Role of the Performer: Frank Sinatra

 Frank Sinatra

 Frank Sinatra's Journey

    Mr. Sinatra developed an interest in music at a young age. It was particularly big in band jazz he listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo while idolizing Bing Crosby. During his 15th birthday party, he was given a ukulele by his uncle. He would perform at family gatherings. To start his career singing he would sing at the local Hoboken social clubs and would also sing for free on radio stations. In New York he found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. He wanted to improve his speech he started taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from a vocal coach named John Quinlan. He was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.

    Franks mom got him his first break into the musical industry. She persuaded a local singing group called the 3 Flashes in 1935. They admitted that they only let him in the group because he had a car and could drive him around. When Frank learned that the group was auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour Show he begged them to let him be part of the act. The group later were known as the Hoboken Four. They won the 1st prize on the show and got a contract from the win that involved a six-month trip performing on a stage and radio across the U.S. In 1938 he found a job that involved singing as a waiter the roadhouse that he worked at was connected to the WNEW radio station where he would perform with a group live during the dance padre show. 

    In 1939 a saxophonist named frank Mane knew of Frank from the Jersey City radio station WAAT arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love" his very first solo studio recording. Frank signed a 2-year contract with the James band and would release his first commercial record which sold no more than 8,000 copies. He later on would get frustrated with h
ow his career was going and would leave the band and go on to be the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey Band. 

    He went on to make his first appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre. In his first year he recorded over 40 songs. In 1942 he believed that he should go solo. Frank was hampered by his contract due to it giving Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings. They entered into a legal battle, and it was settled in August 1942. About a month later Dorsey said his Fairwell to Frank which involved him saying "I hope you fall on your ass". In 1943 Sinatra would sign with Columbia records as a solo artist. As a lot of artists have career slumps or bad out goings Frank had his share. 1950- 1953 were the low year. It does seem like that long, but a lot can happen in 3-4 years for a musician. He got a divorce during his slump in the music industry and would have to borrow $200,000 form Columbia Records to pay back taxes. His concert turns out where small and just never jumped up during his slump. His career starts to jump back up in 1953. He starts to bury himself in his work. he would go sign a seven-year contract deal with Capitol Records. He started to get his career and life back on track. He would retire in 1970 but later came back in 1973. He would sing for the last time in front of a live audience on February 25, 1995. 

Fly me to the moon!

    Fly me to the moon was one of the first Frank Sintra songs I ever heard. Fly me to the moon was originally named "In Other Words" and was written by Bart Howard in 1954. The first person to record the song was Kayne Ballard in 1954. Frank sang and recorded it in 1964 and it was closely associated with the apollo missions to the moon. When I say it was closely associated with apollo missions to the moon I mean they played the song on a Sony TC-50 portable cassette player on the apollo 10 mission that orbited the Moon and Apollo 11 before the first moon landing. It was sung by Diana Krall on the 40th anniversary commemoration ceremony. The tempo of the song is 118 beats per minute. The waltz time was 3/4 but changed to 4/4 by Quincy Jones. 

White Christmas

     White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin in 1940. The song is about reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. This song has been covered by tons of artist including Frank Sinatra. Frank covered the song in 1944. The tempo of the song was 90 beats per minute. The song is slow pasted. The song stays in one tone when talking about the singing from frank Sinatra. 

What role does Frank Sinatra serve?

    Frank Sinatra was someone who I know people love. His voice is special, his story isn't one of a kind but each part of the story of his journey shows people that there's always up and downs. My mom loves his music she says that no one sings like him. He still has a big audience even after it being years since he made or released a song. He once said he wanted to build his career up so big that no one could touch him. I think he did just that. I know that everyone loved the man and were sadden by his death in 1998. 

Citations:

Fly Me to the Moon - Wikipedia

Frank Sinatra - Wikipedia

White Christmas (song) - Wikipedia

White Christmas (Remastered 1999) - YouTube

Fly Me To The Moon (2008 Remastered) - YouTube

FRANK SINATRA / THE HOBOKEN FOUR First Live Radio Performance MAJOR BOWES AMATEUR HOUR Sept 8, 1935 - YouTube

a jazzy evening with frank sinatra and tommy dorsey orchestra / a vintage jazz playlist - YouTube