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.
Lost In The Stars
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He held all the stars in the palm of his hand
And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand
And one little star fell alone
Then the Lord God hunted through the wide night air
For the little dark star in the wind down there
And he stated and promised he'd take special care
Now, a man don't mind if the stars get dim
And the clouds blow over and darken him
So long as the Lord God's watching over him
Keeping track how it all goes on
But I've been walking through the night and the day
Till my eyes get weary and my head turns gray
And sometimes it seems maybe God's gone away
Forgetting his promise and the word he'd say
And we're lost out here in the stars
Little stars big stars blowing through the night
And we're lost out here in the stars
Little stars big stars blowing through the night
And we're lost out here in the stars
"Lost in the Stars" is a powerful song about the struggle to find meaning and hope in a world that can often feel abandoned by God. The opening verse sets the tone by depicting a mysterious creation story, in which the stars were formed before the sea or land, and were placed in the hands of God. The image of the stars slipping through his fingers like grains of sand is hauntingly beautiful, but it is tempered by the fact that one little star falls alone, setting the stage for the themes of loss and abandonment that will dominate the rest of the song.
The second verse shifts from the mythic to the personal, as the singer reflects on his own experience of feeling lost and forgotten by God. He contrasts his own sense of isolation with the reassuring knowledge that God is still watching over him, even if the stars dim and the clouds darken. But as his struggles continue, he wonders if God has indeed gone away, forgetting the promises he made to take special care of those who are lost.
The chorus brings together these themes of loss, isolation, and the search for meaning into a haunting and timeless image of humanity adrift in the cosmos. Whether interpreted as a reflection on the existential struggles of modern life, or as a commentary on the political and social turmoil of the mid-twentieth century, "Lost in the Stars" is a powerful reminder of the enduring power of music to speak to our deepest fears and hopes.
Line by Line Meaning
Before Lord God made the sea or the land
God created everything in this world including the sea and land
He held all the stars in the palm of his hand
God created and had control of all the stars in the universe
And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand
God had dominion over the stars and let them fall through his fingers like sand in an hourglass
And one little star fell alone
Despite God's control, one star still fell and was lost somewhere in the universe
Then the Lord God hunted through the wide night air
God searched through the vastness of the night sky to find the lost star
For the little dark star in the wind down there
God searched for the one star that had fallen and was now lost down on earth
And he stated and promised he'd take special care
God promised to take special care of the lost little star
So it wouldn't get lost no more
God wanted to prevent the lost star from being lost again
Now, a man don't mind if the stars get dim
A person can overlook the dimming of stars in the night sky
And the clouds blow over and darken him
A person can handle even the gloomiest of times if they still feel that God is watching over them
So long as the Lord God's watching over him
As long as God is keeping an eye on them, a person can manage during difficult times
Keeping track how it all goes on
God is keeping tabs on everything and knows what is happening
But I've been walking through the night and the day
The singer has been walking through life, both during the day and night
Till my eyes get weary and my head turns gray
The singer has grown tired and has aged
And sometimes it seems maybe God's gone away
The singer sometimes feels as though God has abandoned them
Forgetting his promise and the word he'd say
The artist believes that God has gone back on his promise to take care of them and protect them
And we're lost out here in the stars
The artist and possibly others feel lost, adrift in life
Little stars big stars blowing through the night
The stars above are still in the sky, despite the feeling of being lost
And we're lost out here in the stars
The singer and others still feel lost, even with the presence of stars all around
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MarkBlackburnWPG
A friend asked today, "If you could keep only ONE of his albums, which one goes with you to the proverbial desert island?" The short answer is, "This one." But a big ocean of memories will surround that island.
Back when I was just six years old, I attended my best friend David Pearce's birthday party, and his mother -- a widow, who I can remember thinking was so beautiful -- took out a picture of little David's late father and told us boys how she'd married on the "Day of Infamy." (Much later I'd learn that was the term used by President FDR for December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was hit, launching American involvement in WWII).
Then Mrs. Pearce told us that "Frank Sinatra -- you don't know him, was always our favorite singer." I remember feeling honored, at that moment -- in some way that my six year old heart could never express in words---that she would share with us that photograph, and her memories of David's late father. And then, speaking to me alone (as the other boys at the party gravitated towards David's new toys) Mrs. Pearce told me in a soft voice:
"Frank Sinatra is the greatest singer, Mark. Maybe someday you'll agree with me." Then she put on one of his records---something from the first Capitol album of 1953 (how I wish with all my heart that I could recall which song she selected---but I do remember listening, dutifully, and feeling very much like a big man who was seeing eye-to-eye with this beautiful woman who was treating me like an adult.
---
I grew up in a musically literate home, with loving (and very musical) parents who once saw a live performance by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey's band in July of 1940 (at Toronto's "Canadian National Exhibition"----a sort of glorified `state fair' in Canada's largest city). My parents had no Frank Sinatra LPs from the 1950s (only one or two old "Columbia" 78s from the late 1940s). Dad gave Mom two Nat Cole LPs in the 60s, including one arranged by Gordon Jenkins---my Mom's favorite singer and her favorite arranger, right up until her death three years ago.
My parents always took us to see "Broadway" musicals as performed locally, (in my hometown of Ottawa Canada) and eventually---in 1960---they took us to see the "real thing"----I remember being told that the theatre house lights were being dimmed all over Broadway that very night because Oscar Hammerstein had just died. Mom told me "He's the greatest lyricist, Mark" suggesting (like Mrs. Pearce) that one day, perhaps when I was older, I might agree with her.
On that same visit to NYC I remember stepping off an elevator in the Plaza Hotel, and my father immediately telling me "that man there, you just rode in the elevator with is Richard Rodgers" (who would one day be my favorite composer). But as with beautiful Mrs. Pearce trying to introduce me to Frank Sinatra, I just "wasn't ready" to appreciate greatness . . . "
---
Any track from that album is “my favorite recording right this minute.” As it happens Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio just played THIS one (one of the few NOT written by my favorite composer). Yes, as Frank said in another context -- introducing Fred Astaire dancing with Eleanor Powell: 'You can wait around a hundred years, and you'll never see (hear) the likes of this again.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VMMa0YDbg Thanks, JdvH for posting this great sounding selection.
@MarkBlackburnWPG
A friend asked today, "If you could keep only ONE of his albums, which one goes with you to the proverbial desert island?" The short answer is, "This one." But a big ocean of memories will surround that island.
Back when I was just six years old, I attended my best friend David Pearce's birthday party, and his mother -- a widow, who I can remember thinking was so beautiful -- took out a picture of little David's late father and told us boys how she'd married on the "Day of Infamy." (Much later I'd learn that was the term used by President FDR for December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was hit, launching American involvement in WWII).
Then Mrs. Pearce told us that "Frank Sinatra -- you don't know him, was always our favorite singer." I remember feeling honored, at that moment -- in some way that my six year old heart could never express in words---that she would share with us that photograph, and her memories of David's late father. And then, speaking to me alone (as the other boys at the party gravitated towards David's new toys) Mrs. Pearce told me in a soft voice:
"Frank Sinatra is the greatest singer, Mark. Maybe someday you'll agree with me." Then she put on one of his records---something from the first Capitol album of 1953 (how I wish with all my heart that I could recall which song she selected---but I do remember listening, dutifully, and feeling very much like a big man who was seeing eye-to-eye with this beautiful woman who was treating me like an adult.
---
I grew up in a musically literate home, with loving (and very musical) parents who once saw a live performance by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey's band in July of 1940 (at Toronto's "Canadian National Exhibition"----a sort of glorified `state fair' in Canada's largest city). My parents had no Frank Sinatra LPs from the 1950s (only one or two old "Columbia" 78s from the late 1940s). Dad gave Mom two Nat Cole LPs in the 60s, including one arranged by Gordon Jenkins---my Mom's favorite singer and her favorite arranger, right up until her death three years ago.
My parents always took us to see "Broadway" musicals as performed locally, (in my hometown of Ottawa Canada) and eventually---in 1960---they took us to see the "real thing"----I remember being told that the theatre house lights were being dimmed all over Broadway that very night because Oscar Hammerstein had just died. Mom told me "He's the greatest lyricist, Mark" suggesting (like Mrs. Pearce) that one day, perhaps when I was older, I might agree with her.
On that same visit to NYC I remember stepping off an elevator in the Plaza Hotel, and my father immediately telling me "that man there, you just rode in the elevator with is Richard Rodgers" (who would one day be my favorite composer). But as with beautiful Mrs. Pearce trying to introduce me to Frank Sinatra, I just "wasn't ready" to appreciate greatness . . . "
---
Any track from that album is “my favorite recording right this minute.” As it happens Siriusly Sinatra satellite radio just played THIS one (one of the few NOT written by my favorite composer). Yes, as Frank said in another context -- introducing Fred Astaire dancing with Eleanor Powell: 'You can wait around a hundred years, and you'll never see (hear) the likes of this again.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VMMa0YDbg Thanks, JdvH for posting this great sounding selection.
@lindaanderson7077
How lovely of a story. Thanks for sharing. I never really realized how much I liked Frank Sinatra, until I had Siriusly Sinatra. The only channel that I ended up listening to.
@rr7firefly
This LP contains the very best collection of ballads ever recorded by any human being.
@MarkBlackburnWPG
That's the simple truth: And the singer considered it his crowning achievement. The arranger Nelson Riddle, conducting the largest orchestra ever assembled on a Hollywood film stage (Goldwyn -- and the sound was recorded on 35 mm tape! -- Riddle said he never saw Frank better prepared -- or in better voice. So yes: "The very best collection of ballads ever recorded by any human being." The simple truth. (Just posted a note of my own -- Thanks for posting yours, Noe Berengena.
@rr7firefly
@@MarkBlackburnWPG I saw your comment -- so nice of you to share it.
This song really gets to me. At the key change I feel like I am listening to the most poignant story ever put to music. A man who almost loses hope --- but doesn't.
@iangeorge1254
Quite simply an astonishing achievement!
@MarkBlackburnWPG
That's the word! "astonishing." Just posted a note of my own, Ian George. Thanks for posting yours.
@bpabustan
Listen very very closely to the intro, this very recording was the inspiration for the intro to The 5th Dimension's Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In.
@whitelion1111
Verry verry interesting
@TomNall
That thought immediately struck me! I am here by way of the novel “Lo”.