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.
Full Moon And Empty Arms
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The moon is there for us to share
But where are you?
A night like this could weave a memory
And every kiss could start a dream for two
Full moon and empty arms
Tonight I'll use the magic moon to wish upon
And next full moon if my one wish comes true
Frank Sinatra's Full Moon and Empty Arms is a poignant and wistful expression of longing for a lost love, using the symbolic imagery of a full moon to represent the emptiness felt without the presence of the loved one. The song begins with Sinatra lamenting the absence of his lover, wishing that they could share the beauty of the moon together. He reflects on how a night like this could create a lasting memory, and how every kiss could ignite a shared dream. He longs for his empty arms to be filled with his love's embrace once more.
As the song progresses, Sinatra uses the imagery of the full moon to express his hope that his lover will return to him. He makes a wish upon the magical moon, hoping that it will bring his love back to him. The song ends on a hopeful note, with Sinatra expressing his belief that he will be reunited with his lost love when the next full moon arrives.
Overall, Full Moon and Empty Arms is a beautiful and melancholy song that captures the timeless feeling of heartbreak and longing. Sinatra's voice is hauntingly beautiful, capturing perfectly the fragile emotions of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Full moon and empty arms
The singer is looking at the full moon and feeling a sense of loneliness.
The moon is there for us to share
The moon is a natural beauty that can be appreciated with someone else's company.
But where are you?
The singer is longing for someone to share the moment with.
A night like this could weave a memory
The artist is suggesting that a night with a full moon could be a memorable night for two people.
And every kiss could start a dream for two
The artist is romanticizing the idea that every kiss shared could spark a dream for a future together with their partner.
Full moon and empty arms
The singer is still feeling lonely despite the beauty of the full moon.
Tonight I'll use the magic moon to wish upon
The singer is wishing for someone to share the beauty of the full moon with.
And next full moon if my one wish comes true
The artist is hoping that their wish will come true and that they will have someone to share the next full moon with.
My empty arms will be filled with you
The artist is hoping that their wish will come true and that they will finally have someone to hold onto and share moments like these with.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Buddy Kaye, Ted Mossman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@WilliamSilva-ml5nw
Everyone seems to dig the swinging Sinatra, but the intimate Sinatra is pretty potent. I don't think there's a male singer that can match the intimacy he displays in his singing.
@trevoreklof1088
Nah man bing Crosby slaps pretty hard to so does Al Bowley
@dwightdoan5646
He couldn't read a note of music, it was all instinct. He ranks with Perry Como, Nat Cole, Dean Martin, and Harry Lillis 'Bing' Crosby junior as the greatest singers of the 20th century.
@Trombonology
Frank had taken a crack at the first movement of Sergei's famous concerto, in the form of the pop tune "I Think of You," with TD, back in '41.
@henridelagardere264
Do you dig Rachmaninoff? On and off! Rimsky? Mmh, ofcoursakoff!
@ladycavalier
You gotta love Sinatra ❤
(Speaking of love, do you have any playlists specifically for duets, bc I would love that)
@Phaaschh
I wonder if this was ever issued in the UK? its not a title I recall from my misspent days, trawling through basement record stores in 1980-90s London.
The reason I wonder is that just a week after Frank cut this side, "Brief Encounter" was released, and Sergei's 2nd became the Must Have classical piece of the moment, for those who could afford such a luxury in those austere days, anyhow. The timing of this would have been perfect.
@Trombonology
Mark, I can't hear Sergei's 2nd -- in classical or pop form -- without thinking of Brief Encounter , one of my all-time favorite films, beautiful in every detail. Thanks for mentioning it!
@Phaaschh
@Trombonology Erstwhile Pleasure. Its one of my top 5, as well.
@wmbrown6
I seem to remember the title parodied in some corners as "Full Head and Empty Stomach."