Frank Sinatra was one of the most influential and talented artists in the world. And also, he was one of the most difficult, but at the same time generous and loyal friends. A devoted family man, a womanizer and a loud, tough guy. Very controversial, but talented person.
He lived a life on the edge - full of excitement, danger and passion. So how did a skinny Italian guy from New Jersey become an international superstar. And also the world's first true multimedia artist?
Frank Sinatra is one of the most popular singers in American history. As an actor, he starred in fifty-eight films. Won an Academy Award for his role in From Here to Eternity. His career began in the 1930s and continued into the 1990s.
Who was Frank Sinatra?
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on December 12, 1915. He became famous for singing in big bands. In the 40s and 50s he had many great hits and albums. He has appeared in dozens of films, winning an Oscar for From Here to Eternity.
He left behind a huge catalog of works, including such legendary tunes as "Love And Marriage", "Strangers In The Night", "My Way" and "New York, New York".
Early life and career of Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. The only child of Sicilian immigrants. The teenage Sinatra decided to become a singer after watching a performance by Bing Crosby in the mid-1930s. He was already a member of the glee club at his school. Later he began to sing in local nightclubs.
The radio release brought him to the attention of bandleader Harry James. With him, Sinatra made his first recordings, including "All Or Nothing At All". In 1940, Tommy Dorsey invited Sinatra to join his group. After two years of unqualified success with Dorsey, Sinatra decided to strike on his own.
solo artist Frank Sinatra
From 1943 to 1946, Sinatra's solo career blossomed as the singer charted a string of hit singles. The crowds of Bobby-Soxer fans attracted by Sinatra's dreamy baritone voice earned him nicknames such as "Voice" and "Sultan Fainting". “Those were the war years and it was very lonely,” Sinatra recalls. The artist was not suitable for military service due to a pierced eardrum.
Sinatra made his film debut in 1943 with Reveille With Beverley and Higher and Higher. In 1945 he received a Special Academy Award for "The house I live in". A 10-minute short film designed to promote racial and religious issues in the homeland.
However, Sinatra's popularity began to decline in the post-war years. This led to the loss of his contracts and filming in the early 1950s. But in 1953 he triumphantly returned to the big stage. Won a Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Italian-American soldier Maggio in the classic From Here to Eternity.
Although this was his first non-singing role, Sinatra quickly released a new vocal release. He received a recording contract with Capitol Records the same year. Sinatra of the 1950s evoked a more mature sound with jazz inflections in his voice.
After regaining his fame, Sinatra enjoyed continued success in both film and music for many years. It received another Academy Award nomination. For his work in "Man with golden hand" (1955). He also received critical acclaim for his work on the original version of "Manchu Candidate" (1962).
As his record sales began to decline towards the end of the 1950s, Sinatra left the Capitol to start his own label, Reprise. Together with Warner Bros., which later bought Reprise, Frank Sinatra also formed his own independent film production company, Artanis.
Frank Sinatra: Rat Pack and No. 1 Tunes
By the mid-1960s, Sinatra was back on top again. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and headlined the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival with the Count Basie Orchestra.
This period also marked its debut in Las Vegas, where it continued for many years as the main attraction at Caesars Palace. As a founding member of the Rat Pack, along with Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, Sinatra became the epitome of the drunken, effeminate, gambling swinger, an image constantly reinforced by the popular press.
With its modern advantages and timeless class, even the radical youth of the time had to pay Sinatra his due. As Jim Morrison of the Doors once said, "No one can touch him."
During its heyday, The Rat Pack made several films: Ocean's Eleven (1960), Sergeants Three (1962), Four for Texas (1963) and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964). Returning to the world of music, Sinatra had a big hit in 1966 with the No. 1 Billboard track "Strangers In The Night", which won a Grammy for record of the year.
He also recorded the duet "Something Stupid" with his daughter Nancy, who was previously credited with the feminist anthem "These boots are made for walking". They reached No. 1 within four weeks with "Something Stupid" in the spring of 1967. By the end of the decade, Sinatra added another signature song to his repertoire, "My Way", which was adapted from a French tune and featured new lyrics by Paul Anka.
Return to the stage and new album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back
After a brief retirement in the early 1970s, Frank Sinatra returned to the music scene with Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973) and also became more politically active. Having first visited the White House in 1944 while campaigning for Franklin D. Roosevelt in his bid for a fourth term in office, Sinatra worked eagerly in the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then directed John F. Kennedy's inaugural ceremony in Washington.
However, relations between the two soured after the president canceled a weekend visit to Sinatra's home due to the singer's ties to Chicago mob gang Sam Giancana. By the 1970s, Sinatra had abandoned his longstanding Democratic beliefs and embraced the Republican Party, backing first Richard Nixon and then close friend Ronald Reagan, who presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1985.
Sinatra's personal life
Frank Sinatra married childhood sweetheart Nancy Barbato in 1939. They had three children. Nancy (born 1940), Frank Sinatra (born 1944) and Tina (born 1948). Their marriage ended in the late 1940s.
In 1951, Sinatra married actress Ava Gardner. After parting, Sinatra married for the third time to Mia Farrow in 1966. This union also ended in divorce (in 1968). Sinatra married for the fourth and last time in 1976 to Barbara Blakely Marks, ex-wife of comedian Zeppo Marks. They remained together until Sinatra's death over 20 years later.
In October 2013, Mia Farrow made headlines after claiming in an interview with Vanity Fair that Sinatra could be the father of her 25-year-old son, Ronan. Ronan is Mia Farrow's only official biological child with Woody Allen.
She also acknowledged Sinatra as the great love of her life, saying, "We never broke up." In response to the buzz surrounding his mother's comments, Ronan jokingly wrote, "Listen, we are all *possibly* the son of Frank Sinatra."
The Death and Legacy of Frank Sinatra
In 1987, author Kitty Kelly published an unauthorized biography of Sinatra. She accused the singer of relying on mafia connections to build his career. Such claims failed to lessen Sinatra's widespread popularity.
In 1993, at the age of 77, he gained a lot of young fans with the release of duets with contemporary celebrities. A collection of 13 Sinatra tracks he has re-recorded, including the likes of Barbra Streisand, Bono, Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin. At the time, the album was a major hit. However, some critics criticized the project's quality. Sinatra recorded his vocals long before its release.
Sinatra performed in concert for the last time in 1995. The event took place at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom in California. On May 14, 1998, Frank Sinatra passed away. Death came from a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
He was 82 years old when he faced his last curtain. A career in show business that spanned over 50 years, Sinatra's continued mass appeal is best explained by his words: “When I sing, I believe. I'm honest."
In 2010, the well known biography Frank: The Voice was published by Doubleday and written by James Kaplan. In 2015, the author released a sequel to the volume "Sinatra: Chairman", dedicated to the centenary of the singer's musical history.
Creativity of Frank Sinatra today
Record of digitized compositions of the singer Reprise Rarities Vol. 2 was released in early February 2021. Recall that the first collection of this series was released last year. His presentation was held specifically in honor of the celebrity's birthday. It became known that in 2021 a couple more parts from the same series will be released.
