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.
To Love and Be Loved
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what life's - all about
Keeps the stars - coming out
What makes a sad heart sing - the birds take wing
To love - and be loved
That's what living - is for
Makes me want you the more - the more we clingLet others race - to the moon
Through time and space - to the moon
My goal is greater than this
To reach your lips - to share your kiss
To stay - in your arms
Is the dream - I pursue
To be sheltered - and safe - from the storm
To be cozy - and ever - so warm
And for always - to love
And be loved - by you
Frank Sinatra's To Love and Be Loved is a song that captures the essence of the importance of love in our lives. The song tells us that to love and be loved is what life is all about. It is what keeps the stars coming out and makes a sad heart sing. The birds, as the lyrics suggest, take wings when we love and are loved in return.
Sinatra's song highlights that the purpose of our lives is to love, and the more we cling to those we love, the more we want them. While others race to the moon, the song tells us that our goal should be to reach our significant others' lips and share their kiss. Being in their arms is the dream we pursue, and we wish to be sheltered and safe from the storm, cozy and warm, and always loved by them.
The song shows how love can transform our lives and make everything worthwhile. It tells us that no matter where we go or what we do, if we have love, we have it all. The song's essence is beautifully captured in Sinatra's melodious voice, which makes the lyrics more meaningful and soulful.
Line by Line Meaning
To love - and be loved
The act of giving and receiving love is the essence of life
That's what life's - all about
The purpose of living is to experience love
Keeps the stars - coming out
Love brings beauty and wonder to the world
What makes a sad heart sing - the birds take wing
Love has the power to uplift and inspire
That's what living - is for
Living is a joyful pursuit of love
Makes me want you the more - the more we cling
The more I love, the more I desire to be with you
Let others race - to the moon
Ambition for material success is insignificant compared to love
Through time and space - to the moon
The pursuit of love transcends distance and time
My goal is greater than this
The ultimate goal is to experience your love
To reach your lips - to share your kiss
Physical connection is an essential part of love
To stay - in your arms
Feeling safe and protected is a fundamental aspect of love
Is the dream - I pursue
The ultimate dream is to have a loving relationship with you
To be sheltered - and safe - from the storm
Love provides a sense of security during difficult times
To be cozy - and ever - so warm
Being close and intimate is comforting and pleasurable
And for always - to love
Love is an enduring emotion
And be loved - by you
The desire for your love is all-encompassing
Lyrics © THE MUSIC GOES ROUND
Written by: J. VAN HEUSEN, S. CAHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ruy4761
To love - and be loved
That's what life's - all about
Keeps the stars - coming out
What makes a sad heart sing - the birds take wing
To love - and be loved
That's what living - is for
Makes me want you the more - the more we cling
Let others race - to the moon
Through time and space - to the moon
My goal is greater than this
To reach your lips - to share your kiss
To stay - in your arms
Is the dream - I pursue
To be sheltered - and safe - from the storm
To be cozy - and ever - so warm
And for always - to love
And be loved - by you
@cansnmete5925
This is the most underrated song I’ve ever seen and it actually makes me happy that not everybody knows about it. It’s so comforting and hurtful at the same time
@frankdascoli709
Great song, the version with the powerful ending is even better
@garethlloydjones4741
Fantastic performance. I bought this in 1958 when I was 18 and desperately in love with a girl called Angela. Haven't heard it for years, but it remains as great as ever. The B side was pretty damn good as well, 'No-one ever tells you'. Oh the memories
@joandempsey2214
I also heard this song back in the fifties and stayed with me thru the years. ❤️❤️👏🏻👏🏻
@silas6173
I appreciate seeing comments like these on the music I listen to. Thank you for sharing your personal connection with this song
@joandempsey2214
I was a teenager at the time. Broke up with my boyfriend at the time . We did marry seven years later . Marriage 55 years now.👍👍
@ruy4761
To love - and be loved
That's what life's - all about
Keeps the stars - coming out
What makes a sad heart sing - the birds take wing
To love - and be loved
That's what living - is for
Makes me want you the more - the more we cling
Let others race - to the moon
Through time and space - to the moon
My goal is greater than this
To reach your lips - to share your kiss
To stay - in your arms
Is the dream - I pursue
To be sheltered - and safe - from the storm
To be cozy - and ever - so warm
And for always - to love
And be loved - by you
@blubeaz
❤
@sage1875
This is truly his voice at it's best!
@danielcruz8347
Euphoric