Colorful Frank Sinatra: Charismatic, many songs

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“I was able to sing eight bars without taking a breath. This gave the melody a flowing unbroken quality and that, if anything, was what made me sound different.” — Frank Sinatra

Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra, circa 1957 at age 42. Capitol Records photo

The very word conjures an image of a man about town, a saloon singer, a mercurial man of many moods, and possibly, the greatest singer the world has known.

The man could sing a song like no other. His baritone would enunciate every word with a melancholy, a tenderness, a true verve that left his listeners entranced. Worldwide he sold 150 million albums and his net worth is estimated at $200 million in today’s dollars. Sinatra never learned to read music, but he was a perfectionist renowned for his style and presence. He insisted recording live with his band.

The portrait that emerges in his best friend, Tony Oppedisano’s book, “Sinatra and Me. In the wee small hours” is one of a man with grit, determination and a talent to sing with style. “T” as Sinatra called him provides the reader with intimate details of his personal as well as professional life.

Francis Albert Sinatra was born after a very difficult delivery December 12, 1915 to Antonio and Natalina Sinatra. Forceps were used and resulted in significant damage to the left side of his head including a punctured eardrum with part of his earlobe and skull were ripped off. He had scar tissue there most of his life until plastic surgery later remedied the condition.

Ol’ Blue Eyes was called “The Chairman of the Board”and most gave him great respect which he had earned. He began his musical career with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. By 1943 he was the idol of the “bobby sockers” and released his first album, “The Voice of Frank Sinatra” in 1946.His intimate, easy-listening, vocals attracted attention.

Sinatra performed in Las Vegas and was leader of the Rat Pack including Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. Sinatra was immaculate in his dress wearing a tuxedo to perform or an Italian suit. He would swim daily in the Ocean to stay trim.

He won an Academy Award in 1953 in the film From Here to Eternity. He appeared in other subsequent films including High Society and Pal Joey. He appeared on television in the 1950s and the 1960s. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 1983 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.

Sinatra’s personal life was colorful to say the least if not full of drama and intrigue. He was Italian, but more specifically Sicilian. He loved wine, women and song. Jack Daniels was never far from his reach. He wed Nancy Barbato in 1939 andthey had his three children. He subsequently wed Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, and finally Barbara Marx, that union of which lasted 22 years until his death May 14, 1998 of heart failure.

Actor Gregory Peck wrote a poem for Frank’s 80th birthday party and read it again at his funeral Mass. In part it reads “Sentimental softy, reckless rogue, weaving a musical garment of the threads of his life. Golden threads from the golden years. And the pure white thread of the decent deeds, and the threads worked their way into the pattern of his life forming a garment for protection and a banner of defiance.”

Sinatra left the world his albums and songs, his charisma and his can-do attitude. He left this Earth, but the song remains.

P.S. I saw Sinatra perform at ChicagoFest up close August 10, 1982. He held a cigarette in one hand, a glass of wine in another and sat on a stool. For his 45-minute performance, he was paid $100,000. His playlist began with “I’ve Got the World on a String” and his final 12th song was “My Kind of Town.” Afterward, he returned to California on his private jet.

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