Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants, Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". He released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. Sinatra's professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of The Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of From Here to Eternity, with his performance subsequently winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra released several critically lauded albums, including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958) and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and released the tracks "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way". After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's collaboration with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later and recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and reached success in 1980 with "New York, New York". 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 forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and received critical acclaim for his performance in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he became associated with playing detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, though before Kennedy's death Sinatra's alleged Mafia connections led to his being snubbed.
While Sinatra never formally learned how to read music, he had an impressive understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". Sinatra led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He went on to marry Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, 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. After his death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Sinatra died with his wife at his side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, after a heart attack. Sinatra had ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He was further diagnosed as having dementia. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her sister, Nancy, had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for a minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit with mementos from family membersโcherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carriedโnext to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
A Foggy Day
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out of town were the people I knew
I had that feeling of self-pity
What to do?
What to do?
What to do?
The outlook was decidedly blue
But as I walked through the dreary streets alone
A foggy day
In London town
Had me low
And it had me down
I viewed the morning
With much alarm
The British Museum
Had lost its charm
How long, I wondered
Could this thing last?
But the age of miracles
It hadn't passed
For suddenly
I saw you standing right there
And in foggy London town
The sun was shining, shining, shining, shining, shining everywhere
How long, I wondered
Could this thing possibly last?
But the age of miracles
It hadn't passed
For suddenly
I saw you standing right there
And in foggy London town
The sun was shining everywhere
In Frank Sinatra's song "Foggy Day," the singer is a stranger in the city who is feeling sorry for himself. He is out of town and disconnected from his usual support system, and this sense of loneliness has led him to feel quite blue. However, as he walks through the dreary, foggy streets of London, something miraculous happens: he sees the person he has been hoping to see, and suddenly the sun is shining everywhere.
The song is about the power of chance encounters and the unexpected moments of joy that life has to offer. It suggests that no matter how difficult things may seem, there is always the possibility of a happier outcome. The lyrics use the metaphor of a foggy day to represent the singer's sense of confusion and disorientation, but it also suggests that there is beauty and mystery in even the bleakest situations. By the end of the song, the singer is able to see the world in a new light, full of possibilities and hope.
Overall, "Foggy Day" is a song about the transformative power of love and chance encounters. The singer's initial sense of despair at being alone in a strange city is gradually overcome by the appearance of someone new in his life. The song suggests that no matter how dark things may seem at times, there is always the possibility of hope and happiness just around the corner. It's a comforting message that has resonated with listeners for decades.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a stranger in the city
I was in a big, unfamiliar city where I didn't know anyone
Out of town were the people I knew
The people I knew and trusted were not here with me
I had that feeling of self-pity
I was feeling sorry for myself
What to do?
I was unsure of what action to take
What to do?
I was still unsure about what my next step should be
What to do?
I was really at a loss about what to do next
The outlook was decidedly blue
I felt that my situation was hopeless and depressing
But as I walked through the dreary streets alone
Despite my negative feelings, I continued on, walking alone through the city streets
It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known
I was about to experience an unexpected stroke of good fortune
A foggy day
The day was characterized by thick fog which limited visibility
In London town
I was walking in the city of London
Had me low
The fog had a negative impact on my mood and spirits
And it had me down
The fog was really getting me down and making me unhappy
I viewed the morning
I woke up and looked out to see what kind of day it was
With much alarm
I was concerned or worried about what I saw
The British Museum
A famous museum located in London
Had lost its charm
Even a famous and beautiful spot like the British Museum was no longer exciting or appealing to me, due to my low mood
How long, I wondered
I pondered over how long my unhappy circumstances would continue
Could this thing last?
I wondered if I would ever be able to move past my negative feelings
But the age of miracles
Despite my doubts, there was still hope for something amazing to happen
It hadn't passed
That hope was still alive and present
For suddenly
In a sudden, unexpected turn of events
I saw you standing right there
I saw someone I knew, possibly a friend or love interest, standing nearby
And in foggy London town
Even in the midst of the thick fog, this person's presence made the situation much brighter and clearer
The sun was shining, shining, shining, shining, shining everywhere
This person's presence was like the sun shining through the fog, spreading light and warmth everywhere
How long, I wondered
Despite this happy moment, I was still unsure about how long it would last
Could this thing possibly last?
I was still worried that my positive situation was temporary
But the age of miracles
However, I still had hope and believed that anything was possible
It hadn't passed
That hope and belief was still very much alive
For suddenly
Once again, in a sudden and unexpected moment
I saw you standing right there
The person who brought light into my life was still nearby, providing comfort and happiness
And in foggy London town
Even in the midst of difficult circumstances, the presence of this person continued to make everything brighter and more positive
The sun was shining everywhere
This person's presence was like the sun shining through the fog, bringing warmth and brightness to every aspect of my life
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zevanoc.sibarani8295
I was a stranger in the city
Out of town were the people I knew
I had that feeling of self pity
What to do, what to do, what to do?
The outlook was decidedly blue
But as I walked through the foggy streets alone
It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known
(Chorus)
A foggy day in London town
Had me low and had me down
I viewed the morning with alarm
The British museum had lost its charm
How long, I wondered, could this thing last?
But the age of miracles hadn't passed
For, suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town
The sun was shining everywhere
A foggy day in London town
It had me low and it had me down
I viewed the morning with much alarm
The British museum had lost its charm
How long, I wondered, could this thing last?
But the age of miracles hadn't passed
For, suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town
The sun was shining upside-down!
@CRANWELLPOACHER
This song holds a certain poignancy in my heart. My father sang a very quiet, gentle rendition of it whilst in a hospital bed a few weeks ago. I had never heard him sing much, least of all Frank Sinatra...he passed away a few days later.....i find myself humming or singing it myself now.
@whackman47
I sing this every day driving in work, at home, brushing my teeth. Fantastic tune, amazing jazz and showtune.
@claudpiro6469
Io la risento dopo 30 anni... bellissima
@thatfish2252
May your father rest in peace ๐๏ธ
@Epictetus888
โค
@EricFontaineJazz
I can't believe I've never heard this version... โซ A Foggy Day has regained its charm โซ
@AlexisOrtizGatoYbeans
Would always hear this playing at the Resort I used to work for and even to this day brings back good memories working there, RIP a true singer with passion in his songs.
@yinyangedits5846
Iโve just started listening to Sinatra properly, I used to listen to songs here and there, but I never appreciated his voice before, luckily Iโm 15 so I have many years in the future to appreciate his music more.
@fahd8449
U still listen to sinatra's songs 2 years later dont u?
@ComposerKuandohan
Ahhh, what a beautiful song.
I love the unfolding story to where the sun was finally shining because he saw the women of his dreams.
I don't care if people say it's cheesy or whatever, it's a great progression!