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 members—cherry-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 carried—next 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.
Adeste Fideles
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem!
Natum videte,
Regem angelorum
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus
Cantet nunc Io!
Chorus angelorum;
Cantet nunc aula caelestium
Gloria, gloria,
In excelsis Deo
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus
Dominum.
The Latin lyrics of Frank Sinatra's Christmas classic, Adeste Fideles, speaks about the joyous triumph of the faithful and the call for all to come and adore the newborn King of angels in Bethlehem. The song is an invitation to believers to unite and witness the arrival of the Savior who is born to bring salvation to humankind. The hymn calls upon the celestial and angelic choir to sing and glorify the Lord at His birth, and it echoes the Biblical narrative of the shepherds receiving the glad tidings from the angels in Luke 2:14.
The song affirms the universal appeal of Christmas and the message of Jesus Christ, which transcends language and cultural barriers. The repetition of the phrase "Venite adoremus Dominum" emphasizes the importance of coming to adore the Lord, signifying the true meaning of Christmas. Sinatra's interpretation of the classic is a demonstration of his artistry and flair, as he imbues the hymn with the grandeur and impeccable vocal delivery that has made it a holiday favorite for generations.
Line by Line Meaning
Adeste fideles,
Come, faithful ones,
Laeti triumphantes,
Joyful and triumphant,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem!
Come, come to Bethlehem!
Natum videte,
See the newborn,
Regem angelorum
King of the angels
Venite adoremus,
Come, let us adore Him
Venite adoremus,
Come, let us adore Him
Venite adoremus Dominum.
Come, let us adore the Lord.
Cantet nunc Io!
Sing, now sing Io!
Chorus angelorum;
Choirs of angels;
Cantet nunc aula caelestium
Sing now, celestial halls
Gloria, gloria,
Glory, glory
In excelsis Deo
In the highest to God
Venite adoremus,
Come, let us adore Him
Venite adoremus,
Come, let us adore Him
Venite adoremus Dominum.
Come, let us adore the Lord.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN (DP) READING, WOLFGANG LENK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@danbaranowski
No one can sing Christmas songs like Frank Sinatra can. Long live Ol’ Blue Eyes 💙
@elianaworoniecki6288
Lindo demais..... Mas me trouxe nostalgia e lembranças de bons tempos.
@haveaniceday-uw6pf
One of the greatest voices to every live.
@cheri238
Frank is definitely leading the choir of angels 😇 ❤️
@barbaranugnes5800
I am sure you are at the head of every choir of angels. Love forever, Frank 🌹
@vesubioromo9425
His whole Christmas album, backed by those amazing voices, is a timeless classic. There will never be a Christmas when that album is out of style.
@lindapanaro3379
What an Amazing Man with a Special talent and a Blessed Voice 🙌 😇 🙏 🙏❤❤⚘
@Artj13
Frank magnífico como siempre 🎼🎶🎶🎶
@birutegrafinina968
🙏Adore that song from dear Frank!! What pleasure is listen that great, sensual, very beautiful voice!! Thank you for sharing that impressive song!! 🙌
@VICTORPEREZ-vv5kw
¡Wow! Exelente tema, y en la Voz del Gran Sinatra pues está mucho mejor todavía .🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 Está canción y otras más nos recuerda lo hermosa y maravillosa que puede ser la navidad, lastima que hoy en día ya no se ve o se dislumbra así, solo está como un recuerdo en nuestras Mentes. 😭❤️🙌🏽