Frank Sinatra

            Guess whose birthday is Dec. 15. It’s Ol’ Blue Eyes, Chairman of the Board, leader of the Rat Pack, Mr. Cool. Francis Albert Sinatra, of course. I bring up Mr. Sinatra because he would have been 96 this year and is an important member of my family..

              * I officially have been his No. 1 – okay, maybe not officially – fan since 1959.

              * I invited him to my wedding in 1974. (He very graciously refused, and I still have the letter which he wrote, signed and delivered. (And if you believe he actually saw the invite, you are even dumber, I mean more gullible, than I.)

                * I, yours truly, reviewed Sinatra at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in January of 1974 after he had come out of retirement the previous year.

            * I, yours truly, have seen every movie he has ever made (yes, the dogs, too), and I have watched every DVD available of his performances and TV shows, I have seen him in concert many times, and I own every single original long- play vinyl record he has recorded.

So what? Well, since his birthday is coming, I have a few opinions about things Sinatra I thought I you might enjoy.

My all-time favorite Sinatra movie is “From Here to Eternity,” where his wise-guy persona was perfected in the little Italian wiseacre Maggio, earning Frank a very well deserved Oscar for best supporting actor. But Sinatra has many different movie personas, and they have been well showcased on the screen: The sweet, naive young guy (“It Happened in Brooklyn’ and “Anchors Aweigh”); Young romantic lead  “Young at Heart” and “The Tender Trap.” Intensely dramatic actor ( “The Man With the Golden Arm” and “Manchurian Candidate” ) Tough guy at war (“Never So Few” and “Von Ryan’s Express” ) Swinging man about town (”A Hole in the Head” and “Come Blow Your Horn.”) Boss of the Rat Pack (“Ocean’s Eleven” and “Robin and the 7 Hoods.” ) Musical charmer. (“On the Town” and “High Society.”) Cool guy detective: ( “The Detective” and “The First Deadly Sin.”)

The best book by far about Sinatra is Sinatra: The Life by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan. It is truthful and unbiased but revelatory, not only about Sinatra and his music but the world he lived in.

             There are no bad Sinatra albums, but the originals, and particularly the ones from the  Capital years, are the best because of his material and his voice. There are three albums I recommend if you have none (all available on Amazon) or have everything: “The Point of No Return,”  a 1959 album arranged and conducted by Axel Stordahl;  “Where Are You?” from 1957 arranged by Gordon Jenkins; and “No One Cares” (1959), also arranged by Jenkins.
         Best of all, I would like to give you the top 11 songs ever recorded by Sinatra.

1. This truly is his greatest song and the greatest interpretation of any song – “Where or When” by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. It was arranged by Nelson Riddle and recorded Sept. 11, 1958, in Los Angeles, showing off the impeccable timbre and timeless quality of Sinatra’s voice.

2. “If I Loved You” – This wonderful  version of  Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s tune from “Carousel” was recorded May 1, 1945 with arrangements by Axel Stordahl. It has never been done better

3.  and 4. “The Lady Is a Tramp” (Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and arranged by Riddle  for July 26, 1956) and “Luck Be a Lady” (written by Frank Loesser and arranged by Billy May, recorded July 25, 1963.) The first  “Lady” is from “Babes In Arms,” a 1937 musical. Both are the ultimate in swing.

5. “One For My Baby” has to be Sinatra’s signature saloon song. Written by consummate pros Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, Fred Astaire sang in it “The Sky’s the Limit” in 1943, but Sinatra perfected it.

6. “Solliloquy” from “”Carousel.” This may seem to be a song more suited to the power of a Gordon MacRae or Robert Goulet, but Sinatra recorded his version for the first time on May 28, 1946, but Nelson Riddle’s arrangement was waxed from Feb. 18 to 21, 1963, and it was part of what was said to be Nelson’s  favorite Reprise album.  Sinatra had been through a lot as a father, and he brings a longing, phrasing and understanding to the song that cannot be matched. This is one of my favorite recordings of all time.  

7. “In the Still of the Night.” If you think I favor ballads, I guess you are right. Few are better than this one  by Cole Porter. Frank recorded it Dec. 19, 1960, with an arrangement by Johnny Mandel. It’s stunning.

8. “New York, New York.” I am  running out of space and there is no way I can leave Sinatra’s anthem off of my best list. This tune by John Kander and Fred Ebb was made for Sinatra. Everyone has recorded this song, but everyone always picks Sinatra’s version as the definitive one. This was arranged by Billy May, Don Costa and Gordon Jenkins. Start spreading the news.

I ran out of space, but the final three are “Time After Time,” (10/24/46)  (Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne) and “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”  (8/13/57) and “I Concentrate on You” (1/30/67), (both from the brilliant Cole Porter).

Plus, there’re only a few hundred other great recordings. If it’s Frank, you can’t go wrong. 

Don Lechman is former critic reporter and editor for The Daily Breeze. He teaches writing at Harbor College in Wilmington.