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.
Don't Cry Joe
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
You got to realize this is the wind-up
You're gonna feel much better once you make your mind up
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
So you lost your gal, it's happened many times before
Get a hold of yourself, forget her, you lived long before you met her
There're lots of other girls, so I say
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go
(You got to realize this is the wind-up
You'll feel much better once you made your mind up)
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Take a look around and see just what you're missing
You'll soon forget your troubles, Joe, if you'd only listen
So don't cry, Joe, let her go (better forget 'er), let her go, Joe, let her go
(Poor Joe)
The lyrics of Frank Sinatra's Don't Cry Joe, are designed to be a soulful encouragement to a heartbroken Joe. The song has a slow, mournful melody to it, that evokes emotions of sadness and longing. Throughout the song, Frank encourages Joe to let go of his long-lost love, and not to dwell on the past. By constantly repeating the line "Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go," Sinatra is making a case for Joe to accept the break-up and move on with his life.
Sinatra's lyrics also acknowledge that heartbreak is not a new phenomenon, nor an unusual one. "So you lost your gal, it's happened many times before. So you sit and mope like a dope, what's that good for?" is an acknowledgement that break-ups are a natural part of life and that Joe is not alone in his situation. Sinatra's advice to Joe is to "get a hold of yourself, forget her, you lived long before you met her. There're lots of other girls", meaning that Joe will eventually heal and find love again.
Overall, Don't Cry Joe is a song about picking oneself up after a break-up, and moving on with life. The song acts as a comforting reminder that despite the pain, life goes on, and there are endless possibilities for new love and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Encouragement to let go of a lost love and move on.
You got to realize this is the wind-up
Acknowledgement that the relationship has come to an end.
You're gonna feel much better once you make your mind up
Belief that making the decision to move on will lead to a sense of relief.
So you lost your gal, it's happened many times before
Putting the experience of losing a love interest into perspective by reminding the listener that it's not a unique experience.
So you sit and mope like a dope, what's that good for
Discouragement from wallowing in sadness.
Get a hold of yourself, forget her, you lived long before you met her
Urging the listener to regain their emotional stability and realize that they existed as an individual before the relationship began.
There're lots of other girls, so I say
Pointing out the existence of other potential love interests.
Take a look around and see just what you're missing
Suggesting that there may already be opportunities for happiness in the listener's life that they're not recognizing due to their attachment to the lost love.
You'll soon forget your troubles, Joe, if you'd only listen
The promise of a happier future if they choose to let go of the past.
Don't cry, Joe, let her go (better forget 'er), let her go, Joe, let her go
Reiteration of the advice to move on from the lost love.
(Poor Joe)
Empathy for the listener's emotional pain.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Joe Marsala
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@GiioJagger
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
You got to realize this is the wind-up
You're gonna feel much better once you make your mind up
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
So you lost your gal, it's happened many times before
So you sit and mope like a dope, what's that good for
Get a hold of yourself, forget her, you lived long before you met her
There're lots of other girls, so I say
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go
(You got to realize this is the wind-up
You'll feel much better once you made your mind up)
Don't cry, Joe, let her go, let her go, let her go
Take a look around and see just what you're missing
You'll soon forget your troubles, Joe, if you'd only listen
So don't cry, Joe, let her go (better forget 'er), let her go, Joe, let her go
@johncasper8031
I was about two years old when this came out.
When my uncle broke up with a girlfriend he would get me to sing it to him.
(So my mother said).
@MAGNUM05
I've driven a 1947 Packard Super Clipper a few years ago in El Segundo, California. As I was driving the car, the radio was still in good working condition and this song happened to come on. It was fantastic. It's like going back in time to the Late '40s. Perfect timing indeed.
@mrj4990
As someone named Joe, this song sure would have payed off a couple years ago when my now ex wife left me, I hope she’s doing okay wherever she may be.
@jerryferko8309
one of his best , love this song , taught me a few things .
@TheNancy1938
Gorgeous!
@saintcruzin
In 1949 Frank was changing from Frankie to Sinatra and you can tell he was becoming great!
@lrn_news9171
I think early Sinatra was the best Sinatra. I believe his vocal peak was between 1939-1947
@saintcruzin
LRN_News His voice was much smoother earlier but he didn’t learn that great phrasing until the 1950’s, I think his best time period.
@toussaintwilliams6144
beautiful timeless!!!
@danielabargil7698
"memories are made of this"