From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Thu Dec 12, 2002 6:21 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Frank Sinatra FRANK SINATRA Born Francis Albert Sinatra, 12 December 1915, Hoboken, New Jersey Died 14 May 1998, Los Angeles, California Frank Sinatra is considered by many critics of popular music as the greatest singer of the 20th century. Though Sinatra hated rock 'n' roll, his presence during the Shakin' Years (on record, radio, TV and on the movie screen) was so inescapable that I feel we can't ignore him. From 1953-1960 he was contracted to Capitol and there is general agreement that this period represents his artistic peak, both as a singer and as an actor. Much of the credit for his musical achievements must go to his musical director at Capitol, Nelson Riddle. His arrangements were not simply accompaniments, but compositions for orchestra and voice. Well-known singles from this period are Love and Marriage, Young At Heart, Three Coins in the Fountain, Hey Jealous Lover, Well Did You Evah (with Bing Crosby, from "High Society"), Witchcraft, All the Way / Chicago, and Nice 'n' Easy. However, by this time Sinatra was already more an LP artist than someone whose success was dependent on his latest 45. Some 50s films in which he appeared are From Here To Eternity (Oscar for Best supporting actor), Young At Heart, High Society and Pal Joey. Before his stay at Capitol, he had already scored 71 chart hits (almost all of them on Columbia), 1941-52, and he was the first singer (as early as 1942) to evoke the kind of uncontrolled hysteria from young female fans that was later associated with Elvis Presley and the Beatles. He also served as a role model for artists who had entered the music arena as a rock 'n' roller, but whose ambitions reached further than a teenage audience, Bobby Darin being the most striking example. Brenda Lee has revealed that, even as a young girl, she listened to Sinatra albums over and over to improve her phrasing. The 1960 Sinatra TV show that welcomed Elvis back from the Army had the two stars exchanging songs at the end : Sinatra did "Love Me Tender" Sinatra-style, but Presley handled "Witchcraft" with utter respect. He was the one who had to adjust. In 1961 Sinatra started his own record company, Reprise Records, initially announcing that the label wouldn't release any rock 'n' roll. He continued to have hits (the best-known being "Strangers in the Night", "Something Stupid", with his daughter Nancy, "My Way" and "New York, New York"), and hit albums, but the magic created by Nelson Riddle was gone. There are countless biographies (three by Arnold Shaw alone), websites and compilations. For me personally, The Capitol Collectors Series CD will suffice.