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.
Last Call for Love
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or is it my heart dear, beating this way
There's work to be done, done with a gun
There goes the bugle, I hear it say
It's the last call for love, time to say Fare thee well
Let the taps tell you all that my heart dare not tell
With your eyes in the stars of Old Glory
Can I help but be faithful to you
Till we meet on the day we're dreaming of
It's the last call for love
[Chorus]
It's the last call for love, sweetheart
The Last Call of Love is a poignant song that captures the feelings of a soldier during wartime. The song begins with the realization that the moment has come - it could either mean the last call for love or the last call for a soldier's life. Through the lyrics "There's work to be done, done with a gun," the song conveys the seriousness and the imminent danger of the situation. The soldier hears a drum, and wonders if it is his heart, which is beating fast with fear and anticipation.
The bugle call signals the end of freedom and the beginning of a battle. The chorus "It's the last call for love, time to say Fare thee well, Let the taps tell you all that my heart dare not tell" conveys the fear of the unknown and the soldier's fervent hope to be reunited with his loved ones. Even in the face of impending danger, the soldier's love for his country and his sweetheart remains steadfast. The lines "With your eyes in the stars of Old Glory, Can I help but be faithful to you" reinforce the patriotic duty that soldiers feel towards their country.
Line by Line Meaning
The moment has come, I hear a drum
The time has finally come, I can feel it in my bones, like the sound of a drum.
Or is it my heart dear, beating this way
Perhaps it's just my own heart racing with anticipation of what's to come.
There's work to be done, done with a gun
There's a mission that must be accomplished, a task that can only be finished with a weapon in hand.
There goes the bugle, I hear it say
The call to arms has sounded- I can hear it in the distance, beckoning me to action.
It's the last call for love, time to say Fare thee well
It's time to bid adieu to the notion of love, as there are more pressing matters at hand that require my full attention.
Let the taps tell you all that my heart dare not tell
Even though my heart is heavy with emotion, I cannot express it with words- the sound of the taps are enough to communicate it.
With your eyes in the stars of Old Glory
As I gaze deeply into your eyes, I am overcome with a sense of loyalty and honor towards my country, symbolized by the stars on the American flag.
Can I help but be faithful to you
Your unwavering support and devotion to me has cultivated a sense of duty, making it impossible for me to be anything but faithful to you in return.
Till we meet on the day we're dreaming of
Until we are reunited on the day that we both yearn for- a day of peace and tranquility- I will keep my love for you in my heart.
It's the last call for love, sweetheart
This is our final farewell to the love that we shared, as duty calls and I must fulfill my responsibility.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURTON LANE, E.Y. HARBURG, MARGARET CUMMINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
sustainfem
One of my very favorite songs by Frank. Thanks for uploading!!
Jorge Bernardo
Sinatra came out of the gate on fire. #GreatestEver
User
Thank you for all of the gorgeous upload. It warms my heart.
Jim Hand
Ah, yes! You really feel you are into Army life when you are, as I was, - battalion BUGLER! for part of my time. As another great WW2 song was titled: "From Taps To Reveille" the bugler was an intrisic part of the action. This song, "It's The Last Call...." has cleverly inserted several bars of the well-know "Reveille" into the melody! I later was transferred to the infantry - no more bugle!
Joe Martin
Wonderful! I've never seen the whole film available anywhere. I'd love to get it.
De Leon
You can buy it here where it says Buy for 9.99 it's worth it.
Eddie Wakes Music
Ole’ TD, Sinatra and the Pied Pipers! Wow!
StephBer1
This is when Sinatra's voice was butter. He lost it in later years, although he was always a fantastic singer.
David Ramirez
His best years.
La Flame
🔥Pied pipers x Frankie Sinatra 🔥