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 Funny Valintine
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Yet you're my favorite work of art
Is your figure less than Greek?
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?
But don't change your hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentines day
Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?
But don't change your hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentines day
The song 'My Funny Valentine' tells a story of a person who is in love with someone who is not necessarily physically perfect, yet the song speaks to a deeper, emotional connection between the two people. The lyrics make it clear that the person is not in love with the physical beauty of their "funny valentine," but rather, the fact that this person is unique and special in their own way, and that is what truly captures the heart of the singer.
The line "you make me smile with my heart" suggests that the connection goes beyond physical attraction, and that this person's essence, quirks, and uniqueness make them valuable to the singer. When the song asks, "is your figure less than Greek?" and "is your mouth a little weak?" it's clear that the singer is not looking for a typical concept of beauty, but rather searching for what makes this person special. The song suggests that even though this person may not fit into society's concept of perfection, they are perfect in the singer's eyes.
The chorus of the song is especially poignant, when it asks the funny valentine not to change for the singer, and to stay true to themselves. The singer loves this person for who they are, not for the physical changes that they could make. Overall, this song speaks to the beauty of loving someone for their unique, inner qualities, rather than solely focusing on physical appearances.
Line by Line Meaning
My funny valentine
You may seem unconventional to the world, but to me, you are perfect and make me happy.
Sweet comic valentine
You have a great sense of humor and bring joy to my life.
You make me smile with my heart
Your love and presence give me deep happiness and fulfillment.
Your looks are laughable
You may not fit society's conventional beauty standards, but I find you uniquely attractive and charming.
Unphotographable
Your beauty is hard to capture in a photo, as it is more about who you are as a person than just your physical appearance.
Yet you're my favorite work of art
You are a masterpiece to me, and I appreciate and cherish you above all else.
Is your figure less than Greek?
You may not have a body type that society deems ideal, but to me, your body is perfect.
Is your mouth a little weak?
You may have some flaws or insecurities, but to me, they only make you more endearing and unique.
When you open it to speak, are you smart?
I am not concerned with your intelligence, as I love you for who you are as a person.
But don't change your hair for me
I do not expect you to change anything about yourself to please me or be more attractive in my eyes.
Not if you care for me
If you truly love me, you will not feel the need to change yourself for my sake.
Stay little valentine stay
Please continue to be with me and make me happy.
Each day is Valentines day
Every day spent with you is special and filled with love, as if it were Valentine's Day.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AffyMoon
Here ya go to those not getting the comments
There's a famous Japanese author that has named a character(antagonist) after this song(he loves Western culture so he has a lot of characters named after songs, bands;etc) and I'll explain the most common comments
President of USA - the character funny valentine is the president of the US in the manga
Something about dimensions or clones - he can go to other dimensions and bring alternate universe versions of the characters(who don't have powers)
References to the songs D4C and Love train - His abilities are named after those songs
Something about Jesus - In the manga an unnamed character who looks suspiciously like Jesus has parts of himself scattered across the country and then something something ( I haven't gotten to that part yet so I don't really know how the corpse works)
Something about cripples - The protagonist is crippled
Something about Italians and/or balls - the sidekick/mentor(again I haven't read it so I'm not sure, he seems like a sidekick but some comments talk about lessons) is Italian and attacks with some special artefact called the *steel ball", thus the name of the part "steel ball run"
JoJo - the whole series is called JoJo's bizzare adventure and the part where this happens is called steel ball run
Weird sentences like "bad job for very cheap" - Valentine's ability D4C or dirt deeds done dirt cheap is a song so they had a chance of copyright issues so the translation company renamed the ability to "filthy acts at a reasonable price" and this was very funny so people started making their own versions
Jesus told me to kill the president - the character that is suspiciously similar to Jesus tells the protagonist to kill funny valentine
Napkins - valentine makes a long speech about society and he gives the example of napkins and how if everyone was given the choice to pick from two napkins everyone will chose the same one as the guy who was the first to choose and how he is the equivalent of the one who chose the first napkin
Dojyaaaa~n - the antagonist's catchphrase
There's also this American live action thing called Gray's anatomy where they apparently sing it in a sad moment
@Alinfoodi
My funny valentine
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Yet your my favorite work of art
Is your Figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little week?
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?
But don't change your hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is Valentines day
Is your figure less than Greek
Is your mouth a little weak
When you open it to Speak
Are you smart
But don't change your hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine stay
Each day is valentines day
@dippy_sippy
I love how Funny Valentine's name is a reference to a song that has hundreds of covers which really fits him and his ability
@topaz7462
That's what I'm saying, its fucking clever
@MisterSleep1123
Same as my way... But we don't do it here in the philippines...
@mimiclove6869
Ah, a man of culture I see.
@tehnarelhok718
I love that the first comment I see is a fellow jojos fan
@benjaminhaley3780
Tusk has 4 remastered versions.
@Kobraman35
My funny valentine isn't timeless, it's dimensionless.
@yajubarah
Dojyaaaaaan
@garvielloken9356
Nice profile picture.
@discmanthecdlord
DOJAAAAAAAAN