A Career In Frank Sinatra's Music Career

Chairman of the Board

Frank Sinatra was known by many names such as The Sultan of Swoon, The Voice, and Ol’ Blue Eyes. Choose whichever you like. There were very few entertainers who stood the test of time and are still as popular in their hay day as they are in the current generation. Presley, Sinatra, and Bing Crosby are the select few who are still as popular, if not more so, than they were in their respective times. Time Magazine even considered him the most influential vocalist of the 20th century. The simple upbringing, rise to fame, mafia connections, and his control of the music industry from the 40’s to the early 60’s was staggering considering how his life started and a deeper look into his background, music, and connections will
The years of 1942 to 1947 would be his busiest time ever in the music industry. He was the lead singer on a radio broadcast that aired nightly, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records, and was releasing “a new single almost every month (Garvin). He was truly the music industry of the 1940’s. His song “I’ll never smile again” lets you know exactly why he was so popular during the 40’s, he spoke of despair and love being lost and having no hope. America was fully in the throes of WWII, and most people could relate to the disparity of the time. He capitalized on what he was feeling and profited from was going on in the world at the time. He starred in multiple films during the 40’s most of which included mixed reviews and weren’t the successes he had hoped them to be. By the late 1940’s and early 1950’s his once illustrious music career seemed as though it was over. He suffered a “vocal cord hemorrhage (Garvin)” that could have ended his career. He recovered from the injury only to suffer not more physical injuries, but emotional ones. He began an affair with Eva Gardner which led to his divorce from Nancy, his 1st wife and mother of their 3 children. Sinatra and Gardner married soon thereafter but only to have it end in divorce less than 6 years after it had begun. His personal life was crumbling at his feet and
They were known for not only their iconic roles in films during this time frame, but for their comedy acts in Vegas. “The high point of the Rat Pack era came in 1960, when all five had roles in the classic Ocean 's Eleven. Frank, of course, was the star. It 's a terrible movie--slow, silly, its premise unbelievable. Yet it is, perhaps, the ultimate buddy movie of all time, just as the Rat Pack remains the ultimate buddy group in people 's hearts (Burdick). Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford were less known than the rest but no less important to the group as a whole. The Pack were all similar in that most quit school at a very young age, had issues with the law, and became involved in either the music or the entertaining business at a young age. The Rat Pack got their name from Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart’s wife. She “saw the group ringside at a Las Vegas showroom, she disgustedly informed them that they looked "like a goddamned rat pack." The name would endure Bogart’s death and was adopted by Frank and his cronies (Burdick). After a matter of 6 years, The Rat Pack was no more. Times had changed and the Rock and Roll generation had taken over. Sinatra continued to spurn out records during this time and transcended 3 separate