Frank Sinatra BY EMILY TSURUDA

Frank Sinatra was born on December 12 th 1915 to Natalia and Antonio. Frank found his love of singing in middle school. Frank was a terror and teachers couldn’t control him. He loved to impersonate his favorite singers and actors.

Sinatra auditioned for a show called Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour.

Sinatra did odd jobs. Kept on singing and in 1939 he married Nancy Barbato in Jersey City

Sinatra signed with Harry James, and started working at a roadhouse called the Rustic Cabin. Sinatra was trying to get as much exposure as he could.

1940’s Sinatra made movie cameos and made his first solo appearance in New York at the Paramount Theater

In February 1944 Sinatra singed a 1.5 million dollar contract with MCA. Sinatra’s face was on every news stand across America

Sinatra married his second wife Ava. In the 1950’s his career slowed down.

In 1954 Sinatra won an Oscar. It kicked his career off once again

“The Rat Pack”

1971 Sinatra announced his retirement, but didn’t last for long and continued singing.

Released an album called the Trilogy: Past Present Future He won six Grammy’s for the record.

Last performance was in 1994 in Japan. Sinatra passed away in 1998 of a heart attack. The Statue of Liberty changed its lights to blue the night he passed away.

Sinatra was in the music industry for more than 40 years. “The best is yet to come” is written across his tombstone.

“Luck be a lady”

“Luck Be a Lady” i.0:00 Introduction. Strings come in. It is all instrumental. Sounds like a medium sized orchestra. Lighter sounds because of the string instruments. Vocal introduction start at 0:10. Vocal tempo is slow. ”They call her lady luck” and then a burst of sound from drums, and strings is heard a few times throughout the introduction. His voice is higher compared to other men’s voices, and much more focused sound, with rich tones. Good diction. ii. 1:02 Verse One. Orchestra is continued before the first verse. The orchestra is very loud at this point. The first verse doesn’t have vocals till 1:15. The tempo is more upbeat than the introduction, and a few off beat rhythms. The orchestra is serving as a second voice to Sinatra. The beginning has a big band feel to it. It starts to get a little louder and fuller. The voice isn’t a drastic change from the introduction, but the orchestra is a lot louder. iii. 1:45 verse two. A key change occurs. Also the orchestra was as strong. It had the same rhythm as the chorus, but there was a change in the sound, sounded like it went up a step. He uses the same ending as the chorus. More horns and drums in this verse, but also the string back off quite a bit and aren’t really heard. At 2:09 the vocals end and the orchestra repeats itself. The orchestra hits on a high notes.

iv. 2:11 Bridge. I didn’t really find a chorus in this song he does repeat “Luck be a lady” at the end of every verse. In this bridge he changes keys ones again. The tempo is still upbeat, and more strings start to play. The vocals are still strong in this sections. This bridge is not following any of the same music I had previously heard. v.2:37 Verse three. The sound changes again, and goes back to the original verse harmony, with different words. The horns are heard the most throughout this section, there rhythm is a lot longer. There is also repetitive drumming throughout the verse as well at 3:02 the vocals stop and horns replace the voice with the melody, it is the same exact music as the first verse. The sound of guitar and harp is playing. vi. 3:28 Verse four. Almost the exact same as verse two. Sounds of guitars and strings are being heard. This is a change compared to verse three because more strings are playing. The string make the sound flow together better, than in verse three where it’s mostly horns being played. The sound is a lot softer than the third verse. 3:42 more orchestra comes in and it’s the same text through verse two. vii.3:57 Bridge. Same bridge is being played from before, and is the same chorus as the previous bridge. Towards the end of the bridge it brings you back to the first verse. Key change at 4:45 but still repeating the first bridge. This brings to the end of the song. Every note is held for a few seconds, along with the vocals. ix. 5:14 song ends.

“It was a very good year”

“It was a very good year” i.0:00 introduction. The flute starts out playing. Almost feels like a sad tone. Minor keys being played. Also I am hearing a hap play. The tempo is very slow, like a lullaby. 0:12 you can tell the introduction is coming to an end because the flute stops, but the harp hits a lower note and plays all the way up to a higher notes, queuing Sinatra to start singing. ii. 0:14. Verse 1. The harmony is hard to follow. Having many strings play all at once. The melody started on low notes. The instruments are still playing in a soft lullaby feel. Sinatra starts the song “When I was 17…” reminiscing on the past. The harp in the background is playing the same few notes over and over. While the flute is playing with Sinatra, only to break off a few times to play in between the melody notes. At 1:00 you hear the strings come in at a forte. The keys change. A good 4 seconds go by where it’s just the violins and the flutes playing. Bass is also present in this verse. iii. 1:13 Verse 2. The beginning of verse two starts “When I was 21…” so still reminiscing on the past. The instruments are still playing the same harmony as the first verse. 1:19 the harp sounds like it is plucking the strings of the harmony which is causing a change in the tempo. It continues on throughout the second verse of the song, happening again at 1:25. I started to hear the violins crescendo till the end of the verse. From 1:30 on, the violins are all in forte. This verse had many string instruments.

iv. 2:00.Bridge this part of the song almost sounds like a violin solo. Fitting with the song quite well. From 2:00-2:05 the violins in this one section are the only thing that is playing. The type of harmony has been playing a lot and has been featured in many movies. The violins are very powerful in this one section. The violins are playing very high notes. At 2:09 the violins start to diminuendo and then verse 3 starts. v. 2:13 Verse three. This verse is much quieter. Lower instruments are coming in. There is a flute solo playing. Also another bass is coming. Also the orchestra is starting to sound like a pulse. As if the violin is plucking there strings. I didn’t hear any harp this time mostly violins. vi.2:55 Bridge. This bridge was more intense and classical sounding. The keys change to minor. The strings are very loud and hitting higher notes. It sounds very suspenseful sounding. vii.3:12 Verse four. This verse they are starting to pluck more strings. The strings make this verse nice and flows very nicely. The strings are mezzo forte. This section of orchestra hasn’t been played before. viii.4:05 the introduction comes back with just the flute. ix. 4:24 Song ends.

“The best is yet to come”

“The best is yet to come” i.0:00 Introduction. Only a piano playing. The piano is hitting high and low notes, but one at a time. The piano is slowly starting to descend. The piano stops, almost if out of nowhere he playing a few other high notes almost fluttering on the keys. ii. 0:09 Verse 1 Begins. Vocals come in. Just Sinatra singing. The vocals are replicating the beginning melody of the song. His voice is jumping from a lower note to a higher note. Along with starting a verse you hear a cello come in as well, it’s playing the same notes as the piano. I can also hear what I believe is a drum, hitting between every piano stroke. At 0:16 you start to hear multiple trumpets play. The verse continues for repeated in the same pattern at the beginning. The tempo is moderate. iii. 0:38 Verse 2 Begins. Just before the second verse starts you have about 2 seconds without any singing. Verse two starts out just like the first verse. I can also hear that the sound is starting to crescendo. The trumpets are also staring to play in a different key. I believe a minor key. Sinatra’s voice is becoming more forceful. I also started hearing more strings coming in as well. iv. 1:10 Chorus. “The best is yet to come” is repeated a few times. The music is being played on a forte level. 1:19 the trumpets are extremely loud. At 1:24 the trumpets are loud, but they start playing a harmony that hasn’t been heard till now. The tempo speed up, but by 1:26 slows down and little and almost is being sung in a mezzo forte sound. A saxophone is also a major instrument at 1:32. I could heard it over the rest of the instruments.

v. 1:32 Verse 3. Doesn’t start out with the usual “The best is yet to come”. More saxophone in this verse also his voice is lower than the first two verses. The harmony is changed up a little by being played by different instruments. At 1:40 the trumpets start to build and is continued on to the bridge vi.1:46 Bridge. The keys start to change, almost as if it doesn’t match the song. Instead of the saxophone being heard it’s the trumpets. The multiple trumpet sounds are all playing in forte. At 2:01 the trumpets almost play a harmony that sounds like the beginning piano piece. 2:12 The bridge continues you can really start to feel the big band sound, the music sounds like it keeps on building but almost to no point. Climbing note after note. vii. 2:20 Chorus. After the bridge is done building it drops back to the chorus. The chorus sounds exactly like the first time it was played. The trumpets are playing the same harmony as they did in the first chorus. The drum is playing in a piano sound, just like it did at the introduction of the song. viii. 2:35 Coda. The song repeats “the day you’re mine, and you’re going to be mine”. The trumpets and other instruments are repeating what was being played at the first verse. The sound begins to diminuendo, till you hear nothing. ix. 2:55. The songs ends.

“Theme from New York New York”

“Theme from New York New York” i.0:00 Introduction. Horns are heard throughout the introduction. All instruments are very loud during the introduction. Upbeat tempo. No vocals yet, the orchestra quiets down before vocals start, Rhythm is easy to follow, very catchy. ii.0:17 Verse one. Lower vocals than Sinatra’s usual. During the second verse you can really hear the piano. Horns starts playing continued by the full orchestra. Orchestra is getting louder after the he repeats “New York New York” iii.0:50 Chorus. “I want to wake up in the city…” More horns in this section, also more drums. Much more percussion instruments. Cymbals are heard a little louder than the verse. iv. 1:10 Verse two. This verse gets a little quieter. Horns are heard at the beginning of the verse. At 1:27 the orchestra starts to get louder. Almost overpowering Sinatra. A lot bigger texture. Sinatra’s voice is starting to get a lot louder and also quite a bit higher. This verse has elements of the chorus, but not the exact same

v. 1:42 Bridge. A key change is happening at the beginning of the bridge. A big build up is happening with the Orchestra. The bridge is connecting the song to the next chorus, the bridge repeats “New York, New York” vi. 1:58 Chorus. Chorus comes back in, a little different from the first Chorus, because the orchestra is a lot louder than the first chorus. More horns again. The vocals start to build up again and at 2:20 Sinatra repeats the verse two. He is changes it a little bit, his voices gets a little girder, and more intense, and he starts to slow down. A lot more orchestra is happening during this section. The tempo is slowed down quite a bit. New rhythms appear in this chorus. 3:04 the orchestra is very loud and so are the vocals. At “It’s up to you” the tempo goes back to normal. The vocals are very loud at the end “It’s up to you New York New York” The intro comes back. vii. 3:24 the song ends.

Bibliography "Frank Sinatra Biography." Frank Sinatra Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June "Frank Sinatra Biography | Rolling Stone." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June Schwartz, Shelly. "The Life and Career of Crooner Frank Sinatra." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2014 "BIOGRAPHY: Frank Sinatra." Lifetime. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2014.