A man with gut, talent, and tons of power… There was no one like him and there probably never will be again.
He’s the king of all kings – the legend your grandparents and parents have probably mentioned at least once or twice before, and whether they loved him or hated him, likeliness says they still had respect for what he achieved in his life.
Ladies and gentlemen, today here on 50s tunes with Steve, we’re going to be taking a dive into the music and career of the one and only, Frank Sinatra which is going to span both, before, during, and after the 1950s.
The life of Mr. Sinatra could most certainly be condensed into a series of books – filled with the stories of his music, movies, politics, crime, love affairs, and much more – there’s an incredible number of highs and lows Sinatra hit in his life, but I’m only going to be touching
on a few of the things I find to be the most important in this Blog post.
My friends, take a seat, relax, turn on the fireplace and grab a cup of hot cocoa, because we’re about to listen to a man who gave presidents goosebumps with his voice.
Background and Early Hits
Sinatra was a crooner who followed very much in the footsteps – musically – of early popular music star, Bing Crosby – the first real crooner who set the precedent for future performers.
He was from Hoboken, New Jersey born in 1915 to Italian Immigrants, and raised Roman Catholic – as most crooners were.
With a strong attitude and a disdain for being told what to do, Sinatra never finished school.
He went to work at a young age performing in many local night clubs in the early 1930s, and eventually found himself singing for big band leaders Harry James, and eventually Tommy Dorsey who you’ll recall from my post about Jo Stafford, and who Sinatra became acquainted with while singing for Dorsey.
Sinatra saw great success singing with these big bands, but he was far from fond of singing for others and knew that if he was going to be bigger than the man he idolized – Bing Crosby – he’d have to go solo.
In 1942 Sinatra said goodbye to the big band singer life and opened the door to a solo career.
In 1943 he signed on with Columbia records and from 43 to 1952, Sinatra recorded a number of singles for the label. The most successful songs included – “You’ll Never Know,” “Saturday Night,” “Oh! What it Seemed to Be,” “Day By Day,” “Five Minutes More,” and “Mam’selle” along with a handful of others that also did fairly well.
Sinatra also released a few albums for the label – “The Voice of Frank Sinatra” which was a #1 album, and “Songs by Sinatra” which was a #2 album.
The most prominent songs from these two albums are – “Someone to Watch Over Me,“ "That Old Black Magic,” and “I Concentrate on You.”
Watch this clip from this 1952 film "Meet Danny Wilson" where Sinatra played the lead character - Danny Wilson and performed his hit "That Old Black Magic."
A Marriage Mess and the 50s
Walking into the new decade, Sinatra faced a decline in popularity due to his decision to divorce his wife of more than a decade, Nancy Barbato who he had 3 children with.
It wasn’t the divorce itself that caused such backlash from his fans and the press against Sinatra, but more-so the fact that he would immediately marry actress Ava Gardner who was younger and
considerably more beautiful than his former wife. This also meant Sinatra was having an affair behind his wife’s back – making him look sleezy and classless – a look he wasn’t used to.
All of this wouldn’t matter later though as Sinatra would divorce from Gardner in 1957, marry again to Mia Farrow, a woman far younger than him, in 1966 then divorce in 1968, and finally marry Barbara Marx in 1976 who would be his wife until his death in 1998.
Regardless, it was in the early 1950s that Sinatra would begin singing in Las Vegas, Nevada as a regular performer, but few people elected to see his life performances.
He was still signed on with Columbia Records at this time, but according to Mitch Miller – who was one of the great novelty song writers of the era – the label “couldn't give away” Sinatra’s records if they wanted to.
The singer had reached an all-time low, and while things were starting to look awful bleak, young Sinatra had no idea his career was just beginning to get underway.
He knew he needed to up the game!
Sinatra left Columbia and signed on with Capitol records in 1954, appeared in more movies than he had previously, and scheduled live performances whenever he could.
The workload was heavy, but the success would be even heavier!
It was time for the king of pop to reestablish his base of listeners and show the world he still had what it took.
From 1954 to 1959 Sinatra released 11 top charting albums, 2 that went to #1 – “Come Fly With Me,” – which obviously, featured his well-known hit “Come Fly With Me” – and “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely” – both released in 1958.
His 1956 album “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers” was a #2 chart album, but recently it has been considered one of the greatest albums of all time and received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Prominent songs from this album, and songs that Sinatra has come to be known for include, “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Love Is Here To Stay,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Makin’ Whoopee,” and “Anything Goes.”
Hopefully you’ll notice a significant improvement in sound quality on those songs compared to the recordings you first heard from his hits in the 1940s.
Take a look at this 1965 live clip of Sinatra performing "You Make Me Feel So Young!"
In addition to his top charting albums, Sinatra released a number of singles throughout the decade, but only 2 would reach Billboard’s year end singles chart.
In 1954 Sinatra’s song “Young At Heart” went to #11 on the year end singles of 1954, and in 1955 his song “Learnin' the Blues” went to #14 on the year end singles of 1955.
Other fair charting songs he recorded at this time include, “Three Coins In The Fountain,” “Love And Marriage,” “(Love Is) The Tender Trap,” “All The Way,” and a handful of others.
Here's a nice in color clip from the 1955 film "The Tender Trap" which Sinatra starred in and opened with his hit song "Tender Trap!"
It’s safe to say that by 1959 Sinatra was back on top and not even the likes of the Rock n Roll King himself, Elvis Presley was going to out-do him.
The Rat Pack and Reprise Records
You’ll recall from my Blog post regarding Dean Martin’s career that Sinatra and Martin were attached at the hip – truly the best of friends.
The two had met in the film industry and Frank had helped Dino earn great success, eventually going on to form the Rat Pack together, along with fellow Sinatra friend – Sammy Davis Jr. who was one of the great Black entertainers of the century.
The three dominated Las Vegas, Nevada which at the time was the entertainment capital of the world – thanks to them of course!
Take a look at this clip of the 3 of them and Johnny Carson performing the song "Birth of Blues" circa mid-1960s.
On top of this Sinatra also opened up his own record label titled Reprise Records.
He grew weary of singing for the Capitol label and opened his own label so artists who signed on could have complete ownership of their work and publishing rights.
Some of the great pop artists, who you hopefully remember from some of my prior posts, came and sang for the label, including Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford and all the members of the Rat Pack.
Today, one of the most famous artists who record for the Reprise label is Michal Bublé.
Sinatra’s first album for the label was “Ring-a-Ding-Ding!” which became a #4 hit.
Another critically acclaimed album Sinatra recorded for his label was titled “Sinatra and Strings” which was released in 1962 and featured the songs “Night and Day,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “All or Nothing At All,” and a cover of Perry Como’s smash hit “Prisoner of Love,” among others.
The King continued releasing singles too and many of them charted big on the “Adult Contemporary charts,” with over 5 of them going all the way to #1.
Prominent hits for Sinatra in the 60s included – “Strangers in the Night,” “Summer Wind," “That’s Life,” and of course “My Way” – the song he’s come to be remembered for.
Here's a clip of Sinatra performing "My Way" 1974.
Legacy
Sinatra never really went into retirement. He tried, but it just wasn’t for him, and after the 60s well into the 1970s and 80s, Sinatra remained a driving force in the music industry.
His albums continued to sell, and while he still did record from time to time, his hits from the 50s and 60s remained his most popular recordings.
While the King has had his controversial moments in life, the legacy he left behind is nearly unmatchable which is why so many artists have tried to duplicate his style – many unsuccessful in doing so. Why? Well, there was and only ever will be one Frank Sinatra.
This is your 50s music fanatic Steven B. – Signing off
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