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95-465: May wrote arrangements for many top singers, including Frank Sinatra , Yma Sumac , Nat King Cole , Anita O'Day , Peggy Lee , Vic Damone , Bobby Darin , Johnny Mercer , Ella Fitzgerald , Louis Prima , Keely Smith , Jack Jones , Bing Crosby , Sandler and Young , Nancy Wilson , Rosemary Clooney , The Andrews Sisters and Ella Mae Morse . He also collaborated with satirist Stan Freberg on several classic 1950s and 1960s comedy music albums. As

190-556: A midwife , and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley , ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter. Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who later worked at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Due to his illiteracy, he stressed

285-475: A ukulele , with which he performed at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School ) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances, but left without graduating after having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness." To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found her son work as

380-546: A "flagrant burlesque" of the best-selling “sweet” bands of the day led by Kay Kyser and Sammy Kaye , whose motto “Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye” becomes “Swing and Sweat with Charlie Barnet” when May sings it. May and Barnet remained close throughout their lives, and May arranged another 36 titles for the Barnet Orchestra between 1954 and 1970. The original manuscript scores, and some original band parts, for about 80 of May's arrangements for Barnet are now housed at

475-755: A 1,200-seat venue. By April 1952, he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" Sinatra records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as " If I Could Write a Book " in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now,"

570-463: A Raney Day ; Vic Damone on the albums The Lively Ones and Strange Enchantment ; Jeri Southern on the album Jeri Southern Meets Cole Porter ; Keely Smith on the album Politely and on a duet single, "Nothing In Common"/"How Are Ya Fixed For Love?", with Sinatra; Bobby Darin on the album Oh! Look at Me Now ; Nancy Wilson on the albums Like In Love , Something Wonderful , Tender Loving Care , Nancy - Naturally! and various tracks from

665-522: A car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the "Hoboken Four" and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the show. They each earned $ 12.50, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes to win first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across

760-637: A delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper (since merged into The Jersey Journal ), where his godfather Frank Garrick worked; he later worked as a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He began performing in local Hoboken social clubs and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for

855-499: A dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range. Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager. Even though he never learned to read music, he learned by ear . He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group called the 3 Flashes to let him join. Baritone Fred Tamburro stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something," admitting that they only took him on board because he owned

950-475: A few arrangements for three of its four albums, South Pacific , Kiss Me, Kate and Guys and Dolls , May's charts being variously performed by Sinatra, Davis, Crosby, Dean Martin , Jo Stafford and Lou Monte and yielding a perennial Sinatra concert favourite, " Luck Be a Lady " from Guys and Dolls . In 1958, May arranged a Christmas album on Warner Bros. Records featuring The Jimmy Joyce Singers , titled A Christmas to Remember . In 1983, May arranged

1045-404: A few thousand dollars. Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $ 650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Perfectly simple: It was the war years, and there was a great loneliness, and I was the boy in every corner drugstore, the boy who'd gone off drafted to

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1140-591: A few weeks of the show, some 1,000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused

1235-487: A group of all-star veteran musicians on the sessions, including some of the original performers such as singers Helen Forrest, Helen Ward and Tex Beneke. The Time-Life label released these as boxed sets titled as "The Swing Era," whose marketing was focused on the fact that these high-fidelity stereo recordings allowed listeners to enjoy the music with a depth and realism that the 78 rpm recordings of that era had never been able to fully capture. The Crosby-Clooney collaboration

1330-455: A large mezzanine , a balcony , and a seventy-five hundred square foot patio. The dance floor could accommodate four thousand couples. Admission was 40 cents for gentlemen and 25 cents for ladies. Opening night was attended by 20,000 people, including many of Hollywood's silent screen stars. Klieg lights illuminated minaret structures on the roof. The dance hall was renamed Rainbow Gardens by real estate developer Raymond Lewis, who purchased

1425-478: A lot from Glenn. He was a good musician and an excellent arranger." When the Big Bands ended in the late 1940s, May relocated to Los Angeles, where he became a much-coveted arranger and studio orchestra leader, working for top recording stars of the day including Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Anita O'Day and Bing Crosby. At Capitol, May wrote arrangements for many top artists. These included Frank Sinatra on

1520-485: A near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and steal clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow tie . Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943, during

1615-530: A psychiatric viewpoint;" his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $ 40,000 to avoid military service, but the FBI found this to be without merit. Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers . During one trip to Rome, he met

1710-629: A repertoire which included songs such as " My Buddy ," " Willow Weep for Me ," " It's Funny to Everyone but Me ", "Here Comes the Night," " On a Little Street in Singapore ," " Ciribiribin ," and "Every Day of My Life." Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with

1805-568: A seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including " I'm Walking Behind You ," Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity , Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle , an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who

1900-537: A special dinner-dance ticket cost $ 1.25. It included a reserved table in the posh palm-lined Palomar Terrace for the entire evening, a seven-course dinner, a floor show and dancing until 2:00 AM. Valet parking was fifteen cents extra. The management of the Palomar followed a strict color policy , as well. The Palomar burned to the ground on October 2, 1939. The response of LAFD was delayed by an address error. The Charlie Barnet Orchestra lost most of its equipment in

1995-615: A string of successful albums. He collaborated with Count Basie on Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First (1962) and It Might as Well Be Swing (1964). In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy -winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music . After releasing Sinatra at the Sands in early 1966, Sinatra recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim , Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim . It

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2090-477: A trumpet player in the 1940s Big Band era , May recorded such songs as "Measure for Measure", "Long Tall Mama", and " Boom Shot ", with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, and "The Wrong Idea", "Lumby", and "Wings Over Manhattan" with Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra. With his own band, he had a hit single, " Charmaine ". In the 1950s he released several successful albums of his unique orchestral arrangements and compositions, including Sorta-May and Sorta-Dixie. May

2185-756: A two-year contract of $ 75 a week after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as " All or Nothing at All ," also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed

2280-505: A wary relationship. According to Will Friedwald, by 1942 May was ready to resign from the Miller band. Miller refused to record half of May's arrangements, and May objected to Miller's regimented style. But since Miller was joining the military, he convinced May to stay on until the band broke up. May finally said around 1995, after a life of heavy drinking and rehabilitation for alcoholism, that working with Miller "helped me immensely. I learned

2375-697: Is apparent in some of May’s arrangements of new pop songs including "Danger in the Dark" and “Strange Enchantment.” They are on full display in May's arrangements of Ellington's own compositions, particularly “The Sergeant Was Shy,” “Ring Dem Bells,” and “ Rockin’ in Rhythm .” Ellington even reciprocated the musical respect by recording his own arrangement of “In a Mizz,” a Charlie Barnet original arranged by May in June 1939. May's first recorded serious composition for jazz orchestra

2470-550: Is notable. May won two Grammy Awards , including Best Performance by an Orchestra in 1958 and Best Arrangement in 1959. Much of his work for Capitol has been reissued on the Ultra-Lounge CD series. In the late 1960s into the early 1970s, May conducted many recreations of big band era classics, recorded by Capitol. May transcribed note for note from the original recordings of big band legends such as Charlie Barnet, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and others and then conducted

2565-576: Is still no one who can approach him." In 1955, Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours , his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as " In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning ," " Mood Indigo ," " Glad to Be Unhappy " and " When Your Lover Has Gone ." According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood." Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia

2660-453: The 1942–44 musicians' strike . Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All," which reached number 2 on June 2 and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder

2755-457: The Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness" and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning." He was soon selling 10   million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with

2850-569: The Bluebird label. May arranged some of Barnet's best-selling records, including “Pompton Turnpike” and “Leapin’ at the Lincoln,” but it was May’s now-classic arrangement of Ray Noble's " Cherokee " that launched Barnet and his band to national stardom. At Barnet’s request, May closely studied the musical language of Barnet’s idol, Duke Ellington . May soon developed a harmonic and sonic palette rich with Ellingtonian colors. The Ellington influence

2945-695: The Sands Hotel and Casino , after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter . Sinatra typically performed there three times a year and later acquired a share in the hotel. Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident in his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York, he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he performed to half-filled houses. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people turned up in

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3040-423: The "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows. At a young age, Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz and listened to Gene Austin , Rudy Vallée , Russ Colombo , and Bob Eberly while idolizing Bing Crosby . For his 15th birthday, his uncle Domenico gave him

3135-569: The 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self-absorption." Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks" but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers." Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at

3230-939: The 1950s and 1960s. In 1983, Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors . He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra received eleven Grammy Awards , including the Grammy Trustees Award , Grammy Legend Award , and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people . American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of

3325-748: The 1991 Disney film, The Rocketeer including Melora Hardin performing Cole Porter 's " Begin the Beguine ". His compositions for television include "Somewhere in the Night", the theme for Naked City (1960), and his jazzy arrangement of " Flight of the Bumblebee " for The Green Hornet (1966) with trumpet by Al Hirt . He composed the Batgirl theme for Batman (1966). He and Nelson Riddle wrote music for episodes of Naked City (1960), Batman (1966), The Green Hornet (1966), Emergency! (1972), and CHiPs (1977). May also arranged and produced

3420-436: The 20th century" and he continues to be regarded as an iconic figure. "They'd fought through his childhood and continued to do so until her dying day. But I believe that to counter her steel will he'd developed his own. To prove her wrong when she belittled his choice of career   ... Their friction first had shaped him; that, I think, had remained to the end and a litmus test of the grit in his bones. It helped keep him at

3515-485: The Blue of Evening ," and " It's Always You " in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded " Night and Day ," " The Night We Called It a Day ," " The Song is You ," and " Lamplighter's Serenade " at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard

3610-648: The Cole album Just One of Those Things ; his string arrangement of " April in Paris " on Sinatra's Come Fly With Me album; and his arrangement of " I Can't Get Started " on Keely Smith's Politely , which includes a nod to May in the lyrics ("Billy May arranged this for me"). May can be seen on trumpet with the Glenn Miller Orchestra in Sun Valley Serenade (1941), including a solo in " In

3705-723: The Glenn Miller Orchestra, " Boom Shot ", written with Miller (May's wife Arletta originally received credit as co-author in his place) for the soundtrack of the 1942 movie Orchestra Wives , "Harlem Chapel Bells", which was performed with Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on April 2, 1941, and broadcast on the Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade radio program, "Lean Baby", "Fat Man Boogie", "Ping Pong", "Jooms Jones", "Gabby Goose", "Lumby", "Daisy Mae" and "Friday Afternoon" with Hal McIntyre , "Miles Behind", "The Wrong Idea" with Charlie Barnet, "Wings Over Manhattan", "Filet of Soul", "Mayhem", "Gin and Tonic", and "Solving

3800-792: The Golden Arm (1955) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Sinatra also appeared in musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), which won him a Golden Globe Award . Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout

3895-690: The Harold Arlen Songbook ; similar dips into Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart with Anita O'Day ( Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May and Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart ; both on Verve); Mel Tormé 's Latin-flavoured album ( ¡Olé Tormé!: Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May ); Jane Russell 's self-titled album on MGM Records in 1958; early albums by Jack Jones ( Shall We Dance? ) and Petula Clark ( In Hollywood ); one solitary session with Sarah Vaughan for Roulette Records in 1960, to record

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3990-818: The Loneliest Night of the Week) ," " Dream ," and " Nancy (with the Laughing Face) " as singles. Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years, Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946, he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $ 93,000 a week. In 1946, Sinatra released " Oh! What it Seemed to Be ", " Day by Day ", " They Say It's Wonderful ", " Five Minutes More ", and " The Coffee Song " as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra , which reached No. 1 on

4085-518: The Mood ," and Orchestra Wives (1942). In 1957, May made his debut as film composer with Jane Russell 's The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown and the soundtrack was released on Imperial Records. His film scores include the Rat Pack film Sergeants 3 (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Tony Rome (1967), The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968), The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969), and The Front Page (1974) and several big band arrangements used in

4180-739: The Music Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where they are open to the public for research. Many others were destroyed in the 1939 fire at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. Bandleader Glenn Miller hired May away from Barnet in 1940. "May points out that he was not responsible for any of the [Glenn Miller] band's signature hits, but he did write the beautiful left-field introduction to [Bill] Finegan's [arrangement of] 'Serenade In Blue'". Miller and May had

4275-949: The Nat "King" Cole's album called the same way. With the help of Billy May's orchestra, all 43 of Nat King Cole's studio recordings, including two duets with Dean Martin and a repeat of "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" from 1961, are presented here for the first time as a single collection. Personnel: Harry "Sweets" Edison - Trumpet Pete Candoli - Trumpet Buddy Collette, Plas Johnson, Ted Nash, Willie Smith - Woodwinds Section Jimmy Rowles - Piano Johnny Collins - Guitar Charlie Harris - Bass Lee Young - Drums https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/73986/nat-king-cole/the-complete-billy-may-sessions#:~:text=The%20Complete%20Billy%20May%20Sessions%20(EJC%2055720)&text=Harry%20%E2%80%9CSweets%E2%80%9D%20Edison%2C%20Pete,Hollywood%2C%20between%201951%20and%201961 . Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra ( / s ɪ ˈ n ɑː t r ə / ; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)

4370-472: The Palomar had been remodeled. A modern cooling system was installed, cocktail lounges and soda fountains were added and the dance floor was enlarged. The exotic Moorish decor was not changed. An advertisement announcing the gala reopening predicted “A premier audience of more than 20,000 persons – the expected attendance to be on hand for the gayest of all openings!” Admission charges were 75 cents for gentlemen and 40 cents for ladies. On Sunday nights,

4465-604: The Pope , who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944, Sinatra released " I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night " as a single and recorded his own version of Irving Berlin's " White Christmas ." The following year he released " I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do) ," " Saturday Night (Is

4560-567: The Riddle". But his biggest hit as a composer was the children's song " I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat ", which he recorded with Mel Blanc in 1950. Another arrangement, "Be My Host", served as the winner's fanfare on The Newlywed Game and was played after host Bob Eubanks announced the winning couple. May arranged and conducted for many prominent singers. This list highlights some of his recordings that focused on his own bands, compositions and arrangements. The Billy May Sessions were included into

4655-545: The U.S. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from the girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas." In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey , for which he

4750-527: The aid of forceps , which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—which remained damaged for the rest of his life. His grandmother resuscitated him by running her grandson under cold water until he gasped his first breath. Due to his injuries, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he

4845-477: The albums Come Fly with Me (1958), Come Dance with Me! (1959) and Come Swing with Me! (1961); Nat King Cole on the albums Just One of Those Things and Let's Face the Music! , as well as numerous singles (all his work with Cole being packaged later on the 2-CD set The Billy May Sessions ); Peggy Lee on the albums Pretty Eyes and Christmas Carousel ; Sue Raney on her second album Songs for

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4940-516: The albums Sinatra Swings , Francis A. & Edward K. (with Duke Ellington ) and Trilogy 1: The Past , as well as the chart for one of Sinatra's last ever solo recordings, " Cry Me a River " (1988). May arranged Sinatra's knockabout duet with Sammy Davis Jr. , " Me and My Shadow ", which was a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in 1962, while he contributed to Sinatra's ambitious " Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre " project, providing

5035-582: The albums Just For Now and Lush Life ; Matt Monro on several tracks from the albums Invitation to the Movies , Invitation to Broadway , and These Years ; Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney on the albums That Travelin' Two-Beat and Fancy Meeting You Here ; and Sir George Shearing on the albums Satin Affair and Burnished Brass , co-arranged with Shearing (May also conducted Shearing's album Concerto for My Love , on which Shearing had sole credit for

5130-506: The arrangements). May's orchestra was featured on many Capitol Records children's projects, including cowboy star, Hopalong Cassidy . He worked closely with early 1950s satirist Stan Freberg , using his arranging skills to help Freberg create his spoofs of current hits by creating musical backing often stunningly close to the original hit single. On Freberg's Wun'erful, Wun'erful! a lacerating spoof of bandleader Lawrence Welk , May hired some of Hollywood's best jazz musicians, who relished

5225-412: The arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers , was released on January 4, 1954, and included " A Foggy Day ", " I Get a Kick Out of You ", " My Funny Valentine ", " Violets for Your Furs ", and " They Can't Take That Away from Me ", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single " Young at Heart ", which reached No. 2 and

5320-513: The band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $ 25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness. In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded more than forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song " Polka Dots and Moonbeams " in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with " Say It " and " Imagination ", which

5415-576: The destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension, which "absolutely destroyed him." In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra

5510-414: The end of 1943, he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby. Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of his perforated eardrum. However, Army files reported that Sinatra had actually been rejected because he was "not acceptable material from

5605-748: The excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol . He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure . Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey." Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when

5700-543: The film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund , Dick Haymes , Dennis Day , and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December, he recorded " Sweet Lorraine " with the Metronome All-Stars , featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins , Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers , with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of

5795-476: The film to the Catholic Church . By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeat ' s annual poll of most popular singers, and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat , who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life." Though " The Hucklebuck " reached

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5890-537: The goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion   ... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice," and his fans "Sinatratics." They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within

5985-794: The group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $ 125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago , and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois , opening the show with " Stardust ". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel

6080-561: The highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch". Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra , was originally released in 1948 as a 78   rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells , due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $ 100,000 in wages from

6175-556: The idea of mocking the financially successful but musically medocre Welk sound, which they considered the epitome of "square". The result was a note-perfect recreation of Welk's sound as Freberg and a group of vocalists performed parodies of Welk's "musical family". Freberg recounted that Welk was less than amused by the recording. May also composed and conducted the music for Freberg's short-lived comedy radio series on CBS , which ran for 15 episodes in 1957. His sendup of trashy horror-film music ("Gray Flannel Hat Full of Teenage Werewolves")

6270-530: The importance of a "complete and full" education and had instilled in his son the desire to become a civil engineer and enroll at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing for spare change. During the Great Depression , Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as

6365-461: The low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans in January 1950. According to Jimmy Van Heusen , Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words," as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the " Bobby soxers ." Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and

6460-608: The property, added an indoor miniature golf course and changed the name to the Palomar Ballroom. It soon became a prime venue for the well-known bands that were rapidly gaining popularity. On August 21, 1935, Benny Goodman began his first Palomar engagement that marked the start of the swing era . The ballroom hosted popular bands including those led by Tommy Dorsey , Glenn Miller , Artie Shaw , Glen Gray , Jimmy Dorsey , and Kay Kyser , among others. Nightly radio broadcasts on local station KFLJ attracted large crowds to

6555-537: The recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own". After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby , but he

6650-479: The release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder , an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase of teenage girls at the time. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra , featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin 's " How Deep is the Ocean? " and Harold Arlen 's and Jerome Kern 's " All The Things You Are ". " Mam'selle ", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for

6745-429: The same year. Palomar Ballroom The Palomar Ballroom , built in 1925, was a famous ballroom in Los Angeles, California , in the United States . It was destroyed by a fire on October 2, 1939. Originally named the El Patio Ballroom and located on the east side of Vermont Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Street, it boasted being “the largest and most famous dance hall on the West Coast.” The building featured

6840-794: The single " The Green Leaves of Summer " and three other tracks. May arranged and conducted Once More with Feeling , a 1960 studio album by singer Billy Eckstine on Roulette. May also arranged and recorded one album in Cleveland with Cosmic Records; Guess Who for artist Jerry Lee (Jerry Principe) at the Golden Key Club; and two more albums with Keely Smith , recorded nearly 40 years apart: CheroKeely Swings from 1962; and Keely Sings Sinatra , one of May's last projects, from 2001. After Sinatra left Capitol to start his own label, Reprise Records , May continued to provide arrangements for him, off and on, for nearly thirty more years, working on

6935-553: The song "He Came Here For Me" for the Carpenters ' An Old-Fashioned Christmas album on A&M Records. May's charts often featured brisk tempos and intricate brass parts. One distinctive feature is his frequent use of trumpet mute devices. Another was a saxophone glissando, widely known as his "slurping saxes". In slower tempos, he sometimes utilized string sections; good examples of this aspect of his work include his brass chart for " These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) " on

7030-466: The song "River of No Return" for Tennessee Ernie Ford for the 1954 film of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum . Billy May and His Orchestra are also credited as playing themselves in the film Nightmare (1956), starring Edward G. Robinson , and May as music and vocal arranger of music by Herschel Burke Gilbert , who was the musical director. May's compositions included "Long Tall Mama" and "Measure for Measure", recorded with

7125-529: The top of his game." —Sinatra's daughter Nancy on the importance of his mother Dolly in his life and character. Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in a tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey , the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra , who boxed under the name Marty O'Brien. Sinatra weighed 13.5 pounds (6.1 kg) at birth and had to be delivered with

7220-560: The top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra , were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including " Lover ", " It's Only a Paper Moon ," and " It All Depends on You ," on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! . Culminating

7315-625: The war. That's all. By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers , as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a new audience for popular music, which had previously been recorded mainly for adults. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought

7410-637: The ‘master’.” May’s sense of musical humor—which would later become one of the hallmarks of his sound— began to gradually take shape with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra, as evident in his arrangements of novelty numbers like “Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga.” May's earliest recorded musical parody—a comedic skill he would later master with comedian Stan Freberg —was “The Wrong Idea,” an original song by May and Barnet, with syrupy vocal and comically bad trumpet soloing by May (whom Barnet introduces as “Slappy Habits”). Barnet called “The Wrong Idea”

7505-498: The “Dining, Dancing and Entertainment Center of the West.” An aircheck from a Charlie Barnet broadcast is included in the LP “Radio Rhythm” (IAJRC 14). The famed structure was the backdrop for several major Hollywood films that included The Big Broadcast of 1937 , made during Benny Goodman's return engagement, and Dancing Coed , which starred Lana Turner and Artie Shaw's band. By 1939,

7600-598: Was Wings Over Manhattan , a three-part suite celebrating the "aviation" theme of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair for which it was written. It is also a musical salute to Ellington, showing the influence of Ellington's longer-form works like Reminiscing in Tempo and Symphony in Black . Composer/historian Gunther Schuller felt that by age 23, Billy May's command of Ellington's compositional language had become so convincing that “the ‘disciple’ could hardly be distinguished from

7695-504: Was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, " I've Got the World on a String ," Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!" In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on

7790-559: Was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance (and his first on the first officially published Billboard chart ) was " I'll Never Smile Again ," topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include " Our Love Affair " and "Stardust" in 1940; " Oh! Look at Me Now ," " Dolores ", " Everything Happens to Me ", and " This Love of Mine " in 1941; " Just as Though You Were There ", " Take Me ," and " There Are Such Things " in 1942; and " It Started All Over Again ," " In

7885-515: Was a sequel to their earlier, more successful album on RCA Victor, Fancy Meeting You Here , also arranged by May, whose other non-Capitol work included another Bing Crosby duet album, this time with Louis Armstrong , entitled Bing & Satchmo ; a further duet album twinning Bobby Darin with Johnny Mercer ( Two of a Kind ); the sixth in Ella Fitzgerald 's acclaimed series of Song Books for Verve Records , Ella Fitzgerald Sings

7980-464: Was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board " and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes," he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century. Sinatra is among the world's best-selling music artists , with an estimated 150 million record sales globally. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey , Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era and

8075-542: Was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single " Three Coins in the Fountain ", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy! , which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included " Just One of Those Things ", " Taking a Chance on Love ", " Get Happy ", and " All of Me ". Swing Easy!

8170-838: Was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . He started out playing the tuba in the high school band. "I sat in the rear of the stand," he said. "I didn't realize it at the time, but I was intrigued with becoming an arranger and an orchestrator." At the age of 17, he began playing with Gene Olsen's Polish-American Orchestra. May moved to New York City at age 22 to become chief arranger for the Charlie Barnet Orchestra. He held this position from February 1939 until October 1940, and joined its trumpet section in June 1939. May's contract with Barnet called for writing at extraordinary speed: four new arrangements per week, about 70 of which were recorded and commercially released by RCA Victor on

8265-560: Was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington . Sinatra retired in 1971 following the release of " My Way " but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and released " New York, New York " in 1980. Sinatra also forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953), he starred in The Man with

8360-685: Was forced to borrow $ 200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada . Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout

8455-476: Was further scarred by cystic acne . Sinatra was raised in the Catholic Church . Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven; biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as

8550-562: Was greatly influenced by the easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby . He found success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the " bobby soxers ". In 1946, Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra . He then signed with Capitol Records and released several albums with arrangements by Nelson Riddle , notably In the Wee Small Hours (1955) and Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956). In 1960, Sinatra left Capitol Records to start his own record label, Reprise Records , releasing

8645-547: Was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying "I hope you fall on your ass," but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes . Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti , coerced Dorsey at gunpoint to let Sinatra out of his contract for

8740-767: Was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba , and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released " You'll Never Know ", " Close to You ", " Sunday, Monday, or Always " and " People Will Say We're in Love " as singles. By

8835-432: Was named Album of the Year by Billboard , and he was named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard , DownBeat , and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world," and Riddle, who considered Sinatra, "a perfectionist," said: "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempo, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable   ... There

8930-801: Was paid $ 15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him." In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT, arranged for him to audition and record " Our Love ", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James , who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade," signed him to

9025-688: Was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith . Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson." The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts," in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase." On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed

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