by Scott Goldfarb

The 50’s was a decade of fatalism, a time when the United States was facing a great enemy in the Soviet Union, when America had to readjust its soldiers coming back, and when it seemed like life could be wiped away by the atomic bomb. Yet the 50’s also had an optimism to it: the decade of the beginning of the science age in America, the decade of the growth of suburban America, and the decade of the awakening of the modern consumer culture. Frank Sinatra embodied the contradictions of the 50’s and, as a result, ensured that he had enduring musical legacy.

Even before the 50’s, Sinatra had established himself. Recording for the Columbia label in the 40’s, he was one of the first singers to fully utilize a new invention for the time: the microphone. As documented by Mikal Gilmore in his Rolling Stone retrospective of Frank Sinatra, the microphone allowed Sinatra to go for a more subtle approach to his singing. Belting his lyrics to the heavens to be heard was no longer necessary; instead, he created a softer style of singing which made it seem like he was speaking to the listener directly.

Creating this connection with the listeners, Sinatra soon became immensely popular with a young audience. One now legendary concert on December 40, 1942 at the Paramount Theater drew 5000 shrieking and shouting fans crammed into the theater.

However, by the end of the 40’s, the bad boy image that Sinatra had cultivated, with his hard drinking, sleeping with many women, and punching reporters, cost him at the very end of the 40’s. Columbia Records kicked him off the label and Sinatra was left in the wilderness, going through a period of two years without a single record being recorded or a live performance. Sinatra’s career seemed to be at an end.

By pure luck, Sinatra got the second chance he needed when he was picked up by Capitol at the beginning of the 50’s. The label decided that Sinatra’s image was not a problem. In fact, they would actively promote and sell this new found image. A new sound would soon develop, one that would not rely upon crooning and would showcase the versatility of Sinatra, helping to secure his legacy.

“I think Sinatra of the 40’s, even though musically he was good, recorded lots of material, and is important to study, is not too different from a teen idol,” said Dr. Phillip D. Atteberry, Aassociate Pprofessor at University of Pittsburgh-Titusville. “If all we had of him was from the 40’s, he wouldn’t be remembered as well.”

In this decade, just as Sinatra demonstrated what the power of the microphone could do for an artist in the 40’s, he showcased what a new invention could do for the sound of his music: the LP album.

Previously, with Columbia, Sinatra primarily recorded singles and live radio recordings. With the “long playing” album, Sinatra created a singular product containing multiple songs centered on a central theme. This allowed him to explore the different contradictions of the 50’s, going from a tragic romantic fatalism on one album, such as 1955’s In The Wee Small Hours to joyous swing on the next LP, 1956’s Songs For Swingin’ Lovers. Sinatra could even switch moods on the same album, such as on Come Fly With Me, which was built around the theme of travel, exploring both the romanticism and sadness that come through traveling.

The effectiveness of Sinatra’s albums was equally attributable to Sinatra’s voice and the arrangers he worked with. Atteberry compared Sinatra to another standards singer of the time who is not a household name, Vic Damone.

“Vic Damone, when he sings a sad love song, it’s sentimental. When Sinatra sings, there’s real hurt and pain,” said Atteberry.

A great example of this, according to Atteberry, could be found in In The Wee Small Hours, with the song “Last Night When We Were Young.” In this number, the song points to a romantic sentimentality to some degree. However, as Sinatra sings the number, he emphasizes the darkness of the lyrics and how it was just the past when love was real; there’s no chance for love in the present when, “the world is old.”

Additionally, while Damone had some good arrangers, they could not quite compare to the arrangers that Sinatra surrounded himself with, such as Nelson Riddle, who excelled at tailoring his arrangements to Sinatra’s voice.

Atteberry attributes the decline of Sinatra’s popularity in the 1960’s to two factors. First, when the British Invasion came to American shores in the middle of the 60’s, Sinatra was unsure of how to adapt to this new musical environment. Second, the emergence of the Vietnam War created new musical trends, such as protest songs and psychedlia, that Sinatra felt unable to capitalize on, still recording albums of standards as late as 1968.

The lasting legacy of the Frank Sinatra still remains to be played out. Atteberry observed that when he introduces Sinatra to his popular music classes, students are now more willing to give Sinatra a chance than they were during the mid 90’s, when Sinatra was an old man and tarnishing his image in the eyes of the young. At the same time, Atteberry also sees Sinatra’s music being treated as nostalgia, which is death for the music being vital.

However, the one bright side that Atteberry sees with the passing of Sinatra is that the belligerent attitude and his fading singing talent of his later years are unknown to a new generation of fans who simply appreciate his musical legacy. What appeals to them, says Atteberry, is that behind what is just a name from the past is actually a bold singer, willing and able to sing crushing songs of heartbreak and despair along with joyous songs of love and dancing in equal measures. For those who listen and study, Frank Sinatra helps embody the 50’s in all its contradictions.