Growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, made Frank Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in many down-trotted bars, he got his first major break in 1935 as part of The Hoboken Four on a popular radio show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour. In 1939 Sinatra caught the attention of Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. He sang the first ever No. 1 song on Billboard, I'll Never Smile Again. That same year he married Nancy Barbato with whom he had three children, Nancy, Tina and Frank, Jr. Sinatra. In 1942 Sinatra started his earnest solo career and instantly found fame as the number one singing star among teenage music fans of the era, especially the young women and girls who were referred to as the Bobbysoxers. In 1944 Sinatra's acting career was beginning and he made a statement with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945) alongside Gene Kelly. The following year Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film against intolerance called The House I Live In (1946). His career on high, Sinatra went from, recording his first album (The Voice of Frank Sinatra) at Columbia and starring in several movies.
A scandalous public affair with Ava Gardner broke up Sinatra's marriage. A second marriage to Gardner followed in 1951 was the start of a down spiral. Record sales dwindling, live appearances failing to sell out, and Sinatra's vocal chords hemorrhaging live on stage their toll. Sinatra continued to act. Receiving the musical drama Meet Danny Wilson (1951) and fighting for, and winning, the coveted role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953) increased popularity. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting actor and followed this with a profound performance as the deranged assassin John Baron in Suddenly (1954) and Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in the powerful drama The Man With the Golden Arm (1955). On record Sinatra was also back on a high having signed with Capitol records and riding high