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_Frank Sinatra _
By: jay
Howard Cosell, a legendary commentator, spoke words about this legendary man
that more or less sums up his legendary career. He said "Frank Sinatra, who
has the phrasing, who has the control, who understands the composers, who
knows what losing means as so many have, who made the great comeback, who
stands still, enduringly, on top of the entertainment world. Ladies and
gentlemen, from here on in it's Frank Sinatra!" Frank Sinatra, the only singer
in history to have hit records in five consecutive decades, led a lot more
distinctive life than people were led to believe. It all began December 12,
1915, when a boy named Francis Albert Sinatra was brought into the world. He
was the son of Dolly and Anthony Sinatra, a pair of Italian immigrants. He was
born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey where he spent his teenage years
unloading trucks for the Jersey Observer newspaper. He then became a copy boy
where he found a passion to strive for, journalism. However, the editor at the
newspaper said, copy boys dont know enough to be reporters. So, Sinatra
went to secretarial school. He studied English, typing, and shorthand. The
newspapers editor eventually promoted him to cub sports reporter After
achieving his goal to be a journalist, Frank had another passion to strive
for, singing. In his spare time, Sinatra appeared in on Major Bowes Amateur
Hour, which was a popular radio talent show back in the day. Frank had never
been taught to sing he taught himself. He was a natural. So the head of the
Major Bowes Amateur Hour promoted Frank. For $25 a week he sang, waited
tables, was the master of ceremonies, and a comedian at The Rustic Cabin. In
1939 a man by the name of Harry James discovered Frank while visiting The
Rustic Cabin. He immediately signed Frank to sing for his new swing band.
After touring with Harry James, Frank started to sing for with Tommy Dorseys
Orchestra. After recording more than 90 songs with them, Frank moved on. He
then moved to the popular radio show The Lucky Strike Hit Parade, where he
worked as the MC. Frankie was a hit! Everyone loved him. He was the first teen
model the country had ever seen. Amazingly enough, he almost caused a near
riot at New Yorks Paramount Theater in 1944.He then signed a contract with
Columbia Records in 1943 and left in 1952. So in 1953 he signed another
contract with Capitol Records, where he recorded such albums as Swing Easy,
Songs for Swinging Lovers, and Come Fly with me. But, In 1960 Frank decided to
move to a new record company. This company was called Reprise Records, which
Frank co-owned. Sinatra recorded exclusively there. Over the Years, Frank did
various concerts, several movies, and many special appearances. During the
50s and early 60s Sinatra remained the top seller in the album market. He
worked with everyone from his early inspiration Bing Crosby to young rock
stars such as Quincy Jones and Elvis Presley Besides from being an
excellent singer, Frank could act. He starred in such films as The Man with
the Golden Arm, Suddenly, and one of his greatest films Guys and Dolls. MGM
said he (Frank) was so skinny, he wouldnt throw a shadow. I told them he
would throw the biggest shadow Hollywood has ever seen (George Sidney 2). And
in 1953, Frank did just that. He won an Academy Award in Best Supporting Actor
for the role of Maggio in movie From Here to Eternity In 1939, Frank
fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams; he married his childhood sweetheart
Nancy Barbato. He had three kids: Nancy Sandra, Franklin Wayne Emmanuel (Frank
Jr.), and Christina. However, in 1949, Frank divorced Nancy after ten years of
marriage because of an affair involving Frank and Ava Gardner. This ran his
career into a severe crisis. He was fired from his radio show, Columbia wanted
him out, and six months later his New York concerts flopped! To make matters
worse, he lost his voice do to vocal cord hemorrhage. Fortunate enough for
Frank his voice problem was only temporary. He got his career going again by
resuming his recording career and appearing in motion pictures again Frank
then joined a legendary group known as the Rat Pack. It included Frank, Dean
Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. The group performed
together in Las Vegas in the 1950s and co-starred in several movies, including
Oceans Eleven, Sergeants Three, and Robin and the Seven Hoods. The Rat Pack
first gained fame with their work for JFK's presidential campaign. Sinatra and
the others were big supporters of the campaign, doing publicity and photo
shoots. When you here the name Frank Sinatra most people think of the Mafia.
Frank was first linked to the Mafia in 1947 in a column report that stated he
was seen in Havana with mobster Lucky Luciano. Later, he was tied to both the
Mafia "and" the Communists. The Committee on Un-American Activities said he
followed some of the Communist Party line program. However, Sinatra denied any
involvement with the Communists. Up to this point Sinatra was angry. In fact
he was so angry he punched Hearst gossip columnist Lee Mortimer at Ciros, a
Hollywood hot nightspot. The Hearst papers went nuts, running whole pages on
this incident, and repeated stories on the Mafia/Communist charges. Sinatra,
trying to come up with an excuse, said he punched Mortimer because the
columnist called him a "dago"! Because of this whole fiasco, former president
John F. Kennedy disowned Frank, which eventually turned this former democrat,
into a strong republican. For many years the FBI had been keeping an eye on
Frank, and earlier this year they released some of those pages they had
recorded on Sinatra. Some of the files were on such topics as The Rat Pack and
prostitutes, Frank and the mob, and Affairs with numerous movie stars. Among
the files, included a federal report on the plane crash that killed Sinatras
mother, a report of a 1966 bomb threat against Sinatra in Miami Beach, and a
1969 death threat in which Sinatra was given the option of a $2 million
donation to the Vatican in return for his life. Frank has many interesting
facts about him that many people werent aware of. Many people dont know that
Frank did the singing swords voice in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Unlike the
millions of men in America at this time, Frank eagerly wanted to serve in the
military for WWII. However, because of a childhood street fight where Frank
got hit in the ear by a bike chain, he has a punctured eardrum and was not
able to join. Another interesting fact about Frank was that his first wife
Nancy knit many of the bow ties Sinatra wore on his album covers. She
encouraged Frank to wear them because she felt his Adam's apple was too large.
He was appropriately nicknamed the voice because of his excellent singing
ability. Many people dont know that Frank made over 200 records and over 50
movies! Not bad for a singer whose part time job is an actor In 1971,
Frankie called it quits. The King of Swing had retired. Most of his fans were
bummed, but he reassured them that He would still return for some concerts and
recordings but would keep mostly a low profile. Several years later, in 1983,
Frank received the Kennedy Center honor for outstanding achievement in Musical
Arts. Two years form that; Frank won another award, The Medal of Freedom.
Former President Reagan, a long time friend of Frank, awarded him. In 1988-89,
Sinatra teamed up with his old Rat Pack associates. Frank, Sammy, and Dean did
a multi-city tour around the country. Later in the 90s Frank had success
again. He made an album called Duets, and its Grammy winning sequel, Duets
II , which combined singers like Bono and Streisand singing with Frank. His
last performance was in concert in 1994 at age 78. In 1997 Frank had a severe
tragedy, a heart attack. It was the first heart attack Frank had ever had. For
the next couple years Frank had not been seen in public. In 1998, Frank was
back in the news. Unfortunately, it was about Franks Health. Sinatra had died
of a heart attack at age 82 on May 14. The nation was astounded. This was the
biggest music celebrity news since TuPacs death. News channels everywhere
interrupting their broadcasts for this special bulletin. The first teen idol
that the country had ever seen was dead. The most ingenious singer the country
had ever seen was dead. It was the second time the music had died. His life
has touched the world and has forever changed the art of singing, as we know
it.
_Bibliography _
Works Cited William, Dean. Sinatra, Frank. Internet. March 14 2000.
Available WWW. http://articles.eb.com. Schoemer, Karen. The Kid from
Hoboken. Newsweek. May 25 1998: 57. Sinatra, Frank. Internet. March 14
2000. Available WWW. http://search.biography.com. Wilson, Jeff. Sinatra
outspoken . Internet. March 14 2000. Available WWW http://www.nj.com.
Sinatra, Frank . The World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 17 S-Sn. World Book Inc.
93.
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