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Frank Sinatra

Back in a time without Pandora, Spotify, or other Internety things to suggest new artists, I found myself browsing the music aisles of Borders Bookstores (R.I.P. dear friend) and buying my first Frank Sinatra album.

While other middle schoolers my age listened to the latest Limp Biskit and Eminem hits, I listened to Frank singing about that ‘girl in Monterrey’ and ‘Nancy With the Laughing Face’. I was full of geek and mirth.

I may have even written a poem about the man for my creative writing class. Title? Ol’ Blue Eyes and Me.

Yes, I was that girl. A future hipster in the making.

Years later, Frank remains a vital part of my music experience. He deserves to be listened to by everyone. Here are some reasons why I love him. 🙂

  1. Listening to him is like smoking a cigarette in those old timey movies. To listen is to travel back to a time when men wore fedoras, women used kid-gloves, and music still reflected the explosion of jazz just a few years earlier.

  1. His voice transfers and transforms one into a much cooler, swingin’, better you. Once you’ve heard it, it stays with you.

Have a job interview? Listen to Frank.
A first date? Listen to Frank.
Want to feel like you are on top of the world? Listen to the track below.

3.  Sinatra was indirectly responsible for creating one of the greatest scenes in movie history.

Johnny Fontane’s character in The Godfather was reportedly based on Sinatra, who was rumored to have close mafia ties.

You can act like a man, what’s the matter with you!?

-You, after watching this scene

  1. He could sing, dance, act, and even fly to the moon. Here he is performing with Gene Kelly–two geniuses at their best.

  1. Sinatra had the best posse in the history of posses. Jay Z had nothing on this guy.

The Rat Pack, as they were known, included singers Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Joey Bishop (not pictured below).

They were part of The Great Generation: men and women who saw WWII come and go and lived to see Elvis Presley and The Beatles change the music scene forever.

Their response to all these changes? Keep swinging ’til the end. 

6. Sinatra had a long and successful career until his death in 1998 (age 85). During his lifetime time, he accomplished several comebacks.

One of them was the release of the song, My Way, in the 1960’s. It was lovingly portrayed in the following scene from Mad Men this year, a TV show that is set during this tumultuous period.

It’s a lovely tribute to a the powerhouse that was, and will always be, Frank Sinatra.

(“My Way” plays on radio)
Don: You hear this?
Peggy: I know, they play it all the time.
Don: You think that’s a coincidence?