The 500 - #308 - Songs For Swingin' Lovers - Frank Sinatra

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 308

Album Title: Songs For Swingin' Lovers

Artist: Frank Sinatra

Genre: Swing, Traditional Pop, Jazz

Recorded: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California

Released: March, 1956

My age at release: Not Yet Born

How familiar was I with it before this week: A little

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: You Make Me Feel So Young

To summarize the life of arguably the greatest singer of the 20th Century isn't possible in a single blog post. Even listing the accomplishments of Francis Albert Sinatra, the son of Italian immigrants from Hoboken, New Jersey, is daunting. Instead, I'll focus on this week's record and share a story about the time I had the opportunity to see the legend known variously as "The Chairman Of The Board", "Ol' Blue Eyes", "The Sultan of Swoon", "The Voice/La Voz" and "Swoonatra".

By the early 1950s, Sinatra had already hit the heights of fame in the entertainment world. He was a hit-making singer, a movie star and a heartthrob who could sell out the biggest venues in North America. However, his career was about to hit a rough patch as audiences began to look toward younger, newer artists. The 1952 film in which he starred, Meet Danny Wilson, was a commercial disappointment and his studio contract with Columbia Records came to an end.

Additionally, his reported ties to organized crime and his tumultuous relationship with Ava Gardner caused many of his former fans (and entertainment associates) to turn away from him. When Sinatra and Gardner first began dating in 1949, it was powerful tabloid fodder. Sinatra was still married to his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (nee: Barbato).

Sinatra Family, Nancy, Frank Nancy, Tina and Frank Jr.

Late one night in 1949, Gardner and Sinatra went for a drunk drive outside Palm Springs that ended in reckless gunshots being fired at lamp-posts and a hardware store window. Police were alerted and arrests followed. Sinatra was in love, but his career had officially hit a slump.

In 1952, Sinatra's comeback began. Not only did he sign a lucrative contract with Capitol records, he also secured the highly coveted supporting role as Private Angelo Maggio in the film From Here To Eternity, also starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed. The film won seven  Academy Awards, including one for Sinatra as Best Supporting Actor.

Sinatra celebrating his win with fellow winner Donna Reed

Sinatra’s first Capitol Records release was Songs For Young Lovers (1954), followed by Swing Easy (1954), In The Wee Small Hours (1955) and then this week’s record, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers. Appropriately enough, this phase of Sinatra’s career became known as his “Swing Period”. He began working closely with musician and conductor Nelson Riddle. The two collaborated on arrangements that helped shift Ol’ Blue Eyes from his earlier “crooner sound” toward musical phrasings that won over an older, more mature audience – exactly what Sinatra needed to reinvigorate his flagging career.

Sinatra with Riddle

In September, 1984, I had the chance to see Sinatra perform in Toronto. I just didn’t understand the opportunity.

Happenstance determined that I, at 17, would meet a group of individuals a few years older who shared a common interest in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), even though I was still in high school.

The dungeon master was Roderick Macintosh – a mountainous man -- burly, broad shouldered and bespectacled with a cascade of black, curly hair. Roderick was a masterful storyteller and eschewed commercially published fantasy “modules” – preferring to craft original adventures. He was also a university student and knowing him felt like having a cool older brother -- with his own apartment, car and independence (he came from a wealthy family).

A typical, commercial D&D module

In August, `984, a few years after building a friendly relationship with Roderick and a few of his friends he turned to me and said:

"We're going to see Frank Sinatra in Toronto next week, we have an extra ticket, do you want to go?”

Being a confirmed prog-rocker, I demurred, wondering: “Why would I want to see some old guy sing songs he didn’t even write?”

And therein was cemented a lifelong regret, although the performance on September 4, 1984, wasn’t particularly notable except for the heavy rainstorms that battered the outdoor venue, The CN Exhibition grounds. The heavily soaked crowd enjoyed only ten songs before Sinatra and his orchestra pulled the plug and left. Still, I shouldn’t have said “No” to the invitation to see “The Chairman of the Board”.

Toronto news-clipping from the show