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 membersβcherry-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 carriedβnext 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.
I'll Be Around
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be around from now on
Your latest love can never last
And when it's past, I'll be around when he's gone
Goodbye again and if you find a love like mine
Just now and then drop a line
To say you're feeling fine
Perhaps you'll see you're meant for me
So, I'll be around when he's gone
Goodbye again
Now and then
Drop a line
To say that you're feeling fine
And when things go wrong
Perhaps you'll see you're meant for me
So, I'll be around when he's gone
The lyrics to Frank Sinatra's song "I'll Be Around" convey a sense of determination and persistence in the face of romantic rejection. The opening line, "I'll be around no matter how you treat me now," implies that the singer has been mistreated or taken for granted by the person they love, but they will continue to persist in the relationship despite this treatment. The following lines, "Your latest love can never last/And when it's past, I'll be around when he's gone," suggest that the singer believes their lover's new relationship is doomed to fail, and they will be waiting in the wings when it does.
As the song progresses, the singer bids farewell to their lover, but not without the promise to return. The lines "Goodbye again and if you find a love like mine/Just now and then drop a line/To say you're feeling fine" convey a sense of resignation, as if the singer is accepting that the relationship has come to an end, but still hopes to hear from their lover in the future. The final lines, "And when things go wrong/Perhaps you'll see you're meant for me/So, I'll be around when he's gone," suggest that the singer still holds out hope for a future with their lover, even as they move on to other relationships.
Overall, "I'll Be Around" is a song that captures the complexities of romantic relationships, from the pain of rejection to the persistence of hope. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a person who is willing to weather any storm in order to be with the one they love, even as they navigate the ups and downs of love and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be around no matter how you treat me now
No matter how you treat me, I'll always be there for you.
I'll be around from now on
I'll always be here for you from now on.
Your latest love can never last
The love you have at present won't last forever.
And when it's past, I'll be around when he's gone
When the love is over, I'll still be here for you.
Goodbye again and if you find a love like mine
Saying goodbye but if you can find someone who loves you the way I do.
Just now and then drop a line
Please keep in touch occasionally.
To say you're feeling fine
Tell me you're doing well.
And when things go wrong
When things aren't right for you.
Perhaps you'll see you're meant for me
Maybe you'll realize that we are meant to be together.
So, I'll be around when he's gone
I will always be here for you, when he is not there for you.
Goodbye again
Saying goodbye for now.
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHARLES JACKSON, MARVIN JEROME YANCY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@palmershort5089
I sang this for a buddy who had just got a dear John letter when we were in Korea in 1956. Been trying to contact him but so far no luck
@amazedbysuchgrace5369
Did you manage to get in touch with the bloke?
@Berkcam
My older brother had this disc when I was a kid. I remember that cover... and this great song.
@TheJDWilliams
Sinatra at the top of his game. Beautiful!
@ttwya
Perfection.
@IamSuperEffective
Absolute banger
@Corrie121
Fantastic 5* post. Thank you for sharing this gem.
@mikehuffman5460
not generally a Sinatra fan but this album is superb!!!
@MindyLeahWilkinson
Carly Simon does a very good job on this.
@gdjones6325
Singing about Ava Gardner that's why he sounds so good