Born December 12, 1915
Died May 14, 1998

Signed to: Columbia, Capitol, Reprise
From: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

One of the most influential, popular and respected vocalists of all time; Frank Sinatra possessed a consummate mastery of phrasing along with a versatility and depth of expression that has rarely been matched. As well as receiving ten Grammy Awards as a singer, Sinatra’s acting career delivered an Academy Award and three Golden Globes. His recordings of material from the ‘Great American Song-book’ (that is, standards written by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin et al) are widely acclaimed as being definitive interpretations.

Francis Albert Sinatra was born in Hoboken, a suburb of New York, to an Italian Mother and a Sicilian Father. After a stint as vocalist for bandleader Harry James, he achieved huge popularity as vocalist with The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra during the 1940s. Some twenty years before Beatlemania, Sinatra was the first pop star to have hordes of screaming girls (known as Bobby-Soxers) swooning at his feet.

During the late 1940s and early ‘50s, Sinatra’s career was in decline, but after a highly acclaimed performance in From Here to Eternity (1953), his fortunes underwent a dramatic recovery. He had signed to Capitol Records and began working with arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle. Together, they produced some of Sinatra’s most inventive and successful work.

With the move to Capitol, a new singing style was unveiled. Previously, Sinatra had been a teen idol with a repertoire of sentimental torch songs, but now he was tougher, hipper and the epitome of ‘swinging’, big band cool. Albums such as Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956) and Come Fly With Me (1958) are uplifting, exciting and showcase flawless musicianship. The Capitol years also yielded some of the most powerful and moving ballads ever recorded. LPs such as In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Frank Sinatra Sings for Only The Lonely (1958), and No One Cares (1959) demonstrate Sinatra’s remarkable talent for conveying sensitivity, vulnerability and a haunting, heart-felt sadness through his vocal interpretation. Apart from the high standard of musical endeavour, his Capitol LPs are noteworthy as innovative early incarnations of the ‘concept’ album. They would often feature song selections that shared a common theme or were conducive to a particular mood.

Sinatra had set up his own record label by 1961, as his Capitol contract came to an end. He released a series of successful albums on Reprise and continued to feature prominently in the charts (albeit less consistently) throughout the mid 1960s. With the arrival of the Beatles, youth-oriented music was dominating the international charts. Many of Sinatra’s 1960s and ‘70s Reprise releases acknowledged this change in the musical climate in terms of material and arrangements. Thanks to this, a younger generation began to discover his music. Sinatra continued to perform live and release hugely successful albums well into the 1990s. On May 14th 1998, he died of a heart attack, aged 83.

In a career that lasted over fifty years, Sinatra’s long-term success and consistently high standard of work is astonishing. His mixed reputation as a celebrity coupled with a firmly established public image often overshadows the true value of his body of work. However, it is in Sinatra’s recordings that a powerful and enduring legacy is to be found, as well as confirmation of his status as one of the most important figures in 20th Century music.

Biography by Bobby Grindrod

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