On 19th of July, 1939, Frank Sinatra and Harry James‘s band had a broadcast, America Dances Program. And we can still listen to it after 76 years.
An album of Frank Sinatra songs when he was working with Harry James Orchestra. Harry James and his Orchestra, featuring Frank Sinatra, by Columbia Records.
The Song Is You features songs of Frank Sinatra when he was singing with Tommy Dorsey orchestra. Here we take a look at first CD of this album set.
Cycles is an album of Frank Sinatra, released in 1968, by Reprise Records. The songs are arranged by Don Costa.
L.A. Is My Lady is the album Frank Sinatra recorded in the year 1984. Quincy Jones contributed to the L.A. Is My Lady album as the arranger and producer, and the album is released by Warner Bros.
i feel that frank when he retired in 1971 should have stayed retired and not made a comeback. from the mid 1970s his voice suffered a decline and cannot be compared to his supreme singing in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. why did he comeback? the youth of today hear duets and other recent recordings and probably think that is the real sinatra. i always tell them to listen and study sinatra on capitol.
Had Frank Sinatra not made his comeback you and me and the whole world would have been denied the pleasure of such beautiful songs such as “Didn’t We”, What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?”, It Had to Be You” and so many others. I’m sure glad he decided to go back into the recording studio!
I so agree with you he should of stayed retired bless him he probably missed recording so much
This is a comment from sheer ignorance. Before he retired, Frank tried to meet the new low standard in pop music, which had been taken away from professional composers like Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers and handed over to the new guitar-playing singer-songwriters like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson. It was a “populist revolution,” producing reductive music by one amateurish performer after the other, with depressing results to the record sales of someone of Sinatra’s high standards (his last couple of albums sold in the hundreds, not tens of thousands, wtih “Watertown” the nadir, imo).
A number of “traditional” professional singers persisted but with depressing results. Hearing Peggy Lee forced to subject her material to a disco beat demonstrates the shabby treatment given some of America’s greatest artists by the demands of the new market place. When Sinatra came back, it was with a new agenda: he planned to leave behind his beloved recording studio and regular releases of albums and instead take his music to the people (including the heartland, which is where I live, in Kenosha, WI). I heard him 4 times in Chicago, once in Madison, Wisconsin and once in Milwaukee (Alpine Valley). Frank’s return–marked by a heavily publicized live telecast (“The Main Event”) from Madison Square Garden with the Woody Herman Band–was admittedly far from reassuring. His voice sounded tired or out-of-practice. But that was the ONLY time out of my numerous cherished moments. Each of his concerts in the Midwest throughout the ’70s and early ’80s was an unforgettable, spellbinding experience–and there was not a SINGLE INSTANT during 6 concerts over the course of 15 years when his voice evidenced any decline (I say this as a professional musician with perfect pitch). Whether sharing the bill with Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, with the Buddy Rich Band, or the NY Philharmonic, Frank was superb, bigger than life, the experience of a lifetime, forever etched in memory. And when I caught him at Alpine Valley (the same day as Elvis’ death), he made a last-minute change of programming, announcing: “We’ve lost an old friend, and I’d like to dedicate this number to him.” Of course, the song was “Love Me Tender.”
I was unable to attend Frank’s final tour, during which an erratic Dean Martin had to be replaced by a hyper-kinetic Liza Minnelli. That may have been the one “shaky performance” among Frank’s many visits to stadiums and amphitheaters in his post-retirement visits to the Midwest. I’ve seen a video-tape of the Detroit concert, and Frank appears rather flustered, while Liza and Sammy Davis, Jr. are running around him in circles (literally!) like a couple of Energizer Bunnies. It was the only tour and concert that I missed–and the only one that may have left a bad aftertaste. There is also (on Youtube) a painful video of a 1990s concert featuring Frank in Barcelona, Spain. Obviously, something went terribly wrong–with the sound or the monitors–because Frank and the Orchestra are performing in different keys! (The video dishonors Frank’s memory, and I wish someone would have it removed!)
I find your comment very smart and interesting. I always wonder why Frank didn´t record a LP album during the second part of the seventies. Through your words, I guess he decided to expand his music only by living appareances.
Wow u have been so lucky seeing him so much . He’s been here in UK lots but tickets sold out so fast to get one some going at £500
Comments about Sinatra’s “vocal decline” following his retirement necessarily come from viewers who never attended an Ole Blue concert or who saw him just once–possibly his Sunday night comeback on national television. Just prior to retirement, Frank had tried to meet the new low standard in pop music, which had been taken away from professional composers like Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers and handed over to the new guitar-playing singer-songwriters of the day. It was a “populist revolution,” producing a few scattered gems along with much reductive music, with depressing results to the record sales of “traditional” vocalists like Sinatra (his last couple of albums sold in the hundreds, not tens of thousands, wtih “Watertown” the nadir, imo). Recently, Bob Dylan gave an interview in which he dismissed the music of his own generation as “ephemeral,” insisting that Sinatra’s music and its composers–from Berlin to Van Heusen–represented a lasting high-water mark in American popular culture. Ironically, it was Sinatra’s belief in material by composers prior to his own generation that proved the singlemost important catalyst in the construction of what has come to be known as “The Great American Songbook.”
Still, the fortunes of “traditional” popular singers had hit the skids by the late1960s. Hearing Peggy Lee forced to subject her recorded voice to an overlaid disco beat demonstrates the shabby treatment given some of America’s greatest artists by the demands of the new marketplace. When Sinatra came back, it was with a new agenda: he planned to leave behind his beloved recording studio and cut back drastically on record albums in favor of taking his music to the people (including the heartland, which is where I live, in Kenosha, WI). I heard him 4 times in Chicago, once in Madison, Wisconsin and once in Milwaukee (Alpine Valley). Frank’s return–marked by a heavily publicized live telecast (“The Main Event”) from Madison Square Garden with the Woody Herman Band–was admittedly far from reassuring. His voice sounded tired or out-of-practice. But that was the ONLY time out of my numerous cherished moments. Each of his concerts in the Midwest throughout the ’70s and early ’80s was an unforgettable, spellbinding experience–and there was not a SINGLE INSTANT during 6 concerts over the course of 15 years when his voice evidenced any decline (I say this as a professional musician with perfect pitch). Whether sharing the bill with Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, with the Buddy Rich Band, or the NY Philharmonic, Frank was superb, bigger than life, the experience of a lifetime, forever etched in memory. And when I caught him at Alpine Valley (the same day as Elvis’ death), he made a last-minute change of programming, announcing: “We’ve lost an old friend, and I’d like to dedicate this number to him.” Of course, the song was “Love Me Tender.”
I was unable to attend Frank’s final tour, during which an erratic Dean Martin had to be replaced by a hyper-kinetic Liza Minnelli. That may have been the one “shaky performance” among Frank’s many visits to stadiums and amphitheaters in his post-retirement visits to the Midwest. I’ve seen a video-tape of the Detroit concert, and Frank appears rather flustered, while Liza and Sammy Davis, Jr. are running around him in circles (literally!) like a couple of Energizer Bunnies. It was the only tour and concert that I missed–and the only one that may have left a bad aftertaste. There is also (on Youtube) a painful video of a 1990s concert featuring Frank in Barcelona, Spain. Obviously, something went terribly wrong–with the sound or the monitors–because Frank and the Orchestra are performing in different keys! (The video dishonors Frank’s memory, and I wish someone would have it removed!)
Unfortunately, we all get old. Too bad we can’t stop it and due without aging. God Bless Frank Sinatra. Those were the best years in this country!
His voice DID decline (although I LOVE the “Old Blue Eyes Is Back” album), but his concerts were better in the 70s-90’s than his live work of the 40’s-60’s. So, thank God he DID come back!
“ONLY THE LONELY”
Since there were so many hits on this album on the Forum,here are the facts:
“Frank Sinatra sings for Only The Lonely” (complete name of album)
Capitol release-1958-arranged by Nelson Riddle
1.Only The Lonely
2.Angel Eyes
3.What’s New
4.It’ A Lonesome Old Town
5.Willow Weep For Me
6.Good-Bye
7.Blues In The Night
8.Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
9.Ebb Tide
10.Spring Is Here
11.Gone With The Wind
12.One For My Baby
The original 12 track album was released in monaural.Two years later the stereo albun was released with 2 tracks missing due to lack of space for strereo grooves.
(It’s A Lonesome Old Town and Spring Is Here)
The CD release in 1987 had a bonus track-Where Or When
Recording session details:
Monday,May 5,1958-8 to 11 pm-Capitol Tower
Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
Ebb Tide
Angel Eyes
These songs were rejected by Sinatra and never released.
Thursday,May 29,1958-first session-2 to 5 pm-Capitol Tower-conducted by Felix Slatkin
Monique-Theme song for 1958 movie “Kings Go Forth”
Ebb Tide-take 4
Angel Eyes-take 3
Spring Is Here
Second session-8:30 to 11:30 pm
Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry-take 4
Only The Lonely-take 9
Lush Life-never completed or released
Willow Weep For Me-take 4
Tuesday,June 24,1958-8:30 to 11:30 pm-Capitol Tower-Conducted by Nelson Riddle
Blues In The Night
What’s New
Gone With The Wind
One For My Baby-(solo piano test take)
Wednesday,June 25,1958-8:30 to 11:30 pm-Capitol Tower-Conducted by Nelson Riddle
Goodbye
It’s A Lonesome Old Town
One For My Baby-take 1
Won Grammy Award in 1958 for best album cover.
When Sinatra was asked “what was his favorite album”-he said without hesitation-Only The Lonely(John Rockwell’s book-Sinatra-An American Classic).
At the time of the recording Sinatra’s divorce with Ava Gardner was finalized and Nelson Riddle had just lost his mother and daughter.Nelson Riddle-” if I can attach events like that to music….perhaps Only The Lonely was the result.”
To many Sinatraphils(including me)this was the pairs finest hour.It is one of the finest albums ever recorded,any time,anywhere,by anyone.
“……truly classic album with classic,perfect orchestrations from Nelson Riddle and Sinatra at the very top of his game,his voice at the peak of perfection.The album is faultless.The concept is faultless and the performance is perfect in every way.
I listen to it often.
I understand when people say Frank should have stayed retired in 1971, but I only agree partly. I think he probably shouldn’t have recorded any more studio albums after that point, but he was still a fantastic performer in concert all the way up through the late 80’s.
Most melancholy of all Frank’s album in my opinion is ‘Where are you’ My husband brought it back from the states in 1958.
“She Shot Me Down” (1982) is a great album of new material though. I really love Frank’s sad old man phase, from Cycles (68) to Watertown (72?) and this one.
I still think that Sinatra was thew greatest purveyor of a song that has ever lived, he sang like a musician played, he always gave credit to the composer and lyricist of a song, plus the arranger and the orchestra.
Many of today’s singers would benefit from watching and listening to him sing, particularly one British female singer who you can hear her intake of breath in every line of every song she sings
I think Sinatra’s voice improved as he got older. From “Watertown” on, he could convey a true emotion that I hardly find in earlier recordings. The whole “Watertown” is a pure gem. And later, listen to his take on “One Note Samba” or even later “Bang Bang” or “A Long Night”… Compare the eraly version of “Let’s Face The Music & dance”, the 1979 one has much more substance than the young-blue-eyes one. Sinatra singing “Don’t Ever Go Away” gives me wonderful goosebumps. Yeah, thanks god he came back and aged beautifully. And his version of “Bang Bang” is the only one that equals the already perfect of from Vanilla Fudge (in 1967).
Although I devoted a huge amount of space to Frank Sinatra in my book ‘Just Remember This’,it’s obvious its only a start for one of the greatest commercial vocalists of the pre-rock era,& the post rock era.While it;s true that his ‘Wee Small Hours’ album set standards & expectations for the world of ‘popular music’ in 1955,it’s still (also) true few later LP releases can come close to it!This verdict is more so for the rest of the thousands of other vocalists who tried,as well as Frank himself.It;s not that there were & are not good songs & different types of vocals & styles,it;s just that Frank (somehow) did it better on ;Wee Small Hours’-for the most part-defining the ‘pop album’as few other could,or did.Like all great vocalists,Frank had the ability to lift recording fodder into something special,noting that in his case,HE was special anyway.(Much of his later Reprise recorded material should also be rated as excellent,although his age,does indicate some vocal decline.His 1980 “Theme From’New York,New York’ release is a prime example of a voice in decline that still competes or betters anyone else.Indeed,style & age meant nothing to Frank.Just being Frank was enough/Still is!/Colin Bratkovich
Yeah, Germany shouldn’t have invaded Poland either, but they did. It’s a moot point, now, some 50 years later to debate whether Sinatra should have come back or not.
I know I wouldn’t have seen him live if he had of quit at 55. For that, I’m so glad he did!
One of my favorite Sinatra albums is “Nice ‘n’ Easy,” which has just been reissued in several formats for the 60th anniversary of the album. A great record, top to bottom, like so many other Sinatra LPs. By the way, my friend Lawrence and I launched a podcast earlier this year about Frank Sinatra and bourbon. You can find it at http://www.franklydrinking.com and other places where you access podcasts. Right now, we’ve released nine episodes, each of which features three Sinatra songs and two whiskeys. We typically taste a bourbon early in the show and end the show by tasting a variant of Jack Daniel’s, Frank’s favorite whiskey. Lawrence and I grew up together in suburban Atlanta, where we both still live. We’re not experts or anything, but we share an appreciation for the timeless music of Frank Sinatra and the taste of American whiskeys. I invite you to check out Frankly Drinking at http://www.franklydrinking.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks!
I too, understand people’s comments about Sinatra’s vocal decline in the 70s, 80s, 90s. I agree that most studio work didn’t have the spark of earlier work. Each & every decade of Sinatra’s work, however, had a style & life of its own. One thing that no one has mentioned is Sinatra’s excellent breathing techniques & “tricks” he learned along the way. As his vocal range & power may have waned, his experience, vocal technique, mic technique, all came into play as an unequaled live performer. Like most fans, I was first drawn to his 50s recordings. His 40s solo work on Columbia & recordings of his live radio shows, even with the lo-hi limitation, clearly show a guy who who is oozing pure talent. Even by the 50s, his voice isn’t the jewel it was in the 40s. What makes the Capitol recordings supreme is how he has learned to use what he has & how his great arrangers frame his voice & his emotion with the fine music. Stordahl, Riddle, May, & Sinatra created what I consider to be the best music ever recorded. The 60s especially with Basie are some of my favorite for the sheer fun you can hear in his voice. He’s having a ball & it sounds like a party that you want an invite to. The voice at middle age & older is huskier, but he is so cockshure, you can almost see him swaggering as he sings. His 60s work with Jobim is an entire love story of its own. I don’t really listen to the later 70s, 80s, or 90s recordings. Still, there are a few greats. Lady Day, Long Night, a few others just hit you in the gut & it makes you chuckle. Like an old champ who hits you square with an uppercut. There are many, many fans who only saw Sinatra perform live in the 80s, or even 90s.As elusive as his special moments may have become later in life when he finds one we feel privileged to have been there to experience it. Today looking back, it’s a memory we will always treasure.
Just to narrow the discussion to his recorded vocal quality and ignore his wonderful ability to “sell” a song in concert, Sinatra had two peaks: 1942-1946, and 1952-1962. During the first few years of his solo career, no other singer came close to his vocal smoothness, range and sensitivity. After his 1954 comeback he had several more great years, having matured as a singer. Just listen to Dancing on the Ceiling. I’ve been a Sinatra fan for 70 years but never had a chance to see/hear him live, so I have no right to challenge the opinions of those who have. All I know are the the recordings — in a studio or from 1940s radio transcripts.