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.
Wandering
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I keep coming back to the same place,
The same place where I started
Sometimes you'll think there's a smile on my face,
But it can't take the place of a free-heart, a me-heart that I've read of
I can hear mem'ries singing through night and through day,
What good are mem'ries, they just seem to get in the way.
They get in the way
Where the sunshine will fly through a warm sky,
A warm sky where I'll wander
When it's November, I'll think of July,
Where the sunshine will fly through a warm sky,
A warm sky where I'll wande
" Wandering" is a song that speaks of finding oneself lost in their journey of life. The singer feels they have been wandering and keeps coming back to the same place where they started despite seemingly being on the right track. They wish for a free and open heart, different from the one they have been reading about from others. The singer finds themselves caught up in memories that continue to haunt them, blocking their progress instead of helping them move forward. The song paints a picture of the singer's longing for a place with warm sunshine where they can wander and escape their current situation.
The lyrics are relatable for many people who feel lost, caught up in their past, or uncertain about their future. The song's melancholic tone captures the emotional turmoil of the singer, who is struggling to find their way. The use of seasons, specifically November and July, is symbolic of how time passes but the singer's longing remains constant. November represents the cold and dreariness of the present, while July symbolizes a happier and more carefree time.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I think that I'm on the right track,
Occasionally, I ponder if I'm heading in the correct direction,
But I keep coming back to the same place,
Nevertheless, I always end up returning to the same location,
The same place where I started
The very same place where everything began,
Sometimes you'll think there's a smile on my face,
Sometimes you may believe that I am happy,
But it can't take the place of a free-heart, a me-heart that I've read of
However, my grin can never replace a heart that is unchained and genuine, one that I have read about,
I can hear mem'ries singing through night and through day,
I can perceive memories serenading me both day and night,
What good are mem'ries, they just seem to get in the way.
What is the point of memories if they merely obstruct my journey.
When it's November, I'll think of July,
During November, July will be on my mind,
Where the sunshine will fly through a warm sky,
Imagining sunrays passing through the warm sky,
A warm sky where I'll wander
A temperate sky where I will roam,
When it's November, I'll think of July,
Whenever November comes, I'll still reminisce about July,
Where the sunshine will fly through a warm sky,
Where the sunshine will race across a balmy firmament,
A warm sky where I'll wander
A temperate sky where I'll meander.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GAYLE CALDWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joe M.
I met Sinatra in the parking lot of a theater where he was going to perform later that evening. I was going to pick up my tickets for the show earlier in the day when a helicopter flew down from the sky and landed in the parking lot. Sinatra bounced out of the chopper along with a couple bodyguards and, because my brother had brought his baby and had her in his arms, for some reason Sinatra stopped to see the kid. I remember being struck by his eyes, they were very blue. What a great talent.
Saba De
i had goosebumps reading this. i would give 3 years of my life just to see him. my first and only celebrity crush.
Randall Sundeen
The strings are magnificent, they move me to tears in there sheer beauty!!!
DANIEL AMADEO
QUE PLACER ESCUCHAR, AGAIN AND AGAIN, A SINATRA.-
Jose Luis Pina
Pasan los años y Sinatra sigue siendo la Voz, el más grande de todos los tiempos
luis guzman
FRANK SINATRA ES EL MEJOR CANTANTE QUE HA TENIDO ESTADOS UNIDOS , GRACIAS FRANK POR ESA EXTRAORDINARIA VOZ ,ERES UN GRANDE.
Linda Poulton
Love it, and the 'Cycles' album ...thank you.
Chris Vegas
A Great song love it
saintcruzin
Underrated song....
John Popo
So beautiful