Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American s… Read Full Bio ↴Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

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.

Dancing In the Dark
Frank Sinatra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dancin' in the dark 'til the tune ends
We're dancin' in the dark and it soon ends
We're waltzin' in the wonder of why we're here
Time hurries by, we're here, and we're gone
Lookin' for the light of a new love
To brighten up the night, I have you love
And we can face the music together
Dancing in the dark

What though love is old
What though song is old
Through them we can be young
Hear this heart of mine
Wailin' all the time
Dear one, tell me that we're one
Lookin' for the light of a new love
To brighten up the night I have you love
And we can face the music together
Dancin' in the dark

Dancin' in the dark
Dancin' in the dark

Overall Meaning

Frank Sinatra's "Dancing in the Dark" is a song about being held in the grip of love and being lost in darkness. The song is about a couple that dances in the darkness until the song ends. The lyrics describe the rush of time, and that life is fleeting, but through love and song, you can feel young again. The song encourages the couple to look for the light of a new love to brighten up the night. The singer's tone is hopeful and passionate throughout the song, for he is confident that with his partner, he can face the music together, knowing that he is not alone.

Through his subtly sentimental vocal performance and the classic jazz-infused melodies, Sinatra takes the listener on a journey that speaks of the power of love to light up the darkness. His delivery style of the song is poignant and deep, bringing the lyrics to life in a way that only a master performer could. Sinatra's emotional depth shows through his voice, making the song's message resonate all the more powerfully.

In conclusion, Dancing in the Dark is a classic Sinatra love song that captures the beauty and intensity of love in a way that only he can. It continues to be celebrated and loved by fans around the world, capturing the essence of what it means to be whisked away in a dance of passion.

Line by Line Meaning

Dancin' in the dark 'til the tune ends
We're dancing in the darkness until the music stops

We're waltzin' in the wonder of why we're here
We're feeling the wonder of life as we dance

Time hurries by, we're here, and we're gone
Life passes quickly, we exist for a moment and disappear

Lookin' for the light of a new love
Searching for the brightness of new love

To brighten up the night, I have you love
You give me the light I need to brighten my darkness

And we can face the music together
We can confront life's challenges together

What though love is old
Love may be ancient, but it's still powerful

What though song is old
The melody may have been around for a while, but it still moves us

Through them we can be young
Love and music can make us feel young again

Hear this heart of mine
Listen to what my heart is saying

Wailin' all the time
My heart is constantly longing