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He did not attend Juilliard or, for
that matter, graduate from high
school. His school of music was the
saloon, where he first crafted his
signature style the pinpoint yet
elegant phrasing that sparked
a sensation in the 19405. Like many
of those he sang for, FYancis Al
bert Sinatra took his lumps in life. His tempera
ment was legendary His much-examined alleged
associations with organized crime always will shroud
his image. (“I didn’t meet any Nobel Prize winners
in saloons,” he once said, as a means of explanation.)
He was considered washed up in 1952, when he
was dropped by his record companies. Then came
the big comeback: an Oscar for From Here to Eter
nity in 1953; the release of In the Wee Small Hours
in 1955; and a demand for live performances that
would last for the rest of Sinatra’s life.
Hours recorded in the middle of an emotion
ally draining, failing marriage to Ava Gardner
8
USA WEEKEND • May 2-4,2008
Has it really been 10 years since his passing? A look at the legend,
and the man, from a who’s who of admirers. By dennis mccafferty
remains one of the seminal works of his career,
a unified string of sparse, melancholy songs, re
leased well before Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band ‘"pioneered” the con
cept album. The years had begun to finely age his
voice, like whiskey in an oak barrel. He got to the
soul of the music, and you could feel the sadness
within Sinatra with every slow burn of his ciga-
rette. With subsequent smash hits such as
Come Fly With Me, It Was a Very Good
Year, My Way and Theme From Neiv i
York, New York Sinatra’s legacy M
has influenced generations of musi- B
cal talent. But he never forgot what B
it was like to be unwanted.
“If someone asked him to sign an 1
autograph, he never said ‘no,’ ” says
Charles Pignone, once president of Sina-
tra’s official fan club and now co-president of
FYank Sinatra Enterprises, which oversees Sina
tra’s intellectual property. “A publicist would tell
him he had to go, and he’d say, ‘lf it weren’t for
these people, I wouldn’t have a job. And neither
would you.’ ”
Nearly 10 years ago, on May 14, 1998, Frank
Sinatra passed away at age 82 after a heart attack,
having been in ill health for years. The anniver
sary will be marked this month with, among other
products, the release of Nothing but the Best, a
22-track CD collection; a commemorative
The voice has 1
not been silenced.
His recordings
still are among
America’s
L most beloved. A
USA WEEKEND Magazine, friends and asso
ciates recall their most cherished memories of the
man and the artist:
Cover photography: © 1978 Sid Avery/MPTV.net
stamp from the U.S. Postal Service; and
i five DVD collections of his films, in-
A eluding those he made with his pals
B in the legendary Rat Pack. Also,
B Turner Classic Movies is featuring
■ more than 40 Sinatra movies and
f specials hosted by his three children
Nancy, Tina and Frank Jr.
throughout this month. Exclusively for