Fukuoka Dome, Japan, December 1994: In Japan’s new baseball stadium, over 30,000 fans fill the stands, waiting to see the legendary Frank Sinatra. Despite the dome being your average baseball stadium; complete with plastic fold up seats, fans come dressed in black ties and gowns, as a show of respect to the veteran entertainer. As his name was announced, the 79 year old singer slowly made his way on to the stage. His eyes were glassy and dazed, and he had a confused look about him. He announced names several times, duplicated his jokes, and fumbled on songs he had sang hundreds of times. The fans still cheered him on despite his poor performance. No one in that dome knew that they had been witnessing history; what would ultimately be the final public concert of a legendary entertainer, who’s health had quietly been falling for some time.
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 to poor Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey. Complications during his delivery left Sinatra with facial scars and a damaged eardrum, which he would have for the rest of his life. As a child, Francis’ mother, Dolly, was often abusive towards him, in an attempt to keep him on the straight and narrow. Sinatra learned how to play piano at his parent’s Tavern and developed an interest in music soon after, “idolizing” jazz singer Bing Crosby. In 1931, Sinatra was expelled from high school after attending fo only 47 days. He enrolled in a business school the following year but left after only a few months. He soon went to work at a New Jersey shipyard as a steel riveter, but Sinatra had a bigger plan for himself. He was determined to make it big as a singer.
Sinatra sang in local clubs as a teenager to make extra money, but he went largely unnoticed during this time. He regularly traveled to New York, where he sang in exchange for his dinner and cigarettes. He joined a local group called the “3 Flashes” in 1935, changing the name to the Hoboken Four after joining. The group’s leader said later that they only let Sinatra join because he had a car and none of them did. The group saw local success, however Sinatra had left the group and took a job as a singing waiter in 1938. In 1939, Sinatra signed a two year contract to perform at the Paramount Theatre in New York, backed by the Harry James Band.
Frustrated with his lack of success, Sinatra left New York and joined the Tommy Dorsey band in Chicago in January of 1940. With this band, Sinatra got his first recording deal. By 1942, the group had charted several top ten and top forty hits, and Sinatra decided to go solo. Through the rest of the decade, Sinatra consistently topped the charts, gaining him an immense following in America. He made several films during this period as well.
In 1950, Sinatra’s career hit a low point, following the death of his publicist, his ugly divorce from his wife Nancy, and his reported affair with Ava Gardner (whom he later married). Sinatra’s career was all but over at age 45. To add to all of this, in 1951 he suffered a hemorrhage in his throat forcing him to cancel several shows, leaving him in debt. By late 1951, Sinatra was struggling financially and owed thousands in back taxes and loans. In 1952 Columbia dropped Sinatra from his contracts and he had no work. This was the end, he believed. But in 1953 his luck began to change.
In 1953, Sinatra got the leading role of a B movie (at least they thought it was) titled From Here to Eternity. The movie became a big box office hit and marked the revival of his career. Sinatra signed with Capitol Records that same year and began recording again. While at Capitol, he would record the most famous songs of his career. His career soared throughout the remainder of the 1950’s and well into the 60’s. In the 1960’s he made numerous box office hits as a member of the Rat Pack.
Sinatra’s career never again declined after his initial slump in 1952. He continued to perform well into the 90’s, however his health began failing. In the mid 90’s, those closest to him began to notice his memory problems, as he sometimes struggled to remember lyrics or notes. The 1995 show in Japan was his last ever, as he struggled with undiagnosed dementia. Sinatra retracted himself from the public eye following a heart attack in 1997. He passed away on May 14, 1998 at the age of 82. His last words reportedly were “I’m Losing”.
Frank Sinatra is perhaps one of the most famous entertainers of all time. He has three different stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to film, television, and music. Sinatra has inspired countless artists over the years and is regarded as one the biggest icons of the 20th century.
My Picks
- My way
- Fly me to the moon
- Bad Leroy Brown
- New York
- I’ve got the world on the string