Chicago Tribune (MCT) -- For those who believed that every note Frank Sinatra ever sang already has been released, reissued and repackaged, brace yourselves: There's new material to come. The man recorded and performed so prolifically for nearly six decades that the vaults keep yielding more music. The latest release, "Sinatra: New York" (Reprise Records), comprises four CDs spanning 1955 to 19...
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Believe it or not, Frank Sinatra - the king of crooners, the Chairman of the Board, perhaps the greatest American pop singer of the 20th century - made his share of duff recordings. Few in number for sure, but there's definitely the whiff of toxicity to that handful of missteps/clinkers.Since it's the first St. Patrick's Day to fall on a Toxic Tuesday, you might think that I'd spend a post deri...
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One of the most controversial of all of Frank Sinatra's recordings was his 10 inch LP "Sing And Dance With Frank Sinatra." Recorded in April 1950, it came at a time when Sinatra was in poor shape both physically and vocally. He was involved in an affair with Ava Gardner which the studio chiefs at MGM film studios wanted to break up due to Sinatra's ugly brawls with the tabloid press and his pos...
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One of the most acclaimed of love stories transferred successfully to the screen was "Love Is A Many - Splendored Thing" from 1955, starring Jennifer Jones and William Holden as two lovers who have crossed the barriers of race only to break apart at the end of the film. Champion lyricist Paul Francis Webster and composer Sammy Fain created what amounted to an emotional anthem for lovers everywh...
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"Strangers in the Night," both the album and the song garnered two Grammies for Frank Sinatra in 1966. The album also marked the last time both Sinatra and his long-time arranger Nelson Riddle would work on an album together. The entire album was recorded April 11 through May 16, 1966 and was an important bridge into the finale of Sinatra's second wave of popularity (the third wave came after h...
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If there is one song associated with Frank Sinatra, it would have to be "Summer Wind," originally a popular German song written in 1964 by Heinz Meier, Hans Bradtke, and Johnny Mercer (who wrote the English language lyrics). The lyrics are anything but about how nice the summer winds in Italy are-rather it evokes not only the temporary sirocco winds but also the temporary love of a summer love....
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The was still wet on "If You Are But A Dream," written in 1944 with lyrics and music by Moe Jaffe, Jack Fulton and Nat Bonx. A sensitive arrangement, this creates a sunset of subdued colors for this marvelous Frank Sinatra performance, investing this song with the same concern and care as he would for a higher status and older song. One can hear Tommy Dorsey just barely on his trombone, staying...
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With his contract to Capitol Records expired in 1962, Frank Sinatra was finally able to record the music he wanted for his own label. Along with him came his three greatest arrangers: Billy May, Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle. With Riddle, Sinatra recorded "Sinatra's Sinatra," the songs being re-recordings of Sinatra's greatest hits as selected by his son, Frank Jr. The two recording sessions...
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With the long title "Frank Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River And Other Academy Award Winners," Frank Sinatra entered the final phase of his recording career with Nelson Riddle. Recorded January 27 and 28, 1964, and the results were never less than perfectly refreshing. Nelson Riddle keeps the original guitar motifs (played by that master guitarist Tony Mottola) but totally takes ...
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"It Happened in Monterey" was written in 1930 by lyricist Billy Rose and composer Mabel Wayne for the film musical "King of Jazz" starring Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby. Sizzling nights and guitars playing are what comes up in Nelson Riddle's arrangement, very spicy and colorful. The drive and suavity is provided by Frank Sinatra portray an elegant vacation in Monterey and a very unforgettable ...
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A follow-up album was in the works for Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, a follow-up to their previous album "Songs for Swingin' Lovers". The result was "A Swingin' Affair" that was overtly a swinger in every sense of the word. Between November 15 and November 28, 1956 at Capitol Records studios, Sinatra and Riddle recorded what turned out to be another successful album. The opening cut on the a...
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Richard Rodgers and Lorenz hart wrote "Blue Moon" in 1934 with a much different title ("Make Me A Star") and was intended for use by Jean Harlow who never sang it and it was never performed. The opening by Nelson Riddle is appropriately moody in a noirish way. If there is any rushed feeling, it isn't apparent in this masterful performance by Frank Sinatra. Plas Johnson plays a virile solo on hi...
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Combine the talents of lyricist Johnny Mercer with composer Jimmy Van Heusen and the results could be interesting. One such song of this dynamic duo was "Sunday, Monday or Always," heard in the 1943 film musical "Dixie" starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. The female Frankie fans squeal and scream at spots throughout the music. It was said that during an especially romantic song, Sinatra wo...
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Barbara Streisand was on a high route to diva-dom with appearances on television specials, rare personal engagements and records which proclaimed her as a distinguished as well as being a controversial force in the music business. She sang in the original Broadway production of "On a Clear Day..." in 1966. Frank Sinatra gives one of his best performances of the title track of this Alan Jay Lern...
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Frank Sinatra was and still is considered one of the most remarkable entertainers in all media stretching from records and radio into films and television programs. His great success started with when he joined the Harry James big band in 1939 after performing as waiter, M.C. and singer in a night club in New Jersey. One of his earliest recording sessions contained a song titled "All Or Nothing...
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