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.
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Frank Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could be glad all of the while
I could change the gray skies to blue
If I had you
And I could leave the old days behind
Leave all my pals, I'd never mind
And I could start my life all anew
I could climb the snow-capped mountains
I could sail the mighty ocean wide
I could cross the burning desert
If I had you by my side
I could be a king, dear, uncrowned
Humble or poor, rich or renowned
There is nothin' I couldn't do
If I had you
I could climb the very highest mountain
Or I could sail the mighty ocean wide
I could also cross the burnin' desert
If I had you by my side
I could be a king crowned or uncrowned
Humble or poor, rich or renowned
There is nothin' I couldn't do
If I had you
If I had you
The song "If" by Frank Sinatra is a romantic ballad that expresses how the singer's life would be if he had the love of his life by his side. The lyrics suggest that having someone to love and be loved by can transform one's life, making everything better and brighter. The song is an ode to the power of love and how it can change everything.
The opening line of the song, "I could show the world how to smile," suggests that the singer's life would be filled with joy and happiness if he had the person he loves with him. He believes that he would be glad all the time, despite the challenges that life can bring. The following lines, "I could change the gray skies to blue / If I had you," further reinforce this sentiment. The singer believes that his love would be powerful enough to make all the bad things in the world disappear.
As the song continues, the lyrics explore the possibilities of what the singer's life could be like with his love by his side. He believes that he could leave his old life behind and start anew. He could climb mountains, sail oceans, and cross deserts if he had his love there to support him. The chorus repeats that there is nothing the singer couldn't do if he had the love of his life. He could be a king, humble, poor or rich, and he would still be able to achieve his dreams with his love by his side.
Overall, the song "If" by Frank Sinatra is a romantic ballad that expresses the power of love to transform one's life. The lyrics suggest that having someone to love and be loved by can make everything better and brighter. The singer believes that with his love, he could do anything and everything, and there would be no obstacles too great to overcome.
Line by Line Meaning
I could show the world how to smile
I am equipped with the ability to spread happiness and optimism to the world
I could be glad all of the while
I would always remain cheerful and joyful
I could change the gray skies to blue
I have the power to turn sadness into joy and despair into hope
If I had you
Only if I have your presence and support in my life
And I could leave the old days behind
I wouldn't have any regrets in letting go of the past
Leave all my pals, I'd never mind
I wouldn't feel the need for the companionship of my friends anymore
And I could start my life all anew
I can begin a fresh chapter in my life without any baggage from the past
I could climb the snow-capped mountains
I am capable of accomplishing difficult tasks, like climbing mountains
I could sail the mighty ocean wide
I can explore unknown territories and overcome new challenges with ease
I could cross the burning desert
I can go through any situation, no matter how challenging or harsh it may be
If I had you by my side
Only if I have your love, support, and companionship throughout my journey
I could be a king, dear, uncrowned
I could live a life of abundance and happiness, without any materialistic possessions or conventional social status
Humble or poor, rich or renowned
My status, wealth, or social standing wouldn't matter as long as I am with you
There is nothin' I couldn't do
Everything seems achievable and attainable with the presence of my loved one
If I had you
Only if I have your love, care, and companionship throughout all the ups and downs of life
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sentric Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ted Shapiro, James Campbell, Reginald Connelly
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike
on The Lady Is A Champ
She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She can't eat late and stay up all night, because unlike society types, she has to get up in the morning.
She likes the theatre and never comes late
She cares more about seeing the play than being seen making an entrance.
She never bothers with people she'd hate
Her friends are friends, not social trophies.
Doesn't like crap games with barons or earls
While barrns and earls probably don't play craps, she associates with friends, not people to be seen with.
Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
She doesn't "slum", the practice of the rich in the 30's, when the song was written, of touring poor neighborhoods dressed in rich clothes to "tut, tut" about the deplorable conditions, and congratulate each other for "caring about the poor"
Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
Doesn't trade gossip for acceptance among an in-crowd
She likes the free, fresh wind in her hair
She cares more about how her hair feels than conforming with current hair fashions
Hates California, it's cold and it's damp
Since most of California is noticeably warmer and / or drier than New York, where the play the song was written for is set, this is probably a facetious excuse to like what she likes.
And she won't go to Harlem in Lincoln's or Ford's
Another reference to slumming, but facetious, since Lincolns and Fords were middle-class, not luxury brands when the lyric was written
Anonymous
on Try a Little Tenderness
Here are the correct lyrics
Try A Little Tenderness - Frank Sinatra - Lyrics
Oh she may be weary
Women do get wearied
Wearing that same old shabby dress
And when she’s weary
You try a little tenderness
You know she’s waiting
Just anticipating things she’ll may never possess
While she is without them
Try just a little bit of tenderness
It’s not just sentimental
She has her grieve and her care
And the words that soft and gentle
Makes it easier to bear
You wont regret it
Women don't forget it
Love is their whole happiness
And it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness
Musical Interlude
And, it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness
Daniel
on The Way You Look Tonight
I met Frank Jr. in Las Vegas, a real gentleman. RIP you both.
Giorgi Khutashvili
on Theme from New York, New York
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