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.
The Last Call for Love
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time to say, "Fair thee well!";
Let the taps tell you all
That my heart dare not tell.
With your eyes in the stars of Old Glory,
Can I help but be faithful to you?
Till we meet on the day we're dreaming of,
Till we meet on the day we're dreaming of,
It's the last call for love,
It's the last call for love.
The song "The Last Call for Love" by Frank Sinatra is a love ballad that speaks of a love that is coming to an end. It is the last call for love, which means it's time to say goodbye. The taps refer to a bar closing sign, the time to call it a night. Sinatra is using the taps to draw a parallel between the end of the night and the end of his relationship. He says that his heart cannot tell what the taps are telling of the end of the night. In the same manner, he cannot express his feelings of sadness at the end of the relationship.
Sinatra then goes on to speak about the woman for whom he has feelings. He says that her eyes are like the stars in Old Glory. Old Glory is the nickname for the American flag, and it represents the ideals of love, freedom, and independence. The image of her eyes in the stars of Old Glory shows that he sees her as a representation of that idealistic flag. He cannot help but be faithful to her until they meet again on the day they are dreaming of. The day they dream of refers to a day where they can be together forever without any disruptions.
In summary, the song "The Last Call for Love" is an emotional love song that is coming to an end. Frank Sinatra uses the taps to draw a parallel between the end of the night and the end of the relationship. He cannot express his feelings of sadness, and he sees his love as a representation of the American flag, the ideals of love, freedom, and independence.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the last call for love,
This is the final opportunity to express love.
Time to say, 'Fair thee well!';
It's time to bid farewell.
Let the taps tell you all
Allow the sound of the taps (closing time) to reveal what I am unable to express.
That my heart dare not tell.
The feelings that are locked in my heart, I am unable to express.
With your eyes in the stars of Old Glory,
Your eyes shine as bright as the stars in the American flag.
Can I help but be faithful to you?
I cannot resist being loyal to you.
Till we meet on the day we're dreaming of,
Until we reunite on the day we have been longing for.
It's the last call for love.
This is the final chance to express my love.
It's the last call for love.
This is the final opportunity to express love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURTON LANE, E.Y. HARBURG, MARGARET CUMMINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
sustainfem
One of my very favorite songs by Frank. Thanks for uploading!!
Jorge Bernardo
Sinatra came out of the gate on fire. #GreatestEver
User
Thank you for all of the gorgeous upload. It warms my heart.
Jim Hand
Ah, yes! You really feel you are into Army life when you are, as I was, - battalion BUGLER! for part of my time. As another great WW2 song was titled: "From Taps To Reveille" the bugler was an intrisic part of the action. This song, "It's The Last Call...." has cleverly inserted several bars of the well-know "Reveille" into the melody! I later was transferred to the infantry - no more bugle!
Joe Martin
Wonderful! I've never seen the whole film available anywhere. I'd love to get it.
De Leon
You can buy it here where it says Buy for 9.99 it's worth it.
Eddie Wakes Music
Ole’ TD, Sinatra and the Pied Pipers! Wow!
StephBer1
This is when Sinatra's voice was butter. He lost it in later years, although he was always a fantastic singer.
David Ramirez
His best years.
La Flame
🔥Pied pipers x Frankie Sinatra 🔥