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.
Wishing
Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just keep on wishing and care will go
Dreamers tell us dreams come true
It's no mistake
And wishes are the dreams we dream
When we're awake
The curtain of night will part
So if you wish long enough wish strong enough
You will come to know
Wishing will make it so
The song "Wishing" by Frank Sinatra communicates a message that is both optimistic and inspiring. It reminds us that dreams are not just figments of our imagination, but rather, they can become a reality if we believe in ourselves and if we are willing to work hard to make them come true. The lyrics suggest that wishing alone is not enough, but rather, it is also essential to have a strong desire and a belief in oneself in order to achieve our goals. The song encourages us to dream big and to never give up in the face of adversity.
The song opens with the words "wishing will make it so." This line suggests that our thoughts have the power to create our reality. The next line reinforces this idea by stating that if we wish and care enough, our troubles will disappear. One interpretation of this portion of the lyrics could be that if we focus our thoughts and energy on positivity, then negativity will cease to exist in our lives.
The chorus of the song is perhaps its most powerful component. It reminds us that dreams do come true if we believe in ourselves and if we are willing to work hard to make them a reality. The line "wishing will make it so" is repeated, emphasizing the idea that our thoughts have the power to shape our reality. Overall, the song is a reminder that we should never stop dreaming, and that with hard work, dedication, and a strong belief in ourselves, anything is possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Wishing will make it so
Believing in your wishes and desires can bring them to fruition.
Just keep on wishing and care will go
Continuing to wish and believe in your dreams will make you forget all your worries.
Dreamers tell us dreams come true
Imagining and believing in your dreams can make them a reality.
It's no mistake
This is a true fact and not a falsehood.
And wishes are the dreams we dream
Our desires and hopes are often the things we think about before falling asleep.
When we're awake
But we continue to hold onto these dreams even when we're awake.
The curtain of night will part
If you have belief in your heart, even the darkest of times will pass.
If you are certain within your heart
Having firm confidence and belief within yourself is key to achieving your goals.
So if you wish long enough wish strong enough
By persistently holding onto your desires and having strong belief in them, they will come true.
You will come to know
Eventually, through your own personal experience, you will come to understand this truth.
Wishing will make it so
Believing in your dreams and persistently striving for them can make them a reality.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jerry Donnelly
Beautiful song. I love hearing the young Frank Sinatra. His voice had a silky smoothness and an incredible range in his early days.
direfranchement
@JerryD121657 Absolutely. Many people dismiss his years with the big bands, but I think he had a sweetness and a lightness to the voice that was lost in the 50's. I prefer him vocally as a young man though musically he improved and expanded with age. All Frank Sinatra is good.
lovintap
such a sweet song, love the solos. Thanks for posting
pafurniss
Frank can swing in any era - thanks for this one - it could be so - keep wishing
SheridanJazz
Even in those days, Frank could swing--this proves it.
ddkoda
I never realized that Harry and Frank played Roseland. Who knew? One can see that all of the elements (intuitive understanding of how to phrase, tempo and full youthful vocal range), were in place for Frank's success. It was just a matter of time before it happened. Of course this association with Harry was an important precursor to the Atlas rocket (TD) that would take Frank to the moon and parts beyond.
haanashim
This is a great track. The introductory chorus that is taken by the rhythm section only also blows me away, particularly the funky unamplified archtop guitar.
haanashim
Oh, yes, very much so!
djangorheinhardt
The unamplified rhythm guitar is Red Kent who was with James then.There is practically nothing about him on the net,after this period.James very seldom used used guitarists in his band,spoilsport!(I am a guitarist!)
Danae Breshears
I much prefer his big band work with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, as opposed to his later work.