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.
I'm Confessin'
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me, do you love me too?
I'm confessin' that I need you,
Honest I do, need you every moment.
In your eyes I read such strange things,
But your lips deny they're true,
Will your answer really change things
Making me blue?
I'm afraid some day you'll leave me,
Saying "can't we still be friends"
If you go, you know you'll grieve me,
All in life on you depends.
Am I guessin' that you love me,
Dreaming dreams of you in vain,
I'm confessin' that I love you, over again.
In Frank Sinatra's song, "I'm Confessin'", the lyrics express the act of confessing one's love to another. The singer confesses their love and need for the person, while also expressing their fear of being left behind. The singer sees strange things in the eyes of the person they love, but their lips deny that those things are true. The singer ponders whether their confession will make the other person change their mind and leave them feeling heartbroken. They wonder if their love is unrequited and they are only dreaming of something that can never be.
The song reflects the raw and vulnerable emotions of being in love and the fear of not receiving the same emotions in return. There is an element of uncertainty and desperation in the lyrics, as the singer wants to know if their love is reciprocated or not. The song's melancholic melody and sparse instrumentation allow the lyrics and Sinatra's vocals to shine, giving the listeners a chance to connect with the emotions being conveyed.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm confessin' that I love you,
I am admitting that I have strong romantic feelings for you.
Tell me, do you love me too?
I am curious if you feel the same way about me as I do about you.
I'm confessin' that I need you,
I am admitting that I cannot imagine my life without you.
Honest I do, need you every moment.
I am being completely truthful when I say that I rely on you for my emotional well-being.
In your eyes I read such strange things,
I sense a confusing mix of emotions when I look into your eyes.
But your lips deny they're true,
Although I see something in your eyes, I am confused because you speak as if everything is fine between us.
Will your answer really change things
I am apprehensive about what your response to my confession of love will mean for our relationship.
Making me blue?
I fear that the outcome of this conversation might make me sad or disheartened.
I'm afraid some day you'll leave me,
I worry that at some point in the future, you will end our relationship.
Saying "can't we still be friends"
If you do break up with me, I fear you will ask to remain friends, which would be difficult for me.
If you go, you know you'll grieve me,
If you do end up leaving me, it will be painful and difficult for me to deal with.
All in life on you depends.
My happiness and well-being are closely tied to my relationship with you.
Am I guessin' that you love me,
I am wondering if my guess that you have romantic feelings for me is correct.
Dreaming dreams of you in vain,
I sometimes imagine a romantic future with you, although I suspect it is unrealistic.
I'm confessin' that I love you, over again.
I am reiterating my previously stated feelings of love for you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Al J Neiburg, Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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