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.
On the Town
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got one suggestion before we embark,
There are a lot of nice things to do in the dark,
But let's not go rowing in Central Park.
Woo, woo, woo.
We're going on the town, New York,
We're riding on a rocket, we're going to really sock it,
Because tonight's the night.
We're going to raise a riot, the Brooklyn Bridge we'll buy it,
And hit the hype tonight, the highest hype tonight.
East side, west side, rouse the city,
One day, one night, that's the pity.
And we won't look ahead,
We'll let the light of dawn get around,
We're really living, Jack, we're going on the town.
Stop fellows, what are we saying?
Look over there, the fleet, doesn't she look sweet?
What did we leave it for? What are we doing on shore?
We're simply crazy about the navy, (how's that?)
We love it more than we can say, (how nice!)
We get like a good fresh air, (uh huh) the ocean's everywhere (uh hum)
That's we hate to get leave and go away.
(It's just so touching, hear them say, take your leave and go away)
(Can't even leave the ship when life is play all the live long day)
Just think of what could we be doing today:
We could be swabbing the deck, sweeping the bunks with a broom,
We could be shoveling tons of coal, down in the boiler room.
Bad news, we got the shore leave blues,
(It just so tragic, hear him sob,)
(He would freak on a tricky spot
Pour on the happy night,
We got news, we have the shore leave blues,
Especially me, I miss the chow,
And that's not all, my friends, just think of this:
Towels, excelsior, see
Frank Sinatra's song On The Town is a lively and exciting tune that captures the energy and spirit of a night out in New York City. The song is about a group of friends who are going out for a night on the town, and the lyrics are full of enthusiasm, excitement, and playful humor.
In the opening lines, Sinatra advises his friends against the idea of rowing in Central Park, implying that there are other more exciting things to do in the city, especially at night. The song highlights the vibrancy of New York City, with lyrics like "We're riding on a rocket, we're going to really sock it" and "We're going to raise a riot."
The middle section of the song takes a surprising turn, as the group of friends express their love for the navy and describe their desire to be out at sea, rather than on shore leave. Despite this momentary longing for the ocean, the song quickly returns to its upbeat and joyful tone, with lines like "Pour on the happy night."
Line by Line Meaning
Before we go on a lark,
Before we leave for a night of fun and adventure,
I got one suggestion before we embark,
I have a recommendation before we start our journey,
There are a lot of nice things to do in the dark,
There are plenty of enjoyable activities to do at night,
But let's not go rowing in Central Park. Woo, woo, woo.
However, we should avoid rowing in Central Park, as it may not be the safest option. (Woo, woo, woo is an expression of disapproval or warning)
We're going on the town, New York,
We're heading out on the town (in New York City),
We're riding on a rocket, we're going to really sock it,
We're going all out and having a great time,
Because tonight's the night.
Because tonight is the perfect night for fun and excitement,
We're going on the tube,
We're taking the subway (tube) to get around,
We're going to raise a riot, the Brooklyn Bridge we'll buy it,
We're going to cause chaos and excitement, even possibly trying to buy the Brooklyn Bridge (an impossible task),
And hit the hype tonight, the highest hype tonight.
We're going to experience the most exciting night ever,
East side, west side, rouse the city,
We're going to wake up and energize both the East and West sides of the city,
One day, one night, that's the pity.
It's unfortunate that we only have one day and night to spend in the city,
And we won't look ahead,
We won't worry about what's to come,
We'll let the light of dawn get around,
We'll let the morning light come before we decide what to do next,
We're really living, Jack, we're going on the town.
We're really living life to the fullest, Jack, by going out on the town.
Stop fellows, what are we saying?
Wait a minute, what are we talking about?
Look over there, the fleet, doesn't she look sweet?
Take a look at the fleet (naval ships), don't they look great?
What did we leave it for? What are we doing on shore?
Why did we leave the (naval) fleet in the first place? What are we doing on land?
We're simply crazy about the navy, (how's that?)
We're really passionate about the navy (how does that sound?)
We love it more than we can say, (how nice!)
We love it so much that words cannot express it (how wonderful!)
We get like a good fresh air, (uh huh) the ocean's everywhere (uh hum)
We feel rejuvenated, like taking a breath of fresh air, with the vast ocean surrounding us
That's we hate to get leave and go away.
That's why it's hard for us to leave and go back to land,
(It's just so touching, hear them say, take your leave and go away)
(It's a tender moment when we hear people tell us to leave and go away)
(Can't even leave the ship when life is play all the live long day)
(We can't even leave the ship when life on board is so enjoyable all day long)
Just think of what could we be doing today:
Just imagine what we could be doing right now?
We could be swabbing the deck, sweeping the bunks with a broom,
We could be doing menial, boring tasks such as cleaning the ship,
We could be shoveling tons of coal, down in the boiler room.
We could be doing hard manual labor like shoveling coal in the hot, stuffy boiler room.
Bad news, we got the shore leave blues,
Unfortunately, we're feeling sad and down that we have to go back to land,
(It just so tragic, hear him sob,)
(It's really terrible, listen to him cry,)
(He would freak on a tricky spot)
(He would become very upset in a difficult situation)
Pour on the happy night,
Let's have a joyful and fun-filled night,
We got news, we have the shore leave blues,
We're feeling depressed that we have to leave the sea,
Especially me, I miss the chow,
Especially me, I miss the food (chow) on the ship,
And that's not all, my friends, just think of this:
And that's not the only thing, my friends, consider this:
Towels, excelsior, see
We're missing basic amenities such as towels and bedding (excelsior)
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ADOLPH GREEN, BETTY COMDEN, ROGER EDENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tiagotriga
This town is a lonely town
Not the only town like-a this town
This town is a make-you town
Or a break-you-town and bring-you-down town
This town is a quiet town
Or a riot town like this town
This town is a love-you town
And a shove-you-down and push-you-'round town
[instrumental]
This town is an all-right town
For an uptight town like-a this town
This town, it's a use-you town
An abuse-you town until-you're-down town
This town is a losin' town
It's a miserable town
It's a nowhere town
And I am leavin' this town
You better believe that I'm leavin' this town
Man, it could never be uptown
It's bound to be downtown
[Fade]
This town, bye-bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye-bye
Jay Doe
perfect ending song for oceans 13. sinatra was a genius
Jordan Adkins
Jay Doe lmao. he was a singer not Einstein
Cjguinness
Correct!!
ucfsub
Sinatra didn't write this.
𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖔 𝕻𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆
jordan adkins He was a genius. Leave it.
Papa Tango
I only found out about this song due to Ocean’s 13
Lance Lawson
Sinatra always recorded live in the studio with an audience in attendance. He felt it gave the it best and most genuine performance for the recording.
Doyle Hurt
How can you not love Frankie! The sweetest voice of all time and that was one bad ass song
David Maslow
Yeah Doyle!
David Collins
U might b right....dean Martin and elvis have an opinion on that too