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.
Dick Haymes Dick Todd and Como
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're breathin' on my neck
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
They're really coming fast
Who knows I may be passed
By Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
They say will cause me grief
But if they ever stop
I'll find that I'm back on relief
It'll mean the end of me
Good news for Tommy D
And Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Why should it get their goat
Each time I bend a note
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
At my pictures, they throw rocks
They're both at Twentieth Fox
Not Dick Todd, but Dick Haymes, and Como
They say that I need weight
I'm just a mass of joints
I'd like to put on weight
But where the heck can I get points
If at RKO I pout, they look at me and shout
"Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como"
Everytime I sing i'm compared with Bing
By Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Bing's four boys are sublime
But they won't give me time
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Perry
(that's the other guy's first name)
I'll never sing like Bing
I know I don't compare
I'll grant them he's got voice
If they'll grant me, that I've got hair
But then why all this fuss
There's room for all of us
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
There's just one Crosby
There's room for all of us
The lyrics to Frank Sinatra's song "Dick Haymes Dick Todd and Como" are a humorous reflection on the pressure and competition that Sinatra felt from his fellow crooners at the time. The song begins with Sinatra expressing his anxiety, feeling like he is being overshadowed by his contemporaries Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como (referring to Perry Como). He fears that he may be left behind as they rise to fame and success.
Sinatra then comments on the "girlies" who scream for these other singers, implying that their popularity might bring him trouble. However, he also recognizes that if the screams were to stop, it would mean the end for him and a chance for others like Tommy Dorsey (known as Tommy D) and Haymes, Todd, and Como to take the spotlight.
The lyrics touch on Sinatra's frustration with the constant comparisons and criticism he faced. He mentions that every time he sings, he is compared to Bing Crosby, another renowned singer of the time. While acknowledging that Bing's sons are talented (referring to Crosby's four boys), Sinatra feels like he doesn't receive the same recognition and support. He concludes by emphasizing that there is enough room for everyone in the music industry, implying that he hopes to be acknowledged alongside his peers.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll soon become a wreck
I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious about the upcoming events
They're breathin' on my neck
They are constantly pressuring and competing with me
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Referring to three other singers who are in the spotlight and threatening my success
They're really coming fast
Their popularity and fame are rapidly increasing
Who knows I may be passed
There is a possibility that I may be surpassed and left behind by them
By Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Once again, emphasizing the threat posed by these three singers
The fact that girlies scream
The screaming of the female fans is causing me trouble
They say will cause me grief
People believe that the girls' screaming will bring me sorrow
But if they ever stop
However, if the screaming ever ceases
I'll find that I'm back on relief
I will find relief from the stress and pressure caused by their admiration
It'll mean the end of me
The absence of the girls' screams will lead to my downfall
Good news for Tommy D
This situation would be advantageous for Tommy D (another singer)
And Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Reiterating the mention of these three singers as beneficiaries of my downfall
Why should it get their goat
Why does it bother them so much?
Each time I bend a note
Whenever I sing with my own style and unique voice
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Once again, emphasizing how my singing style affects their perception
At my pictures, they throw rocks
When they see my movies, they criticize and attack me
They're both at Twentieth Fox
Referring to the fact that Dick Haymes and Como are signed to Twentieth Fox studio
Not Dick Todd, but Dick Haymes, and Como
Making a clarification about which singers are associated with the studio
They say that I need weight
People are suggesting that I should gain weight
I'm just a mass of joints
I feel like I am only a collection of disconnected body parts
I'd like to put on weight
I wish to gain weight and project a different image
But where the heck can I get points
However, I am unsure how to gain recognition or win approval
If at RKO I pout, they look at me and shout
If I show dissatisfaction or frustration at the RKO studio, people react negatively
"Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como"
People associate me with these three singers and dismiss my complaints
Every time I sing I'm compared with Bing
Whenever I perform, people compare me to Bing Crosby
By Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Once again, mentioning the three singers who are part of the comparison
Bing's four boys are sublime
Acknowledging that Bing Crosby's four sons are incredibly talented
But they won't give me time
However, they do not provide me with the same opportunities
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Perry
Referring to Perry Como, the third singer mentioned in the song
That's the other guy's first name
Clarifying Perry's first name for those who might not be familiar
I'll never sing like Bing
I acknowledge that I will never reach the level of Bing Crosby's vocal talent
I know I don't compare
I am fully aware that I am not on the same level as Bing Crosby
I'll grant them he's got voice
I acknowledge that Bing Crosby has an exceptional voice
If they'll grant me, that I've got hair
In return, I ask them to acknowledge and appreciate my own physical feature, my hair
But then why all this fuss
Considering this, why is there so much commotion and criticism?
There's room for all of us
There is space and opportunity for all of us to coexist in the industry
Dick Haymes, Dick Todd, and Como
Reiterating the inclusion of these three singers in the statement
There's just one Crosby
However, there is only one Bing Crosby, and he is unique
There's room for all of us
Reiterating that despite the comparison, there is space for everyone in the music industry
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
HandwhistlerBen
It does not get better than this! What talent. What an entertainer!!
Randall Riley
LOVE THIS! Great singer poking fun at the other big male vocalists of his day. Thanks for sharing!
Eugene Sedita
Nobody compares to you Frankie.
God bless
HOLLYWOODLAND
Love this rarity. Young Frank sounds so great. I'm Hollywood Jerry and I just uploaded
"Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, and Hollywood Jerry" Inspired by this classic of yours.
Dreamer8girl
¸.•*¨*•¸☆ Jerry,
Frank Sinatra will always be "The Voice". Great up! Thank you my talented friend!
Have a fantastic weekend! Hugs....Ro
David Chernofsky
never heard before sheer joy.
Zaki
I really like this song