The Frank Sinatra Day is being celebrated today in the United States, and Monday, 14 May will mark 14 years of death of this legendary, if not the ultimate American showman.
It is hard to find an even halfway music interested person who, by thinking of hits like Strangers in the Night, My Way, Cheek To Cheek or New York, New York wouldn’t remember the funny entertainer, actor and womanizer with a smile. He was simply called The Voice because of his gigantic popularity in 1940s.
Frank Sinatra started singing as a teenager learning music by ear, he never learned to read it, and his biggest influence was Bille Holiday. He accomplished serious beginnings as a singer in the mid 1930s, and earned himself a place on the music scene by singing in Tommy Dorsey’s band, after which he was singed by Columbia Records, that sold 10 million of Sinatra records per year in the 1940s.
By the age of 35 he reached the peak of his popularity, became a synonim for swing, devorced twice, had a ruined reputation by the yellow press that connected him to various maffia bosses, and finaly lost everything he had in the end.
The role in the movie From Here to Eternity that earned him an Oscar was a turning poing in his life and brough him back on the scene. His music was awarded with 11 Grammy’s, he played in 58 movies and was honored for lifetime achievemnt by the American Film Academy. He died at age 82.
In 2008, 10 years after his death, the American Congres announced 13 May Frank Sinatra Day, to honor him for the contribution he made to American culture.