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.
But Beautiful
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or it's quiet or it's mad;
It's a good thing or it's bad,
But beautiful!
Beautiful to take a chance
And if you fall, you fall,
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.
It's a problem or it's play,
It's a heartache either way,
But beautiful!
And I'm thinking if you were mine
I'd never let you go,
And that would be but beautiful I know.
The lyrics of Frank Sinatra's But Beautiful conveys the diverse and poetic nature of love. Love can be both a thing of beauty and a source of pain. It can be humorous or emotional, expressive or reserved, but regardless of its mood or form, it is always beautiful.
The first line, "Love is funny or it's sad" captures the irony of love. It can bring immense joy or profound sorrow, and yet even in its worst moments, it remains something special. It can make us feel alive, appreciated, and cherished. The second line goes on to say, "Or it's quiet or it's mad," emphasizing the dualities of love. It can be a quiet whisper or an explosive declaration. It can be strong and determined or fragile and uncertain.
Similarly, Sinatra touches on another dichotomy - "It's a good thing or it's bad, But beautiful!" - proving that regardless of its impact on our daily lives, the beauty of love is always to be appreciated. The chorus begins with the line, "Beautiful to take a chance," which highlights the risks and rewards of love. Love is a gamble, and sometimes taking that chance is worth the risk of failure. "And if you fall, you fall," Sinatra warns, saying that love can make you vulnerable, but sometimes that vulnerability is what makes it so beautiful in the end.
Finally, the line "And I'm thinking if you were mine, I'd never let you go" emphasizes the selflessness of love. It's not just about what we can receive from others, but what we can give. The song concludes with the poignant phrase, "And that would be but beautiful I know," suggesting that despite the ups and downs of romance, ultimately, it's still a beautiful thing to experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is funny or it's sad,
Love can be humorous or sorrowful.
Or it's quiet or it's mad;
It can be calm or intense.
It's a good thing or it's bad,
It can be positive or negative.
But beautiful!
But still lovely and wonderful.
Beautiful to take a chance
It's worth risking for.
And if you fall, you fall,
Even if you fail, it's still worth the shot.
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.
I wouldn't regret trying at all.
Love is tearful or it's gay.
Love can be full of tears or happiness.
It's a problem or it's play,
It can bring difficulties or amusement.
It's a heartache either way,
Whether it's good or bad, it can still cause pain.
But beautiful!
But still lovely and wonderful despite any difficulties.
And I'm thinking if you were mine
If I had you as my own,
I'd never let you go,
I would hold onto you tightly.
And that would be but beautiful I know.
That would be worth it, even with any challenges.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
something67977
Love is funny, or it's sad
Or it's quiet, or it's mad
It's a good thing or it's bad
But beautiful
Beautiful to take a chance
And if you fall you fall
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all
Love is tearful, or it's gay
It's a problem or it's play
It's a heartache either way
But beautiful
And I'm thinking if you were mine
I'd never let you go
And that would be but beautiful I know
But beautiful
And I'm thinking if you were mine
I'd never let you go
And that would be but beautiful I know
Gabriel Coronado
The man not only was an excelent singer, but an ACTOR too.
Kingsley Pedlar
WOW, Rare to hear and see Sinatra singing this old Jimmy Van Heusen ballad. Nice restoration. Thanks.
MsKayfrank
Beautifully sang by the finest singer.
jay capp
Very beautiful song,sung by the Best---Frank Sinatra.
Deplorable Jared Brodersen *Say No To The Mask*
Wow! Someone special introduced this fantastic Sinatra song to me years ago, and even after all this time, I still love it. So much depth, wisdom, truth and pain in this one. Absolutely breath-taking and amazing!
murp h
Your choice of vocalists __ right on __ your choice of presidents _ appalling
majkaviskapana
But Beautiful! <3 Thank you, thank you for this magical cut! My heart stood still for 2 minutes...
Father Adam
what a performer
Karen McCants
LOVE it.
Philip Watson
Thanks for this awesome restoration of the best there ever was!