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.
My Buddy
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some of its leaves bring a sigh,
There it was written, my buddy,
That we must part, you and I.
[Chorus]
Nights are long since you went away,
I think about you all through the day,
Miss your voice, the touch of your hand,
Just long to know that you understand,
My buddy, my buddy, your buddy misses you
Buddies through all the gay days,
Buddies when something went wrong;
I wait alone through the gray days,
Missing your smile and your song.
[Chorus]
In Frank Sinatra's song My Buddy, the lyrics tell a tale of a deep and meaningful friendship that has been broken by the inevitability of life. The opening verse describes life as a book that we study, and how some of its pages bring a sigh. The singer then speaks of a "buddy" who he had to part ways with. The chorus then comes in singing how the nights feel longer without the presence of this person, how they miss their voice and the touch of their hand, and that nobody is as true a friend as their buddy.
The second verse talks about how the two friends stood by each other through the happy days and the tough ones, and how now the singer waits alone through the gray days, missing the smile and song of their buddy. The song overall is about the deep bond that can form between two friends, and how even when that bond is broken, the memories of that friendship can be cherished and missed forever.
In My Buddy, Frank Sinatra beautifully captures the pain of losing a dear friend, and how that pain can linger even long after the person has left. The chorus, especially, is a strong testament to the heartache one feels when they've lost a friend and how that person can never truly be replaced. Sinatra's voice carries a sense of longing that beautifully captures the emotions of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Life is a book that we study,
Life is an endless learning process, where each chapter teaches us various lessons.
Some of its leaves bring a sigh,
There are moments in life that leave us feeling sorrowful and heartbroken.
There it was written, my buddy,
It is a fact that we all must face that at some point, we will have to say goodbye to our dear friends.
That we must part, you and I.
Even though we may not want to, separation is a part of life that we cannot avoid.
Nights are long since you went away,
After you left, the nights seem longer, and it's difficult to pass the time without you.
I think about you all through the day,
You are always on my mind, and I can't help but think about you constantly.
My buddy, my buddy, no buddy quite so true.
You have been the most loyal and trustworthy friend I've ever had.
Miss your voice, the touch of your hand,
I miss hearing your voice and feeling the warmth of your hand upon mine.
Just long to know that you understand,
All I want is for you to know how much I care about you and that I miss you deeply.
My buddy, my buddy, your buddy misses you
I will always remember you as my closest and dearest friend, and I will never forget the cherished memories we shared together.
Buddies through all the gay days,
We have been there for each other through all the happy moments in life.
Buddies when something went wrong;
We have also been there for each other through the tough and challenging times.
I wait alone through the gray days,
Without you, the days seem gloomy and it's difficult to muster any enthusiasm or joy.
Missing your smile and your song.
The absence of your smile and your kind heart leave a void in my life that cannot be replaced.
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Linda Marrett
My mother sang this while holding a candle onstage in 1917 when she was six. She won first prize
Debbie White
Linda, thank you for this sweet comment. When I read it, I envisioned your mom on the stage singing and it made me smile. It's such a sweet song, and brings to mind, I think, all of the "buddies" that we've had in our lives, many no longer there, and how much we love and miss them. That is why I dedicated it to my dear friend, Ralph, who was a veteran of WW2 and lived to be 99 years old. I think of him every single DAY.
Meik Shearer
Happy birthday young man! Think of this song when I think about my father. He just passed a few months back and I miss his voice as well. My real friend. MY Buddy! We only meet a few really true folks in our lives. Take care all!
WINDBORNE
This is the very first Frank Sinatra song that my Maternal Grandmother ever introduced to me!!! Cheers!!!!! 👍🏻🇺🇸
Billy
My grandfather hated Frank Sinatra. He said Sinatra not sang clean
Kelcie Burns
My grandmother would sing this to me as young child. She raised me for the first decade of my life. How it is nostalgic for me. Thank you for sharing this.
Debbie White
I was extremely close to my grandmother, Kelcie, and loved her more than anything else in the world. This song is so representative of her "era" and I cannot listen to it without thinking of her. I'm so happy to see your comment. Thank YOU.
Linda Anderson
I just heard this song on my Frank Sinatra satellite channel today. Looked it up. So lovely- and what a wonderful way to honor your buddy.
Debbie White
Thank you, Linda. Never a day goes by that I don't think of Ralph, and this song says how I feel just perfectly.
Ray puppet Lopez
I sign this song to my neighbors dog his name is buddy and how it does bring him Joy ... Great upload...thank you..