Frank Sinatra

Few artists had a career as long and enduring as Frank Sinatra. He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on the 12th December 1915. He was expelled from High School due to “rowdy behaviour” and found work delivering newspapers.

He finally got his break in 1935 joining the Three Flashes after which they became known as the Hoboken Four. They gained a national reputation taking first prize on the show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour giving them the opportunity to perform and appear on radio across America. He left the group in 1935, and returned to New Jersey where he worked as an MC. He was hired on a one year contract by the Frank Mane Band four years later before joining Tommy Dorsey’s band in a partnership that lasted until 1942 and one that saw the pair record 40 songs in the first year alone.

The release of the track All or Nothing At All saw him gain a name for himself; Sinatra signed a solo recording contract with Columbia records in 1943. This came amid a musician’s strike that lasted until 1944; among his early sessions for the label he recorded nine tracks of which seven were hits.

The singer broke into the film industry appearing in films such as; Step Lively, Higher and Higher and Anchors Away alongside Gene Kelly, Sinatra made one of his most noteworthy appearances in The House I Live In in 1945. The short film addressed religious tolerance and earned a special Oscar for its message.

The following year saw the release of his first solo album The Voice of Frank Sinatra featuring classic tracks such as Someone to Watch Over Me. Further films Take Me Out to the Ballgame and On the Town again with Gene Kelly kept Sinatra in the public eye at a time his music career was faltering. Unfortunately a return to live performances faltered in 1950 when the singer ruptured his vocal chords, 2 years later he was dropped by Columbia.

It was around this time that he married the actress Ava Gardner in 1951; their relationship was turbulent and not helped by her career being on the rise while his suffered a dip. He had previously been married to Nancy Barbato with whom he had had three children; Frank Jr., Tina and of course Nancy a famous singer in her own right, the pair performed together on the track Something Stupid. His shortest marriage was in 1966 to the singer, model and actress Mia Farrow. The couple divorced after three years. Finally he was married to Barbara Marx in 1976 with whom he stayed until his death in 1998.

A role in From Here to Eternity in 1953 saw him win his first individual acting award earning an Oscar for best supporting actor. Such success saw him signed to Capitol Records where he ranged from his more traditional swing releases to darker tracks. One of his biggest critically acclaimed albums was released in 1958 – Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely it topped the charts and featured the tracks Angel Eyes and One for My Baby.

In spite of his success at Capitol the 1960s saw him start his own record label Reprise; it still exists to this day. It was around this time that Sinatra’s Rat Pack came to prominence particularly with the release of the original Ocean’s 11 where he took the role of Danny Ocean acting alongside Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. The group were vital in the desegregation of Las Vegas as they refused to perform in venues that did not allow black audience members.

The mid to late sixties saw a run of success for Sinatra as he released tracks such as Strangers in the Night and That’s Life. The end of the decade however saw him release arguably the track most synonymous with the singer when in 1969; the Paul Anka penned song My Way entered the charts. It stayed in the charts for a phenomenal 122 weeks and was covered by artists ranging from Robbie Williams to Sid Vicious.

Sinatra initially announced his retirement from show business in June 1971 but went back on his decision with a comeback special Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back among his comeback tracks was the classic Theme from New York, New York.

The singer gave his final performance on the 25th February 1995, at a private party; the last song he ever performed was The Best is Yet to Come (the epitaph on his grave). He passed away on 14th May 1998 having suffered a heart attack.