Frank Sinatra set the standard for popular singing in the 20th century. His phrasing, timing and command of a lyric influenced almost every singer who came after him. Born December 12, 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrant parents, he became the idol of the bobby-soxers in the 1940s and stayed a star for more than fifty years. They called him the Chairman of the Board.
From the big bands to solo fame
Sinatra started out singing with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before going solo in the early 1940s, where his swooning delivery sparked something close to hysteria among young fans. He learned breath control from watching Dorsey play trombone, which let him hold a phrase longer than anyone around him.
The Capitol years
After a career slump, he won an Oscar for From Here to Eternity (1953) and signed with Capitol Records. The albums he made there with arranger Nelson Riddle, including In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!, defined the modern pop album. In 1960 he started his own label, Reprise.
The signature songs
His later years produced the songs people still sing: “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Strangers in the Night”, which won the Grammy for Record of the Year, “That’s Life”, “New York, New York” and “My Way”. With Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. he formed the Rat Pack and helped turn Las Vegas into the capital of cool.
A lasting voice
Sinatra idolized Bing Crosby as a young man and later shared the screen with him in High Society. He won multiple Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, and the Recording Academy honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He died on May 14, 1998, in Los Angeles, leaving a catalogue that has never gone out of style.
Most loved songs
A spread across the catalogue. Each title opens through the in-site player.
▶ Fly Me to the Moon
▶ New York, New York
▶ Strangers in the Night
▶ That’s Life
▶ I’ve Got You Under My Skin
▶ Something Stupid
- Full nameFrancis Albert Sinatra
- BornDecember 12, 1915, Hoboken, New Jersey
- DiedMay 14, 1998, Los Angeles
- GenresTraditional pop, swing, jazz
- Also known forThe Chairman of the Board, and an Oscar for From Here to Eternity
From a swinging standard to a ballad your grandparents played, the odds are good a Frank Sinatra song lives somewhere in your memory. Type the line you remember into the search box above and you may find it leads back to him.