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.
Strangers In The Night
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Exchanging glances
Wandering in the night
What were the chances
We'd be sharing love
Before the night was through?
Something in your eyes
Was so inviting
Was so exciting
Something in my heart told me I must have you
Strangers in the night, two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we said our first hello
Little did we know
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
And ever since that night
We've been together
Lovers at first sight
In love forever
It turned out so right
For strangers in the night
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
Ever since that night
We've been together
Lovers at first sight
In love forever
It turned out so right
For strangers in the night
Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo
Doo-doo-dee-dah
Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah, ya-ya-ya
"Strangers in the Night" is a classic romantic song, sung by Frank Sinatra, in which two strangers meet and fall in love. We see them exchanging glances and wandering in the night. Sinatra sings about the chance of sharing love before the night is over. He talks about how something in the woman's eyes and smile are inviting and exciting, and his heart tells him that he must have her. As the title suggests, they start off as strangers in the night, but after saying their first hello, little did they know, love was just a glance away, and they found themselves in a warm embrace. This first meeting turned out to be more than a one-night stand. They became lovers at first sight and have been together in love forever.
The song has a timeless quality, and the lyrics subtly tell a charming story of two strangers falling in love. The melody flows beautifully, and Sinatra's smooth, captivating voice brings a unique flavor that adds to the romance. The song remains a timeless classic that has continued to capture the hearts of listeners across generations.
Line by Line Meaning
Strangers in the night
Two unknown individuals who meet by chance during the night
Exchanging glances
Sharing a brief, but meaningful eye contact
Wandering in the night
Walking around aimlessly at night
What were the chances
Expressing surprise or disbelief at the odds of meeting
We'd be sharing love
Meeting and falling in love with each other
Before the night was through?
Wondering if their meeting would lead to an unforgettable night
Something in your eyes
The mysterious allure of the other person's look
Was so inviting
Appealing and alluring
Something in your smile
The captivating attraction of the way the other person smiles
Was so exciting
Filled with spirited energy
Something in my heart told me I must have you
The strong feeling of desire that the other person created within the singer
Strangers in the night, two lonely people
Reinforcing the idea that the two people didn't know each other before they met
We were strangers in the night
Emphasizing on the fact that they were complete strangers
Up to the moment when we said our first hello
Their first interaction and the beginning of their story
Little did we know
A statement of surprise about how things turned out
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
Love was waiting for them to meet and interact
And ever since that night
Highlighting the importance of that night in their lives
We've been together
Emphasizing their strong bond and commitment to each other
Lovers at first sight
A term to describe their instant love for each other
In love forever
Their love is meant to last forever
It turned out so right
Their love led them to the right path
Doo-bee-doo-bee-doo
A partial phrase that adds to the melody and rhythm of the song
Doo-doo-dee-dah
Another partial phrase that adds to the melody and rhythm of the song
Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah, ya-ya-ya
A finishing phrase to the song
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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