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.
Birth Of The Blues
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing but blues
Oh, they say some people long ago
Were searching for a different tune
One that they could croon
As only they can
So they started swaying to and fro
They didn't know just what to use
This is how the blues really began
They heard the breeze in the trees
Singing weird melodies
And they made that the start of the blues
And from a jail came the wail
Of a down-hearted frail
And they played that
As part of the blues
From a whippoorwill way up on a hill
They took a new note
Pushed it through a horn
Until it was worn into a blue note
And then they nursed it
They rehearsed it
And then sent out that news
That the Southland gave birth to the blues
They nursed it
Then they rehearsed it
And then sent out that news
That the Southland gave birth to the blues
The lyrics of Frank Sinatra's song "Birth Of The Blues" tells the story of how the blues genre of music originated. It starts with the line "These are the blues, nothing but blues", setting the tone for the song. The lyrics then elaborate on the origins of the blues genre. The verses tell the story of how people long ago were searching for a new tune, one that they could croon as only they can, but they didn't know what to use until they heard the breeze in the trees singing weird melodies, which inspired them to start swaying to and fro. This is how the blues really began.
The second verse of the song tells the story of how the blues melody was further developed, from a jail came the wail of a down-hearted frail, and they played that as part of the blues. From a whippoorwill way up on a hill, they took a new note and pushed it through a horn until it was worn into a blue note. They then nursed and rehearsed it, and then sent out that news that the Southland gave birth to the blues.
Overall, the lyrics of "Birth Of The Blues" are a testament to the origins of the blues genre of music, going back to its roots in the American South, where it was developed from a combination of various musical influences.
Line by Line Meaning
These are the blues
These are songs of sorrow that have become a musical genre
Nothing but blues
The songs are purely about sadness and there's no denying that fact
Oh, they say some people long ago
It is said that there were people in the past who searched for a unique melody
Were searching for a different tune
They wanted a sound that was distinct from anything they'd ever heard before
One that they could croon
A song that they can sing in a soft, soothing voice
As only they can
A tune that they alone can do justice to with their voice
They only had the rhythm
They only had the beat, no melody or words
So they started swaying to and fro
They started moving their bodies to the beat in the absence of any other musical element
They didn't know just what to use
They were at a loss on how to proceed further with their musical experiment
This is how the blues really began
This movement started the true origins of the blues
They heard the breeze in the trees
They heard the wind moving through the leaves of the trees
Singing weird melodies
The sounds that the wind made were unusual and almost different
And they made that the start of the blues
This became their base melody for their musical experiment
And from a jail came the wail
A prisoner in jail cried out in agony
Of a down-hearted frail
The prisoner was broken and lost all hope of ever getting out of jail
And they played that
They added the sound of the prisoner wailing to their melody
As part of the blues
The wail became an integral part of the genre
From a whippoorwill way up on a hill
From a bird called the whippoorwill which sang from a high place
They took a new note
They came up with a fresh sound
Pushed it through a horn
They used a musical instrument to amplify and intensify this already unique tune
Until it was worn into a blue note
Until they perfected it and it became a signature sound, a blue note
And then they nursed it
They took care of their creation
They rehearsed it
They practiced and perfected the sound
And then sent out that news
They shared their new genre of music with others
That the Southland gave birth to the blues
The birthplace of the blues is now said to be the southern states of America
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: B.g. Desylva, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@matteolemme2616
Oh, they say some people long ago
Were searching for a different tune
One that they could croon
As only they can
They only had the rhythm
So they started swaying to and fro
They didn't know just what to use
That is how the blues really began
They heard the breeze in the trees
Singing weird melodies
And they made that the start of the blues
And from a jail came the wail
Of a down-hearted frail
And they played that
As part of the blues
From a whippoorwill
Out on a hill
They took a new note
Pushed it through a horn
'Til it was worn
Into a blue note
And then they nursed it, rehearsed it
And gave out the news
That the Southland gave birth to the blues!
@IvyB07
@@matthewbulger5876 First of all I wish I could say I knew if Percy Faith did a interview about Sinatra’s final song at Columbia (I almost feel ashamed I don’t know).
I do know that according to the “Sinatra archive”
In September of 1956 The House Judiciary subcommittee was investigating the television industry and the monopoly involved. Sinatra sent a telegram to them complaining that Miller forced inferior material on him because Columbia had a financial interest in all parts of the final product.
Sinatra:
"Before Mr. Miller's arrival at Columbia Records, I found myself enjoying a freedom of Selection of material, a freedom which I may modestly say resulted in a modicum of success for me."
"Suddenly Mr. Miller, by design or coincidence, began to present many, many inferior songs, all curiously bearing the BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) label."
Sinatra then stated he preferred material from ASCAP
I do believe I heard that Mr.Sinatra said he never talked to Mitch Miller again.
I do agree that Sinatra was probably relieved about having not to deal with the forcing of songs he did not want to sing.
@davidsalinas1490
He is so refreshing to hear on a Saturday night even on my phone. His voice comes in clear as if The Voice as he wad called. Dear Frank we miss you .
@robjones2408
To think Columbia Records dropped Frank after this epic track.
What fools! He went to Capitol, and the rest is history.
Classic Frankie at his best.
That's why he was known as The Voice. Nobody ever came close.
@BrianGeorgeIbach
This is the greatest of all Frank Sinatra. and a tremendous backing as well. I too,grew up with this recording and cannot understand why the only numbers we hear played these days are "New York...My Way" etc etc. This is far superior.
@BingandNelsonFan
FABULOUS! Frank Sinatra is certainly one of the all-time greats --- and this song is a great example of his talents. Wow! It doesn't get better.
@spitfireJEJ
For my money this was Frank's best ever performance.
@LEWISELIOT74
I agree.
@lrn_news9171
It's a very good performance but I think Sinatra's best vocal performances were between 1943 to 1945
@michaelterrell5061
@@lrn_news9171 I agree.
@hayesharlan1592
I guess I'm kind of off topic but does anybody know a good website to stream newly released tv shows online ?
@jadezee6316
@@lrn_news9171 Sinatras voice was at its peak from 54-62.....