MY TOP TEN ALL-TIME BEST CROONERS LIST

With the passing of Tony Bennett, this past July 21, one of the last remaining male singers from the great Golden Era of Pop Crooners was gone. I've always had great admiration for singers, especially since I can't utter a single good note with my vocal chords. In honor of Tony Bennett and all of the rest, I've compiled my personal list of great crooners, starting with number one, the top of the line and personal favorite, Frank Sinatra!

                                                              1) FRANK SINATRA

2) NAT KING COLE

 

3) DEAN MARTIN

4) BING CROSBY

5) SAMMY DAVIS JR.

6) TONY BENNETT

7) ANDY WILLIAMS

8) MATT MONRO

9) HARRY BELAFONTE

10) JACK JONES

As of this time, Jack Jones is the only performer in this list who is still with us. 

May he long continue to be so!

SEPTEMBER SONG by SINATRA

This is one of my all-time favorite songs and the lyrics become more and more relevant as the years go by!

When I was a young man courting the girls

I played me a waiting game

If a maid refused me with tossing curls

I'd let the old Earth take a couple of whirls

And as time came around she came my way

As time came around, she came.

Oh, it's a long, long time from May to December

But the days grow short when you reach September.

When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame

One hasn't got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few,

September, November.

And these few precious days I'll spend with you

These precious days I'll spend with you

September, November.

And these few precious days I'll spend with you

These precious days I'll spend with you.

Listen here:

"LEAVING ON A JET PLANE" as sung by Frank Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra released SINATRA & COMPANY on the Reprise label in 1971. The album features several bossa nova styled songs recorded for a planned second album with Antonio Carlos Jobim but were used instead as part of this new production. Here, Sinatra sings several hits from new composers such as John Denver, who penned "Leaving On A Jet Plane", a nice tune which was incidentally used briefly on the1996 film THE ROCK where Sean Connery sings to it while taking a shower!

You can listen to the song here:

The song is one of several where Frank makes references to flying and air travel.

SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS

   SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS 

Arranged and Conducted by Gordon Jenkins 

                                                            LP Originally Released September 1965 

The first time I heard this song,  I was 14 years old and while I liked it very much, I didn't feel particularly identified with its lyrics. Now, 55 years later, the song has acquired deep and very relevant meanings for me.  It has become one of the iconic numbers in Frank Sinatra's repertoire.

One day you turn around and it's summer
Next day you turn around and it's fall
And the springs and the winters of a lifetime
Whatever happened to them all?

As a man who has always had the wand'ring ways
Now I'm reaching back for yesterdays
'Til a long-forgotten love appears
And I find that I'm sighing softly as I near
September, the warm September of my years

As I man who has never paused at wishing wells
Now I'm watching children's carousels
And their laughter's music to my ears
And I find that I'm smiling gently as I near
September, the warm September of my years

The golden warm September of my years

 

SEPTEMBER SONG by Sinatra

We welcome the beginning of a new month in this pandemic year, hoping that things get better as the months fly by.  Sinatra's song refers mainly to the passage of time and the fact that, as we grow older, time is much too precious to waste!

The song was featured in his 1962 album POINT OF NO RETURN although it had been recorded by him before and would appear in different versions later on, but this one is my favorite. The songs on this album were recorded on September of 1961 and were the final sessions at Capitol Records.

Sinatra then moved on to his own label, Reprise.

SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN sung by Frank Sinatra

        This great tune was released on Sinatra's 1961 album SINATRA'S SWINGIN' SESSION!!! 

Arrangements and orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle, featuring Buddy Collette on tenor sax and flutes.

 

You can listen to it here!

FRANK SINATRA (1915-1998)

22 years ago, on May 14 1998, the world lost FRANK SINATRA.

However, his voice and his talent will remain from here to eternity!

                        

Listen to Frank singing one of my favorite Sinatra songs on his TV special

 "The Man and His Music"!

                                             

FRANK SINATRA'S WORLD

This is WIKIPEDIA's entry on Frank Sinatra:
Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer, actor and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

So much has been written about Sinatra, it is quite redundant to say anything more here. 
His legacy in popular music is well known and his recordings are still heard all over the world in some form or another. Movie makers frequently rely on Frank's recordings to score parts of their films and his presence is felt in other singers' arrangements of classic tunes previously recorded by him.

                  

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he's still regarded as the greatest singer of the 20th Century, which he most certainly is. 
His recordings will continue to delight future generations for many years to come. 

He was the original pop star.

                        

He invented the Concept Album.

He was a style icon.

His music is constantly rediscovered.

               

He inspires intense devotion across generations.

 

But first and foremost, he did it all his way.

Today is his 104th birthday and I will remember Old Blue Eyes by listening to some of his songs, which I enjoy not only on his birthday but all year round!

                     

                                                       

"It's Frank's world, we just live in it." - Dean Martin, member of Sinatra's legendary Rat Pack.

Cartoon by Pete Emslie

"May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine." - Frank Sinatra.

And have a Merry Sinatra Christmas! 

Check out this clip from the Dean Martin show where you can appreciate the camaraderie between them  and their joyful approach to the songs.

FRANK SINATRA's first recording!

I am currently a guest in Hoboken, N.J., so I think it's fitting I share this historical recording:

Our Love is the first ever song to be recorded by Frank Sinatra. It is a stock arrangement based on part of Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet. It was recorded with Frank Mane's band, March 18, 1939, at Harry Smith Studio, 3 46th East Street Manhattan

It's FRANK SINATRA's world. We just live in it!

FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA
Born December 12, 1915
Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.

Frank Sinatra - It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling

After close to four months away on an extended holiday trip, this Sinatra classic song comes to mind!