for Album of the Year (US #9)

1966

March - Moonlight Sinatra (US #34)

June - Strangers in the Night – Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (US #1 for 1 week, UK #4)

July - Sinatra at the Sands with Count Basie (live) (US #9, UK #7)

November - That’s Life (US #6, UK #22)

1967

March - Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (with Antonio Carlos Jobim) (US #19)

August - The World We Knew (US #24, UK #28)

1968

January - Francis A. & Edward K. (with Duke Ellington) (US #78)

August - Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits (singles compilation) (US #55)

September - The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas

November - Cycles (US #18)

1969

March - My Way (US #11, UK #2)

August - A Man Alone (US #30, UK #18)

1970

March - Watertown (US #101, UK #14)

1971

March - Sinatra & Company (with Antonio Carlos Jobim) (US #73, UK #9)

1972

May - Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (singles compilation) (US #88)

1973

September - Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (US #13, UK #12)

1974

July - Some Nice Things I've Missed (US #48, UK #35)

October - The Main Event – Live (live) (US #37, UK #30)

1980

March - Trilogy: Past Present Future (US #17)

1981

November - She Shot Me Down (US #52)

[edit] Qwest albums

1984

August - L.A. Is My Lady (US #58, UK #41)

[edit] The last Capitol albums

1993 Duets (US #2/UK #5)

1994 Duets II – Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance (US #9/UK #29)

[edit] Post-career albums with new material

1994 Sinatra & Sextet: Live in Paris (live)

1995 Sinatra 80th: Live in Concert (live)

1997 With Red Norvo Quintet: Live in Australia, 1959 (live)

1999 Sinatra '57 in Concert (live)

2005 Live from Las Vegas (live)

2006 Sinatra: Vegas (live)

2009 Live at the Meadowlands (live)

2009 Sinatra: New York (live)

[edit] Albums conducted by Sinatra

1946 Frank Sinatra Conducts The Music Of Alec Wilder

1956 Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color

1957 The Man I Love (Sung by Peggy Lee, arranged by Nelson Riddle)

1958 Sleep Warm (Sung by Dean Martin)

1962 Frank Sinatra Conducts Music From Pictures And Plays

1982 Syms by Sinatra (Sung by Sylvia Syms)

1983 Whats New? (with trumpeter Charles Turner)

[edit] Rat Pack live concert albums

1993 Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. at Villa Venice, Chicago - Live 1962

1999 Frank, Sammy & Dean: The Summit in Concert

2001 The Rat Pack Live at the Sands

2002 Ratpack: From Vegas to St. Louis

2002 Christmas with the Rat Pack

2003 The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin'

[edit] Box sets and collections

[edit] RCA Records

1957 Frankie and Tommy (Sinatra/Dorsey)

1988 All-Time Greatest Hits Vol.1 (Sinatra/Dorsey)

1994 The Song Is You (Sinatra/Dorsey) [5-Disc]

1996 Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey - Greatest Hits

1998 Frank Sinatra & the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra [3-Disc]

2005 The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra [2-Disc]

[edit] Columbia Records

1953 Get Happy!

1955 Frankie

1956 The Voice

1956 That Old Feeling

1957 Adventures of the Heart

1958 Love Is a Kick

1958 The Broadway Kick

1958 Put Your Dreams Away

1958 The Frank Sinatra Story in Music

1959 Come Back to Sorrento

1968 Greatest Hits: The Early Years

1968 Someone To Watch Over Me

1968 In Hollywod 1943-1949

1986 The Voice: The Columbia Years (1943-1952) [6-LP]

1988 Sinatra Rarities: The Columbia Years

1993 The Columbia Years 1943-1952: The Complete Recordings [12-Disc]

1995 The Complete Recordings Nineteen Thirty-Nine (Harry James & His Orchestra featuring Frank Sinatra)

1997 Frank Sinatra Sings His Greatest Hits

1998 The Best of the Columbia Years: 1943-1952 [4-Disc]

1998 The Columbia Years 1943-1952: The V-Discs [2-Disc]

2001 Love Songs

2003 The Real Complete Columbia Years V-Discs [3-Disc]

2003 The Essential Frank Sinatra: The Columbia Years

2007 A Voice in Time: 1939-1952 [4-Disc]

[edit] Capitol Records

1956 This Is Sinatra!

1958 This Is Sinatra Volume 2

1959 Look to Your Heart

1960 Swing Easy

1961 Look Over Your Shoulder

1961 All the Way

1962 The Great Years [3-LP]

1962 Sinatra Sings...of Love and Things

1963 Sinatra Sings the Select Johnny Mercer

1963 Sings Rodgers and Hart

1963 Tell Her You Love Her

1964 The Great Hits of Frank Sinatra

1965 Sings the Select Cole Porter

1966 Forever Frank

1967 Nevertheless I'm in Love With You

1967 Songs for the Young at Heart

1967 The Nearness of You

1967 Try a Little Tenderness

1968 The Best Of Frank Sinatra

1972 The Cole Porter Songbook

1972 The Great Years [3-LP]

1974 One More for the Road

1974 Round # 1

1988 Screen Sinatra

1989 The Capitol Collectors Series

1990 The Capitol Years [3-Disc]

1992 Concepts [16-Disc]

1992 The Best of the Capitol Years

1995 Sinatra 80th: All the Best

1996 The Complete Capitol Singles Collection [4-Disc]

1998 The Capitol Years [21-Disc, UK]

2000 Classic Sinatra: His Greatest Performances 1953-1960

2002 Classic Duets

2007 Romance: Songs From the Heart

2008 Sinatra at the Movies

2009 Classic Sinatra II

[edit] Reprise Records

1965 Sinatra '65: The Singer Today

1965 A Man and His Music

1965 My Kind of Broadway

1966 A Man and His Music (Part II): The Frank Sinatra CBS Television Special

1968 Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits

1972 Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

1977 Portrait of Sinatra - Forty Songs from the Life of a Man

1979 Sinatra-Jobim Sessions

1983 New York New York: His Greatest Hits

1990 The Reprise Collection [4-Disc]

1991 Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years

1995 The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings

1997 The Very Best of Frank Sinatra [2-Disc]

2000 Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre [4-Disc]

2002 Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964

2002 Greatest Love Songs

2004 The Christmas Collection

2008 Nothing But the Best

[edit] Rhino Records

2009 Seduction: Sinatra Sings of Love

[edit] Star Mark Compilations

2008 Frank Sinatra - Greatest Hits

[edit] Tribute albums to Sinatra

A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra by Oscar Peterson (1959)

Very Sinatra by Ruby Braff (1981)

Perfectly Frank by Tony Bennett (1992)

Chairman of the Board (Interpretations of Songs Made Famous by Frank Sinatra), various artists (1993)

As I Remember It by Frank Sinatra, Jr. (1996)

Salute to Sinatra by Buddy Morrow (1998)

Echoes of Sinatra by Gary Motley (1998)

Let's Be Frank: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, various artists (1998)

Manilow Sings Sinatra by Barry Manilow (1998)

Keely Sings Sinatra by Keely Smith (2001)

Plays Sinatra His Way by Joey DeFrancesco (2004)

Allow Us to Be Frank by Westlife (2004)

Sinatra on Sax by Dennis Solee (2005)

Songs of Sinatra by Steve Tyrell (2005)

Blue Eyes Meets Bed-Stuy by The Notorious B.I.G. & Frank Sinatra (2005)

L'allieva by Mina (2005)

Bolton Swings Sinatra by Michael Bolton (2006)

Dear Mr. Sinatra by John Pizzarelli (2006)

Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?? by Ray Stevens (2008)

[edit] See also

List of songs recorded by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy

List of Frank Sinatra's awards and accolades

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Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (pronounced /sɨˈnɑːtrə/; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)[6] was an American singer and actor.

Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (for his performance in From Here to Eternity).

He signed with Capitol Records and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records (finding success with albums such as Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Sinatra at the Sands and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and presidents, including President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".

Sinatra attempted to weather the changing tastes in popular music, but with sales of his music dwindling, and after appearing in several poorly received films, he retired in 1971. Coming out of retirement in 1973, he recorded several albums; scored a Top 40 hit with "(Theme From) New York, New York" in 1980; and toured both within the United States and internationally until a few years before his death in 1998.

Sinatra also forged a career as an actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden Arm. He also starred in such musicals as High Society, Pal Joey, Guys and Dolls and On the Town. Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life

Main article: Biography of Frank SinatraSinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della (née Garaventa) and Antonio Martino Sinatra.[7] He left high school without graduating,[8] having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. His mother, known as Dolly, was influential in the neighborhood and in local Democratic Party circles, but also ran an illegal abortion business from her home; she was arrested several times and convicted twice for this offense.[9] Sinatra was arrested for carrying on with a married woman, a criminal offense at the time.[10] Sinatra's father, often referred to as Tony, served with the Hoboken Fire Department. During the tough years of the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit North America, Dolly nevertheless provided ready pocket money to their son for outings with friends and fancy clothes.[11] Sinatra then worked for some time as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper,[12] and as a riveter at the Tietjan and Lang shipyard.[13] It was in the early 1930s that Sinatra began singing in public.[14]

1935–40: Start of career, work with James and Dorsey

Sinatra got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, The Three Flashes, to let him join. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four,[5] and they sufficiently impressed Edward Bowes. After appearing on his show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour, they attracted 40,000 votes and won the first prize — a six month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States.

Sinatra left the Hoboken 4 and returned home in late 1935. His mother secured him a job as a singing waiter and MC at the Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week.[15]

On March 18, 1939, Sinatra made a demo recording of a song called "Our Love", with the Frank Mane band. The record has "Frank Sinatra" signed on the front. The bandleader kept the original record in a safe for nearly 60 years.[16] In June, Harry James hired Sinatra on a one year contract of $75 a week.[17] It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July, 1939 - US Brunswick #8443 and UK Columbia #DB2150.[18]

Fewer than 8,000 copies of "From the Bottom of My Heart" (Brunswick #8443) were sold, making the record a very rare find that is sought after by record collectors worldwide. Sinatra released ten commercial tracks with James through 1939, including "All or Nothing At All" which had weak sales on its initial release but then sold millions of copies when re-released by Columbia at the height of Sinatra's popularity a few years later.[19]

In November 1939, in a meeting at the Palmer House in Chicago, Sinatra was asked by bandleader Tommy Dorsey to join his band as a replacement for Jack Leonard, who had recently left to launch a solo career. This meeting was a turning point in Sinatra's career, since by signing with Dorsey's band, one of the hottest bands at the time, he got greatly increased visibility with the American public. Though Sinatra was still under contract with James, James recognized the opportunity Dorsey offered and graciously released Sinatra from his contract. Sinatra recognized his debt to James throughout his life and upon hearing of James's death in 1983, stated: "he [James] is the one that made it all possible."[20]

On January 26, 1940, Sinatra made his first public appearance with the Dorsey band at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, IL.[21] In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra released more than forty songs, with "I'll Never Smile Again" topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July.[22]

Sinatra's relationship with Tommy Dorsey was troubled, because of their contract, which awarded Dorsey ⅓ of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. In January 1942, Sinatra recorded his first solo sessions without the Dorsey band (but with Dorsey's arranger Axel Stordahl and with Dorsey's approval). These sessions were released commercially on the Bluebird label. Sinatra left the Dorsey band late in 1942 in an incident that started rumors of Sinatra's involvement with the Mafia. A story appeared in the Hearst newspapers that mobster Sam Giancana coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars. This story was famously fictionalized in the movie The Godfather. According to Nancy Sinatra's biography, the Hearst rumors were started because of Frank's Democratic politics. In fact, the contract was bought out by MCA founder Jules Stein for $75,000.[20]

1940–50: Sinatramania and decline of career

In May 1941, Sinatra was at the top of the male singer polls in the Billboard and Down Beat magazines.[23]

His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time.

On December 31, 1942, Sinatra opened at the Paramount Theater in New York.

220px-Sinatra_Radio.gif magnify-clip.pngSinatra being interviewed for American Forces Network during World War II.During the musicians' strike of 1942–44, Columbia re-released Harry James and Sinatra's version of "All or Nothing at All" (music by Arthur Altman and lyrics by Jack Lawrence), recorded in August 1939 and released before Sinatra had made a name for himself. The original release didn’t even mention the vocalist’s name. When the recording was re–released in 1943 with Sinatra’s name prominently displayed, the record was on the best–selling list for 18 weeks and reached number 2 on June 2, 1943.[24]

Sinatra signed with Columbia on June 1, 1943 as a solo artist, and he had initially great success, particularly during the 1942-43 musicians' strike. And while no new records had been issued during the strike, he had been performing on the radio (on Your Hit Parade), and on stage. Columbia wanted to get new recordings of their growing star as fast as possible, so Sinatra convinced them to hire Alec Wilder as arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best–selling list.[25]

Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") for a perforated eardrum by his draft board. Additionally, an FBI report on Sinatra, released in 1998, showed that the doctors had also written that he was a "neurotic" and "not acceptable material from a psychiatric standpoint." This was omitted from his record to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service."[26][27] Active-duty servicemen, like William Manchester, said of Sinatra, "I think Frank Sinatra was the most hated man of World War II, much more than Hitler," because Sinatra was back home making all of that money and being shown in photographs surrounded by beautiful women.[28] His deferment would resurface throughout his life and cause him grief when he had to defend himself.[26][29] There were accusations, including some from noted columnist Walter Winchell,[30] that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service — but the FBI could find no evidence of this.[27][31]

When Sinatra returned to the Paramount Theater in October 1944, 35,000 fans caused a near riot outside the venue because they were not allowed in.

In 1945, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh. That same year, he was loaned out to RKO to star in a short film titled The House I Live In. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this film on tolerance and racial equality earned a special Academy Award shared among Sinatra and those who brought the film to the screen, along with a special Golden Globe for "Promoting Good Will." 1946 saw the release of his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, and the debut of his own weekly radio show.

By the end of 1948, Sinatra felt that his career was stalling, something that was confirmed when he slipped to No. 4 on Down Beat's annual poll of most popular singers (following Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby).[32]

The year 1949 saw an upswing, as Frank co-starred with Gene Kelly in Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It was well received critically and became a major commercial success. That same year, Sinatra teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town.

1950–60: Rebirth of career, Capitol concept albums

After two years' absence, Sinatra returned to the concert stage on January 12, 1950, in Hartford, Connecticut. His voice suffered and he experienced hemorrhaging of his vocal cords on stage at the Copacabana on April 26, 1950.[11] Sinatra's career and appeal to new teen audiences declined as he moved into his mid-30s.

In September 1951, Sinatra made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn. A month later, a second series of the Frank Sinatra Show aired on CBS.

Columbia and MCA dropped him in 1952.

The rebirth of Sinatra's career began with the eve-of-Pearl Harbor drama From Here to Eternity (1953), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This role and performance marked a turnaround in Sinatra's career: after a critical and commercial decline for several years, he became an Oscar-winning actor and, once again, one of the top recording artists in the world.[33]

Also in 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune. His character, Rocko Fortunato (aka Rocky Fortune) was a private eye who was placed in a variety of odd jobs by the Gridley Employment Agency to solve crimes. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954. During the final months of the show, just before the 1954 Oscars, it became a running gag that Sinatra would manage to work the phrase "from here to eternity" into each episode, a reference to his Oscar-nominated performance.[34]

In 1953, Sinatra signed with Capitol Records, where he worked with many of the finest musical arrangers of the era, most notably Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Billy May. Sinatra reinvented himself with a series of albums featuring darker emotional material, including In the Wee Small Hours (1955) -- Sinatra's first 12" LP and his second collaboration with Nelson Riddle -- Where Are You? (1957) and Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely (1958). He also incorporated a hipper, "swinging" persona, as heard on Swing Easy!! (1954), Songs For Swingin' Lovers (1956), and Come Fly With Me (1957).

By the end of the year, Billboard named "Young at Heart" Song of the Year, Swing Easy!! with Nelson Riddle at the helm, (his second album for Capitol) was named Album of the Year and Sinatra was named "Top Male Vocalist" by Billboard, Down Beat and Metronome.

A third collaboration with Nelson Riddle, Songs For Swingin' Lovers, was a success, featuring a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin".

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads, was a mammoth commercial success, peaking at #1 on Billboard's album chart during a 120-week stay. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)," would remain staples of Sinatra's concerts throughout his life.

Through the late fifties, Sinatra frequently criticized rock music, much of it being his reaction to rhythms and attitudes he found alien. In 1958 he lambasted it as "sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons. It manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth."[35]

1960–70: Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Reprise records, Basie, Jobim, "My Way"

Sinatra started the 1960s as he ended the 1950s. His first album of the decade, Nice 'n' Easy, topped Billboard's chart and won critical plaudits. Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol and decided to form his own label, Reprise Records. His first album on the label, Ring-A-Ding-Ding (1961), was a major success peaking at #4 on Billboard and #8 in the UK.

His fourth and final Timex special was broadcast in March 1960 and secured massive viewing figures. Titled It's Nice to Go Travelling, the show is more commonly known as Welcome Home Elvis. Elvis Presley's appearance after his army discharge was somewhat ironic; Sinatra had been scathing about him in the mid fifties, saying: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people."[36] Presley had responded: "... [sinatra] is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it... [rock and roll] is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago."[37] Later, in efforts to maintain his commercial viability, Sinatra recorded Presley's hit "Love Me Tender" as well as works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), The Beatles ("Something," "Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides Now").[38]

Following on the heels of the film Can Can was Ocean's 11, the movie that became the definitive on-screen outing for "The Rat Pack".

On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King, Jr... He played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1960s. Sinatra led his fellow members of the Rat Pack and label-mates on Reprise in refusing to patronize hotels and casinos that wouldn't allow black singers to play or wouldn't allow black patrons entry. He would often speak from the stage on desegregation. He played more benefits for King. According to Frank Sinatra, Jr.., at one point during a show in 1963 King sat weeping as Sinatra sang Ol' Man River, the song from the musical Show Boat that, in the show, is sung by an African-American stevedore.

Over September 11 and 12, 1961, Sinatra recorded his final songs for Capitol.

In 1962, along with Janet Leigh and Laurence Harvey, he starred in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate as Bennett Marco. That same year, Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie. This popular and successful release prompted them to rejoin two years later for a follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, which was arranged by Quincy Jones. One of Sinatra's more ambitious albums from the mid-1960s, The Concert Sinatra, was recorded with a 73-piece symphony orchestra on 35mm tape.

Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr... and Dean Martin played live in Saint Louis to benefit Dismas House. The concert was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. Released in August 1965 was the Grammy Award–winning album of the year September of My Years, with a career anthology A Man and His Music followed in November, itself winning Album of the Year at the Grammys in 1966. The TV special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.

In the spring, That's Life appeared, with both the single and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboard's pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. The album of the same name also topped the Billboard chart and reached number 4 in the UK.

Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. Later in the year, a duet with daughter Nancy, "Somethin' Stupid", topped the Billboard pop and UK singles charts. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K...

During the late 1960s, press agent Lee Solters would invite columnists with their spouses into Sinatra's dressing room just before he was about to go on stage. The New Yorker recounted that "The first columnist they tried this on was Larry Fields of the Philadelphia Daily News, whose wife fainted when Sinatra kissed her cheek. 'Take care of it, Lee,' Sinatra said, and he was off."[39]

Back on the small-screen, Sinatra once again worked with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald on the TV special A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim.

Watertown (1970) was one of Sinatra's most acclaimed concept albums,[40] but was all but ignored by the public. Selling a mere 30,000 copies, and reaching a peak chart position of 101, its failure put an end to plans of a television special based on the album.

With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way" inspired from the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. (The song had been previously commissioned to David Bowie, whose lyrics did not please the involved agents.) "My Way" would, perhaps, become more identified with him than any other over his seven decades as a singer.

1970–80: Retirement and comeback

On June 12, 1971 — at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund — at the age of 55, Sinatra announced that he was retiring, bringing to an end his 36-year career in show business.

In 1973, Sinatra came out of retirement with a television special and album, both entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The album, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a great success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song and dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly.

In January 1974, Sinatra returned to Las Vegas, performing at Caesar's Palace despite vowing in 1970 never to play there again after the manager of the resort, Sanford Waterman, pulled a gun on him during a heated argument.[41] With Waterman recently shot, the door was open for Sinatra to return.

In Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there — who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference — as "fags", "pimps", and "whores." Australian unions representing transport workers, waiters, and journalists went on strike, demanding that Sinatra apologize for his remarks.[42] Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press."[42] The future Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, then the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) leader, also insisted that Sinatra apologize, and a settlement was eventually reached to the apparent satisfaction of both parties,[42] Sinatra's final show of his Australian tour was televised to the nation.

In October 1974, Sinatra appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month. The TV special garnered mostly positive reviews whilst the album — actually culled from various shows during his comeback tour — was only a moderate success, peaking at #37 on Billboard and #30 in the UK.

In 1979, in front of the Egyptian pyramids, Sinatra performed for Anwar Sadat. Back in Las Vegas, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award during a party at Caesar's Palace.

1980–90: Trilogy, She Shot Me Down, L.A. Is My Lady

220px-C10774-23A.jpg magnify-clip.pngSinatra sings with then First Lady Nancy Reagan at the White House.In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that found Sinatra recording songs from the past (pre-rock era) and present (rock era and contemporary) that he had overlooked during his career, while 'The Future' was a free-form suite of new songs linked à la musical theater by a theme, in this case, Sinatra pondering over the future. The album garnered six Grammy nominations — winning for best liner notes — and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, while spawning yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York" as well as Sinatra's much lauded (second) recording of George Harrison's "Something" (The first was not officially released on an album until 1972's Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.)

The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that revisited the dark tone of his Capitol years, and was praised by critics as a vintage late-period Sinatra. Sinatra would comment that it was "A complete saloon album... tear-jerkers and cry-in-your-beer kind of things."[43]

Sinatra was embroiled in controversy in 1981 when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2 million in Sun City, South Africa breaking the cultural blockade on Apartheid South Africa. See Artists United Against Apartheid

Frank Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katharine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James in honoring Sinatra, Reagan said that "art was the shadow of humanity," and said that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow."[44]

Earlier that year, Sinatra had worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. (Horne developed vocal problems and Sinatra, committed to other engagements, could not wait to record.)

1990s: Duets, final performances

In 1990, Sinatra celebrated his 75th birthday with a national tour,[45] and was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles–based Society of Singers. At the award ceremony, he performed for the final time with Ella Fitzgerald.[46]

In December, as part of Sinatra's birthday celebrations, Patrick Pasculli, the Mayor of Hoboken, made a proclamation in his honor, declaring that "no other vocalist in history has sung, swung and crooned and serenaded into the hearts of the young and old... as this consummate artist from Hoboken."[47] The same month Sinatra gave the first show of his Diamond Jubilee Tour at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In 1993 Sinatra made a surprise return to Capitol and the recording studio for Duets, which was released in November.

The other artists who added their vocals to the album worked for free, and a follow-up album (Duets II) was released in 1994, which reached #9 on the Billboard charts.

Still touring, despite various health problems, Sinatra remained a top concert attraction on a global scale during the first half of the 1990s. At times, his memory seemed to fail him, and a fall onstage in Richmond, Virginia in March 1994 signaled further problems.

Sinatra's final public concerts were held in Japan's Fukuoka Dome in December 1994. The following year, on February 25, 1995, at a private party for 1,200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Sinatra sang before a live audience for the very last time. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control." His closing song was "The Best is Yet to Come."

Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards. He was introduced by Bono, who said of Sinatra "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss. The chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"[48] Sinatra called it "the best welcome...I ever had."[49] However, during his speech, Sinatra apparently ran too long and was curtly cut off by music, then commercials, leaving him looking confused while talking into a dead microphone.

In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, was his last televised appearance.

Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.[50]

Personal life

See also: Relationships of Frank SinatraSinatra had three children, Nancy, Frank Jr.., and Tina, all with his first wife, Nancy Barbato (married 1939-1951). He was married three more times, to actresses Ava Gardner (1951–1957) and Mia Farrow (1966–1968) and finally to Barbara Marx (married 1976), to whom he was still married at his death.

Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of depression. He acknowledged this, telling an interviewer in the 1950s: "Being an 18-karat manic-depressive, and having lived a life of violent emotional contradictions, I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as emotion."[51] In her memoirs My Father's Daughter, his daughter Tina wrote about the "eighteen-karat" remark: "As flippant as Dad could be about his mental state, I believe that a Zoloft a day might have kept his demons away. But that kind of medicine was decades off."[52]

Death

"Sinatra was... the first modern pop superstar... Following his idol Bing Crosby, who had pioneered the use of the microphone, Sinatra transformed popular singing by infusing lyrics with a personal, intimate point of view that conveyed a steady current of eroticism... Almost singlehandedly, he helped lead a revival of vocalized swing music that took American pop to a new level of musical sophistication... his 1950's recordings... were instrumental in establishing a canon of American pop song literature."

Stephen Holden[53]Sinatra suffered from senile dementia in his final years and made no further public appearances after a heart attack in January 1997. After suffering a further heart attack,[53] he died at 10:50 pm on May 14, 1998 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with his wife Barbara by his side.[53] He was 82 years old.[53] Sinatra's final words, spoken as attempts were made to stabilize him, were "I'm losing."[54] His death was confirmed by the Sinatra family on their website with a statement accompanied by a recording of the singer's version of "Softly As I Leave You." The next night the lights on the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. President Bill Clinton led tributes to Sinatra, stating that he had managed "to appreciate on a personal level what millions of people had appreciated from afar."[55] Elton John stated that Sinatra, "was simply the best - no one else even comes close."[55]

On May 20, 1998 at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd (Beverly Hills) in Beverly Hills, Sinatra's funeral was held, with 400[56] mourners in attendance and hundreds of fans outside.[56] Gregory Peck,[56] Tony Bennett,[56] and Frank Jr. addressed the mourners, among whom were Jill St. John, Tom Selleck,[56] Joey Bishop, Faye Dunaway,[56] Tony Curtis,[56] Liza Minnelli,[56] Kirk Douglas,[56] Robert Wagner,[56] Bob Dylan, Don Rickles,[56] Nancy Reagan,[56] Angie Dickinson, Sophia Loren,[56] Bob Newhart,[56] Mia Farrow,[56] and Jack Nicholson.[54][56] A private ceremony was held later that day at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Palm Springs. Sinatra was buried following the ceremony next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, a quiet cemetery on Ramon Road at the border of Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage, near his famous Rancho Mirage compound, located on tree-lined Frank Sinatra Drive.[54] His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby in the same cemetery.

The words "The Best Is Yet to Come" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker.[citation needed]

Awards and recognitions

220px-Franksinatrawalkoffame.jpg magnify-clip.pngSinatra's music star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.220px-Hobosinatrastar.jpg magnify-clip.pngSidewalk star in front of Sinatra's birthplace.Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Frank Sinatra

Legacy

The U.S. Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra on May 13, 2008.[57] The design of the stamp was unveiled Wednesday, December 12, 2007 — on the anniversary of what would have been his 92nd birthday — in Beverly Hills, CA, with Sinatra family members on hand.[58] The design shows an 1950s-vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a hat. The design also includes his signature, with his last name alone.[58] The Hoboken Post Office was renamed in his honor in 2002.[58] The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Long Island City and the Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken were named in his honor.

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution on May 20, 2008 designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contribution to American culture. The resolution was introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack.[59]

To commemorate the anniversary of Sinatra's death, Patsy's Restaurant in New York City, which Sinatra was very fond of and a regular at, exhibited in May 2009 15 never before released photos of Sinatra that were taken by Bobby Bank.[60] The photos are of his recording "Everybody Ought to Be in Love" at a nearby recording studio.[60]

Stephen Holden wrote for the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide:

Frank Sinatra's voice is pop music history. [...] Like Presley and Dylan — the only other white male American singers since 1940 whose popularity, influence, and mythic force have been comparable — Sinatra will last indefinitely. He virtually invented modern pop song phrasing.Wynn Resorts dedicated a signature restaurant to Sinatra inside Encore Las Vegas on December 22, 2008.[61] Memorabilia in the restaurant includes his Oscar for "From Here to Eternity", his Emmy for "Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music", his Grammy for "Strangers in the Night", photographs and a gold album he received for "Classic Sinatra".

Film portrayals

  • In 1992, CBS aired a TV mini-series about the entertainer's life called Sinatra, directed by James Steven Sadwith and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Opening with his childhood in Hoboken, New Jersey, the film follows Sinatra's rise to the top in the 1940s, through the dark days of the early 1950s and his triumphant re-emergence in the mid-1950s, to his status as pop culture icon in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In between, the film hits all of the main events, including his three marriages, his connections with the Mafia and his notorious friendship with the Rat Pack. Even with the presence of Tina Sinatra as executive producer. Casnoff received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

  • Brett Ratner is currently developing a film adaptation of George Jacobs' memoir Mr. S: My Life With Frank Sinatra.[62] Jacobs, who was Sinatra's valet, will be portrayed by Chris Tucker.[63]

Alleged organized crime links

Main article: Alleged organized crime linksSinatra garnered considerable attention due to his alleged personal and professional links with organized crime,[64] including figures such as Carlo Gambino,[65] Sam Giancana,[65] Lucky Luciano,[65] and Joseph Fischetti.[65] The Federal Bureau of Investigation kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra. With his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics and his friendship with John F. Kennedy, he was a natural target for J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.[66] The FBI kept Sinatra under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. They also portray rampant paranoia and strange obsessions at the FBI and reveal nearly every celebrated Sinatra foible and peccadillo.[67]

For a year Hoover investigated Sinatra's alleged and Communist affiliations, but came up empty-handed. The files include his rendezvous with prostitutes, and his extramarital affair with Ava Gardner, which preceded their marriage. Celebrities mentioned in the files are Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford, and Giancana's girlfriend, singer Phyllis McGuire.

The FBI's secret dossier on Sinatra was released in 1998 in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Political views

Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life.

Sinatra's parents had immigrated to the United States in 1895 and 1897 respectively. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward boss.[68]

300px-Eleanor_Roosevelt_Frank_Sinatra.jpg magnify-clip.pngSinatra, pictured here with Eleanor Roosevelt in 1960, was an ardent supporter of the Democratic Party until 1968.Sinatra remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the late 1960s when he switched his allegiance to the Republican Party.

Political activities 1944-1968

In 1944 after sending a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sinatra was invited to meet Roosevelt at the White House, where he agreed to become part of the Democratic party's voter registration drives.[69]

He donated $5,000 to the Democrats for the 1944 presidential election, and by the end of the campaign was appearing at two or three political events every day.[70]

After World War II, Sinatra's politics grew steadily more left wing,[71] and he became more publicly associated with the Popular Front. He started reading liberal literature, and supported many organizations that were later identified as front organizations of the Communist party by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, though Sinatra was never brought before the Committee.

Sinatra spoke at a number of New Jersey high schools in 1945, where students had gone on strike in opposition to racial integration. Later that year Sinatra would appear in The House I Live In, a short film that stood against racism. The film was scripted by Albert Maltz, with the title song written by Earl Robinson and Abel Meeropol (under the pseudonym of Lewis Allen).

In 1948, Sinatra supported the candidacy of Henry A. Wallace.

In January, 1961, Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C.., held on the evening before new President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office. The event, featuring many big show business stars, was an enormous success, raising a large amount of money for the Democratic Party. Sinatra also organized an Inaugural Gala in California in 1962 to welcome second term Democratic Governor Pat Brown.[11]

Sinatra's move towards the Republicans seems to have begun when he was snubbed by President Kennedy in favor of Bing Crosby, a rival singer and a Republican, for Kennedy's visit to Palm Springs in 1962. Kennedy had planned to stay at Sinatra's home over the Easter holiday weekend, but decided against doing so because of problems with Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home, in anticipation of the President's visit. President Kennedy's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was intensifying his own investigations into organized crime figures at the time, such as Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who had earlier stayed at Sinatra's home.

The 1968 election illustrated changes in the once solidly pro-JFK Rat Pack: Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Shirley MacLaine all endorsed Robert Kennedy in the spring primaries, while Sinatra, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop backed vice-president Hubert Humphrey. In the fall election, Sinatra appeared for Humphrey in Texas at the Houston Astrodome with President Lyndon Johnson, and also re-stated his support for Humphrey on a live election-eve national telethon.

Political activities 1970-1984

On February 27, 1970 Sinatra sang at the White House as part of a tribute to Senator Everett Dirksen. Over the summer Sinatra supported another Republican candidate as he endorsed Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California.[46] Sinatra became good friends with Vice President Spiro Agnew. Sinatra said he agreed with the Republican Party on most positions, except that of abortion.[69]

After a lifetime of supporting Democratic presidential candidates, Sinatra supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election. In 1973, Agnew was charged with corruption and resigned as Vice President; Sinatra helped Agnew pay some of his legal bills.[72]

250px-Frank_Sinatra_and_Ronald_Reagan.jpg magnify-clip.pngSinatra is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan, and donated $4 million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra said he supported Reagan as he was “the proper man to be the President of the United States... it's so screwed up now, we need someone to straighten it out.”[73] Reagan's victory gave Sinatra his closest relationship with the White House since the early 1960s. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala,[47] as he had done for Kennedy, 20 years previously.

In 1984 Sinatra returned to his birthplace in Hoboken, bringing with him President Reagan, who was in the midst of campaigning for the 1984 presidential election. Reagan had made Sinatra a fund-raising ambassador as part of the Republicans' 'Victory 84 get-the-vote-out-drive.[74

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