Frank Sinatra 1915 – 1998

Biography

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants, and began singing in local clubs before joining Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey’s bands. In the 1940s he became a teenage idol, the bobby-soxers’ favorite, and then a film star, winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity after a career slump. Working with arranger Nelson Riddle, he recorded the Capitol albums that defined the Great American Songbook, including In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! He was a founding member of the Rat Pack, a Las Vegas headliner, and a cultural icon for six decades, known as Ol’ Blue Eyes and the Chairman of the Board. He died in Los Angeles, California, in 1998. His recordings of My Way, New York, New York, and Fly Me to the Moon remain standards, sung by generations after him.