Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra,
/sɨˈnɑːtrə/, (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)[6] was an American singer and film actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist from the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the "bobby soxers", he released his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra in1946.
His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1953 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity.
He signed with Capitol Records in 1953 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 in 1961 (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 statesmen, including 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".
With sales of his music dwindling and after appearing in several poorly received films, Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971. Two years later, however, he came out of retirement and in 1973 recorded several albums, scoring a Top 40 hit with "(Theme From) New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally, until a short time before his death in 1998.
Sinatra also forged a highly successful career as a film actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity, a nomination for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden Arm, and critical acclaim for his performance in The Manchurian Candidate.
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.
| Frank Sinatra | |
|---|---|
 Sinatra in 1947, at the Liederkrantz Hall in New York. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Francis Albert Sinatra |
| Also known as | Ol' Blue Eyes[1] The Chairman of the Board The Voice |
| Born | December 12, 1915 Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.[2] |
| Died | May 14, 1998 (aged 82) West Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Traditional pop, jazz, swing, big band, vocal[3] |
| Occupations | Singer,[1] actor, producer,[1] director,[1] conductor[4] |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1935–1995[5] |
| Labels | Columbia, Capitol, Reprise, Apple Records |
| Associated acts | Rat Pack, Bing Crosby, Nancy Sinatra, Judy Garland, Quincy Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Dean Martin, Count Basie, Sammy Davis, Jr., Luis Miguel |
| Website | sinatra.com |
Early life
Born December 12, 1915, in Hoboken, NJ, Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della (Garaventa) and Antonino Martino Sinatra,[7] and was raised Roman Catholic.[8] In his book Try and Stop Me (p. 218), American publisher and writer Bennett Cerf says that Sinatra's father was a lightweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien and was a member of the Hoboken fire brigade.Sinatra left high school without graduating,[9]:38 having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. Sinatra's father, often referred to as Marty, served with the Hoboken Fire Department as a Captain. 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]:16
During the Great Depression, Dolly nevertheless provided money to her son for outings with friends and expensive clothes.[10][page needed] In 1938, Sinatra was arrested for carrying on with a married woman, a criminal offense at the time.[11]
For his livelihood, he worked as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper,[9]:44 and later as a riveter at the Tietjan and Lang shipyard,[9]:47 but music was Sinatra's main interest, and he listened carefully to big band jazz.[12]
He began singing for tips at the age of eight, standing on top of the bar at a local nightclub in Hoboken. Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager in the 1930s,[9]:48 although he learned music by ear and never learned how to read music.[12]
Career
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 Four 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.[13]
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.[9][page needed]
In June, Harry James hired Sinatra on a one-year contract of $75 a week.[14] It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July 1939[15]— US Brunswick No. 8443 and UK Columbia #DB2150.[16][page needed]
Fewer than 8,000 copies of "From the Bottom of My Heart" (Brunswick No. 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.[17]
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 (the vocalist, not to be confused the comedian Jack E. Leonard), who had recently left to launch a solo career. This meeting was a turning point in Sinatra's career.
By signing with Dorsey's band, one of the hottest at the time, he greatly increased his 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' death in 1983, stated: "he [James] is the one that made it all possible."[18][page needed]
On January 26, 1940, Sinatra made his first public appearance with the Dorsey band at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, Illinois.[19][page needed] 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.[9]:91
Sinatra's relationship with Tommy Dorsey was troubled, because of their contract, which awarded Dorsey one-third 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 in late 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, and was fictionalized in the movie The Godfather.[12]
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.[18][page needed]
Source: Wikipedia
TTFN
CYA Later Taters
Thanks for watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment