Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American s… Read Full Bio ↴Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

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.

Let's Start the New Year Right
Frank Sinatra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

One minute to midnight, one minute to go
One minute to say good-bye before we say hello

Let's start the new year right, twelve o'clock tonight
When they dim the light, let's begin

Kissing the old year out
Kissing the new year in

Let's watch the old year die with a fond good-bye
And our hopes as high as a kite

How can our love go wrong if
We start the new year right?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s song, “Let’s Start the New Year Right,” convey a sense of closure for the old year and hope for the new. The opening lines state, “One minute to midnight, one minute to go, one minute to say good-bye before we say hello.” This signifies the end of one year and the beginning of another. The lyrics then suggest that it’s time to start the new year off right, “Let’s start the new year right, twelve o’clock tonight, when they dim the light, let’s begin.” This emphasizes the importance of a fresh start and emphasizes that the start of the new year is the perfect time to do so.

The second stanza talks about “kissing the old year out, kissing the new year in.” This is a common tradition and signifies saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. The following lines say, “Let’s watch the old year die with a fond goodbye, and our hopes as high as a kite.” This encourages individuals to look to the future with hope and positivity. The final line of this stanza is, “How can our love go wrong if we start the new year right?” This demonstrates that starting off the year on the right foot can set the tone for the coming year, including personal relationships.

Overall, “Let’s Start the New Year Right” is an optimistic and encouraging song that emphasizes the importance of starting the new year off on a positive note. It encourages individuals to leave the past in the past and focus on the future, filled with hope and love.

Line by Line Meaning

One minute to midnight, one minute to go
The current year is about to end in only one minute, and the new year is about to start.

One minute to say good-bye before we say hello
We have a minute left to bid farewell to the old year before welcoming the new year.

Let's start the new year right, twelve o'clock tonight
At exactly twelve o'clock tonight, let us kickstart the new year in the right way.

When they dim the light, let's begin
As soon as they dim the lights, we should take it as a signal to begin the new year on a positive note.

Kissing the old year out
We should symbolically 'kiss' the old year goodbye, signifying the end of an era.

Kissing the new year in
We should also symbolically 'kiss' in the new year, signifying a fresh start and new beginnings.

Let's watch the old year die with a fond good-bye
We should bid farewell to the old year with fondness and appreciation for the good times, memories, and experiences we had in that year.

And our hopes as high as a kite
As we welcome the new year, we should have high hopes, aspirations, and goals for the year ahead.

How can our love go wrong if
If we start the new year on the right foot, how can our relationships and connections with loved ones go wrong?

We start the new year right?
Starting the new year right means setting the tone for the rest of the year, and it can only lead to positive outcomes and experiences.

Contributed by Camilla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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