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.
RED
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Comet, and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen)
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?
Talkin' 'bout Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph, look here Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
You'll go down in history
I'm Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
I got a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows, like a rose
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say
(Say Rudolph) I say, I say Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then how the reindeer loved me
As they shouted out with glee
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
You'll go down in history
I'm Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen,
Comet, and Cupid, and Donner, I'm something
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
The lyrics to Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis Jr.'s rendition of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, a beloved Christmas classic, tell the story of Rudolph, a reindeer who was shunned by his peers due to his bright red nose. The song lists all of the other reindeer, including Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, and notes that Rudolph is the most famous of them all. Despite the ridicule he faced, Rudolph's nose ultimately proved to be an asset when he was called upon by Santa to guide his sleigh on a foggy Christmas Eve. The other reindeer then embraced Rudolph, and he became a hero, going down in history as the beloved red-nosed reindeer.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, you know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen,
Introducing the commonly known reindeer on Santa's sleigh team: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen.
(Comet, and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen)
Also on the team are Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.
But do you recall
Asking the listener if they remember the most famous reindeer.
The most famous reindeer of all?
Asking the listener if they remember Rudolph, the most famous reindeer.
Talkin' 'bout Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Introducing the topic of the song, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
Had a very shiny nose
Describing Rudolph's nose as very shiny.
And if you ever saw it
Suggesting that if someone were to see Rudolph's nose,
You would even say it glows
they might say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Describing all the other reindeer on the team,
Used to laugh and call him names
stating that they used to make fun of Rudolph and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
Implying that Rudolph was excluded,
Join in any reindeer games
And was never allowed to participate in any of the reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve
Setting the scene for a specific Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say
Suggesting that Santa appeared and said something significant.
Rudolph, look here Rudolph with your nose so bright
Addressing Rudolph by name and complimenting his glowing nose.
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Asking Rudolph to guide Santa's sleigh on this foggy Christmas Eve when visibility is low.
Then how the reindeer loved him
Describing the reaction of the other reindeer to Rudolph's new importance,
As they shouted out with glee
Saying that they shouted with happiness.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Describing Rudolph with his new title, 'the red-nosed reindeer'.
You'll go down in history
Suggesting that Rudolph will always be remembered and talked about in the history of Christmas.
I'm Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Rudolph introducing himself as the titular character.
I got a very shiny nose
Rudolph once again describing his glowing nose as very shiny.
You would even say it glows, like a rose
Suggesting that Rudolph's nose glows, like a rose would in the sunlight.
Then how the reindeer loved me
Rudolph's reaction to the other reindeer now loving him,
As they shouted out with glee
Saying that the other reindeer were still shouting with happiness.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Restating Rudolph's new title.
You'll go down in history
Reiterating that Rudolph will be remembered and talked about for years to come.
I'm Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen,
The other reindeer introduce themselves once again.
Comet, and Cupid, and Donner, I'm something
Stating that Comet, Cupid, and Donner are present, but one reindeer's name is forgotten.
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
The final line of the song, once again restating the main character.
Lyrics © Roba Music Verlag GMBH, DistroKid, ST. NICHOLAS MUSIC INC., Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Johnny Marks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aaronwurtzel7287
Klugman and Borgnine losing their minds is one of the best moments of this entire roast.
Just shows you how talented these comedians were.
@user-cr5vc6xq3b
I sure miss all these comedians. They would make you cry from laughter. There are no funny comedians like these men and women anymore.
@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr
Red never failed to Smash. His timing was laser perfect. Such style and class. These were the GREATEST. These were what today's 'comics' want to be when they grow up. (IF they grow up)
@tml184
Some lame jokes though that weren't funny at all.
@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr
@@tml184 - I'll have to take that as gospel then, as you appear to be an authority on 'Lame'.
@kennethhandley3315
His never got a dinner was one of the funniest in history.
@Paul-lm5gv
The greatest comedians who ever lived...are all gone! Today's so called comics couldn't carry their shoes!
@tbec3011
Or jockstrap !
@13thwho
My personal favorite of Red's dinner lines is: "Mao Tse-tung, who died happy knowing that Dean and Jerry made up, never got a dinner".
@felixthelmocevallosmorales41
Red Buttons, nombre artístico de Aaron Chwatt (Nueva York, Nueva York, 5 de febrero de 1919 - Los Ángeles, California, 13 de julio de 2006), fue un comediante y actor estadounidense. Ganó el Óscar al mejor actor de reparto por su interpretación de Joe Kelly en Sayonara (1957), un rol dramático poco común en el conjunto de su carrera. En el año 1962 trabajo en una gran película Hatari! sería conocido como Pockets.