Chords for Frank Sinatra: Life and Career

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
I like to sing.
_ _ And [E] probably the most satisfaction I get, or anything it gets for that matter,
_ [Em] is singing a well-written ballad. _
Because [Gb] when a ballad is right, it's like poetry set to music.
[Eb] He was known as [Dm] Old Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board, or more simply, The Voice.
Welcome to WatchMojo [Eb].com, and today we're taking a look at the life and career of Frank Sinatra.
Francis Albert Sinatra was [Dm] born on December 12, _ 1915 in [F] Hoboken, New Jersey.
Though he was already singing by the age of 8, [Eb] his big break came in 1939. _
After signing with bandleader Harry James, Sinatra released 10 [D] commercial songs,
including his first single, From the Bottom of My Heart.
The opportunity of [C] a lifetime came when he joined Tommy Dorsey's band later that year.
Dorsey's swing ensemble was one of the era's most popular bands, and gave [D] Sinatra much needed exposure.
In one year alone, they released over 40 songs, including the high-charting [A] single, I'll Never Smile [Bb] Again. _ _ _
I'll never _ [Cm] smile _ again
Sinatra left the band in 1942 [Ab] amid rumors that he was released from his contract due to alleged [Bb] mafia ties.
In actuality, the MCA talent agency had [G] bought out his contract,
though the mafia story was later dramatized in the [Eb] 1972 film, The Godfather.
My father [N] helped him in his career.
He _ did?
[G] _ How?
_ [Fm] Sinatra's popularity [F] soared, especially among [Eb] teenage girls known as Bobby Soxers.
It was at this point his new label, [F] Columbia Records, released All or Nothing at All,
the single hit number two and sold millions [Dm] of copies.
It was also during the [Gm] 1940s that Sinatra kicked off his acting career.
[D] He starred in three movies with [Gm] Gene Kelly, Anchors Away, [Dm] Take Me Out to [E] the Ball Game, and On the [Dm] Town.
Sinatra also shared an Honorary Academy Award with his [Ab] fellow cast and crew of the short film The House I Live In
[Fm] for its message against racism.
[B] Look, fellas, religion makes no difference, except maybe to a Nazi or somebody as stupid.
[G] Sinatra was always a strong proponent of equal rights for [Dm] African Americans,
eventually playing a [G] number of benefit shows for Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Meanwhile, Sinatra's first solo record, The Voice of [F] Frank Sinatra, came out in [A] 1946.
[Bb] Nevertheless, by the end of 1948, his career [Eb] began to decline.
Though he [G] performed a couple of shows and [Gm] hosted the television series The Frank Sinatra Show in the early 50s,
he was dropped by Columbia [Cm] in 1952.
His career was reignited in [Eb] 1953 [Gm] with the Oscar-winning performance in the drama From Here to [A] Eternity,
followed by a role in the 1955 musical Guys and Dolls.
[G] Next up were some extremely successful years with Capitol Records that showcased [Gm] different sides of Sinatra.
Alternately, more up-tempo [Ab] records were _ [Abm] 1956's Songs for [Eb] Swingin' Lovers and the 1957 album Come Fly _ [Bb] _
With Me.
[Eb] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _
After the release of [Db] 1960's Nice and Easy, [D] Sinatra left Capitol.
[Abm] He formed his own label, Reprise Records, [Gb] under which he [Ab] released another successful album.
In 1965, [Db] he [Gb] released two Grammy-winning records, September of My [D] Years and [Ebm] A Man and His Music.
[A] Strangers in the Night and That's Life came the [C] next year and were both [G] successful.
In 1967, he [B] recorded sessions with Antonio Carlos Jobim and released [Em] a duet with his daughter Nancy called Something Stupid,
[Am] which topped the charts.
My Way followed in 1969, [G]
with the album's title [B] track eventually becoming [D] Sinatra's theme song.
_ _ _ _ _ [Gbm] I'm a man and there's no one, _ _ _ [Am] so I face the _ [B] future_ _
Sinatra did not neglect his [Em] acting career during these years.
As a member of the [G] Rat Pack, he appeared in such notable films as [Gbm] Ocean's Eleven and [A] Sergeant's Three,
while continuing [D] his work outside the group in The Manchurian Candidate.
After fans overlooked an ambitious concept record in 1970 called Watertown, Frank [G] Sinatra announced his retirement in June [E] 1971.
It was just two years later that [A] Sinatra came out of retirement with the successful album Old Blue Eyes Is Back.
He resumed playing [G] live shows, including a Madison Square Garden set [D] that was later released [A] as the album The Main [D] Event Live.
_ 1980's trilogy, [Gbm] Past, Present, Future, was a Grammy [Gb]-nominated triple album that spawned another trademark tune.
Start _ [A] spreading the _ _ news_ _
[D] This was followed by [Em] two critically praised [A] records, _ 1981's She Shot Me Down and _ [D]
1984's L.A. Is [A] My Lady.
Despite his failing health in the early _ 1990s, Sinatra continued [D] to tour and [A] release two albums.
However, his trouble with senile [D] dementia and a heart attack in [E] 1997 forced him to stop making public appearances.
Then, on May 14th, 1998, he died after suffering another heart attack at the age of 82.
[B] A look at [Am] Sinatra's life would not be complete without a look [D] at his personal [G] life.
The voice was romantically linked [Gm] to such starlets as [E] Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Juliette Prowse [D] and Angie Dickinson.
[Eb] You could never love a woman like you love danger.
_ [A] And as [Ab] long as your luck holds [Abm] out, you'll stay in love [Em] with danger.
[Gb] His first [Eb] marriage was to Nancy Barbato [B] and this union produced three [F] children, Nancy, Frank Jr.
[Eb] and Tina.
An affair with Ava [Am] Gartner resulted [C] in a divorce from [Fm] Barbato and Gartner eventually [Bbm] became his second wife.
His third marriage was [G] to Mia Farrow and finally Barbara [Ab] Marks was his [F] wife until his death.
Frank Sinatra's [Bbm] talent and charm enabled him [Db] to make a lasting [Eb] contribution to American [Ab] culture.
He set the bar for those after him and was [Bbm] truly one of a kind. _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _