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.
Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where a little ball o' rhythm has a shoe-shine stand
People gather 'round and they clap their hands
He's a great big bundle o' joy
He pops the boogie woogie rag
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
He charges you a nickel just to shine one shoe
He makes the oldest kind o' leather look like new
He's a great big bundle o' joy, he pops the boogie woogie rag
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
It's a wonder that the rag don't tear. the way he makes it pop
You ought to see him fan the air
With his hoppity-hippity-hippity-hoppity-hoppity-hippity-hop
He opens up for business when the clock strikes nine
He likes to get up early when they're feelin' fine
Everybody gets a little rise 'n shine, with the great big bundle o' joy
He pops the boogie woogie rag, the Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
(instrumental break)
It's a wonder that the rag don't tear, the way he makes it pop
Just listen to him fan the air, here he goes!
He opens up for business when the clock strikes nine
He likes to get up early when they're feelin' fine
Everybody gets a little rise 'n shine, with the great big bundle o' joy
He pops the boogie woogie rag, the Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy.
The song "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" by Frank Sinatra is about a shoe shiner who sets up his business on the corner of Forth and Grand. The shoe shiner is described as a "little ball o' rhythm" who attracts a crowd with his remarkable shoe-shining skills. His boogie woogie rag is so impressive that everyone feels the urge to dance when he is done with the job. The shoe shiner charges a nickel to shine a shoe, and his work can transform even the oldest kind of leather into a new-looking one. His rhythm and style, represented by his hoppity-hippity-hippity-hoppity-hoppity-hippity-hop movement, are unmissable.
The shoe shiner starts his work early, and everyone on the streets gets a little rise and shine, thanks to his great big bundle of joy. The song describes the shoe shiner as a source of happiness and joy for the people around him. The song is an expression of the singer's admiration for the shoe shiner's talent and the feel-good factor he brings. The song also celebrates the power of music and the joy it can bring to people's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you ever passed the corner of Forth and Grand?
Have you ever walked by the intersection of Forth and Grand?
Where a little ball o' rhythm has a shoe-shine stand
Where a small, musically talented shoeshiner operates his stand
People gather 'round and they clap their hands
Onlookers surround him and applaud his performance
He's a great big bundle o' joy
He is a jolly and entertaining person
He pops the boogie woogie rag
He starts playing music, specifically a boogie woogie tune
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
This man is known as the Chattanoogie shoeshiner
He charges you a nickel just to shine one shoe
He only asks for five cents to polish a single shoe
He makes the oldest kind o' leather look like new
He is able to make old leather appear brand new
You feel as though you want to dance when he gets through
After he finishes his performance, listeners are compelled to dance
It's a wonder that the rag don't tear. the way he makes it pop
The cloth he uses to polish shoes seems like it should rip because of how quickly he moves it
You ought to see him fan the air
You should observe how he moves his arms in time with the music
With his hoppity-hippity-hippity-hoppity-hoppity-hippity-hop
He dances a silly but lively dance while he plays the music
He opens up for business when the clock strikes nine
He begins his workday promptly at 9 o'clock
He likes to get up early when they're feelin' fine
He prefers to begin his day early, especially when he is happy
Everybody gets a little rise 'n shine, with the great big bundle o' joy
He brings a bit of cheer and energy to anyone who encounters him
He pops the boogie woogie rag, the Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
He plays the boogie woogie tune while shining shoes, and he is known as the Chattanoogie shoeshiner
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy.
This song is about the joyous and entertaining shoe shiner from Chattanooga.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY STONE, JACK STAAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elisabeth Simon
My favorite song from Frank Sinatra!
Psychol
He never had the makings of a shoe shine boy.