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.
One For My Baby
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no one in the place
'Cept you and me
So set 'em up Joe
I got a little story
I think you should know
We're drinking my friend
Make it one for my baby and one more
For the road
I got the routine
Put another nickel in the machine
Feeling so bad
Can't you make the music easy and sad
I could tell you a lot
But you've gotta be true to your code
Just make it one for my baby and one more
For the road
You'd never know it, but buddy, I'm a kind of poet
And I got a lot of things I'd like to say
And when I'm gloomy, won't you listen to me
'Til it's talked away
Well, that's how it goes
And Joe I know you're getting anxious to close
And thanks for the cheer
I hope you didn't mind my bending your ear
But this torch that I've found
It's gotta be drowned or it soon might explode
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
The long
It's so long
The long
Very long
"One for My Baby" is a melancholic, haunting song about a man who has just broken up with his lover and seeks refuge in a bar. He finds himself alone with the bartender and proceeds to share his innermost feelings in a way that is both bleak and touching. He asks for a drink for himself and one more for the road, knowing he is about to hit the highway and leave his heart behind. He continues to pour out his heart with a poetic flair, seeking the bartender's understanding and solace. He hints at dark secrets and hidden pain, but stops short of revealing too much. Sinatra's voice and phrasing are impeccable, conveying a sense of resignation and sadness that is heartbreaking.
The song is widely regarded as one of Sinatra's best, due to his delivery of the words and the emotion that comes with it. He famously performed it as a test of a new sound system, and was moved to tears by the results. Sinatra went on to record the song several times, and it became a staple of his live performances. The lyrics capture the sense of loneliness and despair that can come with heartbreak, and the music heightens those emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
It's quarter to three
It's almost 3 a.m.
There's no-one in the place
The bar is empty
'Cept you and me.
Except for us
So set 'em up Joe,
Barman Joe, please get us drinks
I've got a little story, I think you should know
I want to tell you a story
We're drinking my friend, to the end of a brief episode
We're drinking as a goodbye to a short period of time
Make it one for my baby, and one more for the road
Please give me another drink for myself, and one more to take with me for the road
I've got the routine
I'm used to doing this
Put another nickel in the machine
Please play another sad song
I'm feeling so bad
I'm feeling very sad
Can't you make the music easy and sad
Please play a slow, melancholy song
I could tell you a lot, but you've gotta be true to your code
I have a lot to say, but I don't want to betray your trust as a bartender
Just make it one for my baby, and one more for the road
Please give me another drink for myself, and one more to take with me for the road
You'd never know it, but buddy I'm a kind of poet
You might not realize it, but I consider myself a poet
And I got a lot of things I'd like to say
I have a lot on my mind that I want to share
So when I'm gloomy, won't you listen to me
When I'm sad, can you please listen to me
'Til it's talked away
Until I feel better by talking about it
Well, that's how it goes
That's just the way things happen
And Joe I know you're getting anxious to close
And I know you want to close the bar soon, Joe
And thanks for the cheer
Thank you for making me feel better
I hope you didn't mind my bending your ear
I hope you didn't mind me talking to you for so long
But this touch that I've found
But this feeling that I have
Must be drowned or it soon might explode
I need to drink away this feeling or it might become overwhelming
So make it one for my baby
Please give me another drink for myself
And one more for the road
And one more to take with me for the road
The long
The night feels long
It's so long
The night feels very long
The long
The night feels long
Very long
The night feels extremely long
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@billhorton3101
Played this at Dad's funeral. his favorite song. Not a dry eye in the joint! 86 years old, three quarters of his friends already gone, and still the place was packed. Dad and Frank are my heros.
@DinoSaurZeus
I feel you my friend, love hurts. But you still have the memories, and those are priceless!!!!!!!!
@orchidpic
Your dad had wonderful taste! He lives on in you dear boy!
@michaelzammutt6563
Bill Horton lovely song for your dad 🇬🇧
@toddm5337
Bill Horton sorry for your loss mr. Horton, it's one of my favorites also, he probably hanging out with Frank anyway now :-) 🇨🇱
@jayvoorhees4495
Set em up Joe.🎙🍸
@ultragroove1
Just played this for my pop’s funeral. He used to work for Frank and at Capitol Records. It’s so perfect for his tribute. He is literally on the album cover “Songs For Young Lovers, in the background behind Frank. He was his stand in too, quite a few times. My amazing father, so talented. Passes at 89 years old with no illness, no disease, not sick, no warning. But he went so peacefully just a huge shock to our family. I’ll never forget you dad. Thank you for everything. I miss you terribly. You keep that bar set up and be sure to usher me in when my ticket gets punched. Love you dad. 1932-2022
@roisin252
Bless you. Lost Mum this year and in her final weeks we played Sinatra for her.
@ultragroove1
@@roisin252 Blessings with you too my friend. Sorry to hear you losing your mom.
@FC12.
I feel for ya. My great uncle passed from dementia he'd been battling. He was the granddad I never had. What I would've done to see his face one last time.