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.
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.
Mam' Selle
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A small Cafe Mam'selle, our rendezvous, Mam'selle.
The violins were warm and sweet, and so were you Mam'selle.
And as the night danced by, a kiss became a sigh,
Your lovely eyes seemed to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does for you.
And yet I know too well someday you'll say goodbye,
Then violins will cry, and so will I Mam'selle.
The violins were warm and sweet, and so were you Mam'selle.
And as the night danced by, a kiss became a sigh,
Your lovely eyes seemed to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does for you.
And yet I know too well someday you'll say goodbye,
Then violins will cry, and so will I Mam'selle.
The song Mam'selle is a romantic ballad about a rendezvous between two lovers in a small café. The lyrics vividly describe the setting of the rendezvous, as the violins playing in the background create a warm and sweet atmosphere. The chorus of the song expresses the deep longing and yearning the singer feels for his love interest. The lyrics suggest that the two have a strong connection, as their eyes seem to sparkle in unison. However, the bittersweet nature of the song is revealed in the lines "And yet I know too well someday you'll say goodbye, Then violins will cry, and so will I Mam'selle". The singer acknowledges the inevitable goodbye, and expresses the pain he will feel when the relationship comes to an end.
Line by Line Meaning
A small Cafe Mam'selle, our rendezvous, Mam'selle.
We met at a small cafe called Mam'selle where we arranged to rendezvous.
The violins were warm and sweet, and so were you Mam'selle.
The music played by the violins was warm and sweet, just like your personality, Mam'selle.
And as the night danced by, a kiss became a sigh,
As the night progressed, a kiss between us turned into a sigh of longing.
Your lovely eyes seemed to sparkle just like wine does
Your eyes shone brightly and sparkled, similar to the way wine does in a glass.
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does for you.
My heart yearns for you in a way that is incomparable to any other heart's longing.
And yet I know too well someday you'll say goodbye,
Despite my strong feelings for you, I am aware that eventually, you will have to say goodbye.
Then violins will cry, and so will I Mam'selle.
When the time comes for us to part ways, even the violins will cry, and I will feel great sadness, Mam'selle.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Edmund Goulding, Mack Gordon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@garysantiago4437
A small cafe, mam'selle
Our rendez-vouz, mam'selle
The violins were warm and sweet
And so were you, mam'selle
And as the night danced by
A kiss became a sigh
Your lovely eyes
Seem to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does, for you
And yet I know too well
Someday you'll say goodbye
Then violins will cry
And so will I, mam'selle
And as the night danced by
A kiss became a sigh
Your lovely eyes
Seem to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does, for you
And yet I know too well
Someday you'll say goodbye
Then violins will cry
And so will I, mam'selle
@elizabethsimmons2672
My father wrote this....he sold it to the producer of the “Razor’s Edge” during World War 2 while he was a bombardier....he was a Juilliard grad, and worked for RCA after the war. His name was Martin Tuck....and he sold it to Edmund Goulding. There have been many articles written about him, but he was a fantastic man, pianist and writer. I became a classically trained pianist, that played with many symphonies, and my brother has been a keyboardist/singer with bands for many years. Tony Bennett is probably the last singer that is alive that recorded this song.....there have been many. I hope and pray that I might meet him before he’s no longer with us.
@MichaelLavocah
Your father wrote a great song!
@cjb5228
I've been searching for this song for a long time. My parents were both operatic singers, but after ww2 my dad recorded this on a 45. I ended up with it as a child and played it so many times it broke, and my heart too. My father had the most beautiful lyric tenor voice. Thanks to your father he wrote one of the most beautiful songs that I shared with my very young father at the time. Just beautiful!
@robreynolds6546
I have loved (and sung) this tune for years. I am beyond grateful to your father for his service to our country during WWII, and for this song. Absolute perfection <3
@charisjenson2147
Your father, wonderful, wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Do you happen to know who is playing the violin solo?
@elizabethsimmons2672
@Charis Jenson From what I was told, it was recorded with a 65 piece orchestra, I wouldn't know who did the violin solo. Just like when you're the pianist in a symphony, and there isn't a headliner, I had many solos, and took the first bow after the conductor, but no one knew who I was, lol.
@donnavillalobos4655
I love this song... growing up with my dad who had all the records of the old standards ... I played piano and organ and played this song many many times I’ve been looking for it online or on YouTube until I put in Frank Sinatra singing mademoiselle it finally came up. I sure do you think your dad. It’s a beautiful song.
@cyrusnanavati
What a singer......what a song..........what an era.........what great music...........hope this genre returns one day so the young ones today can enjoy
@garysantiago4437
A small cafe, mam'selle
Our rendez-vouz, mam'selle
The violins were warm and sweet
And so were you, mam'selle
And as the night danced by
A kiss became a sigh
Your lovely eyes
Seem to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does, for you
And yet I know too well
Someday you'll say goodbye
Then violins will cry
And so will I, mam'selle
And as the night danced by
A kiss became a sigh
Your lovely eyes
Seem to sparkle just like wine does
No heart ever yearned the way that mine does, for you
And yet I know too well
Someday you'll say goodbye
Then violins will cry
And so will I, mam'selle
@ericfirth2770
A true classic from a vintage year
What a voice what a song.