Reprise Records and Retirement

In 1961 Frank founded his own record label, Reprise. He was extremely involved in everything to do with the new company, both musically and in the business aspect. Frank was extremely successful at Capitol as well as at Reprise. Sinatra even outsold Elvis and other rock artist of the time. Sinatra got enough  money out of royalties from Capitol records that he was able to get Reprise out of debt and make it a highly sought after label. In 1963 he got a $10 million and continuing one third ownership proposition for Reprise from Jack Warner of Warner brothers. The label signed people like Sammy Davis, Duke Ellington, Dean Martin and even Bing Cosby.

In Spring of 1962 he set out on a two month world tour to raise money for children's charities. He went to Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Athens, Rome, Milan, Paris, Monte Carlo, London and New York. He raised over $1 million for the charity.

In 1965 Frank was 50 years old and became sober, reminiscent in mood, and the public took the sentiment to its heart. Faithful Sinatra fans were middle aged and as nostalgic as he. The song It Was a Very Good Year won two Grammys. He also made a semi autobiographical double album called A Man and his Music. I personally feel that included in these albums were some of the best songs Frank Sinatra ever performed.




That's Life, Strangers in The Night,and Somthin' Stupid all made No. 1 in America which was a great feat for him considering The Beatles, The Stones and The Beach Boys were all very popular and it was nearly impossible for good balladeers to make the charts at all.




 In 1968 and 1969 Frank recorded the Don Costa albums- Cycles, My Way and A Man Alone all of them very vibrant and in parts were very autobiographical which made them even more moving.






Frank also continued doing films such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Detective (1968), The Naked Runner (1967), The Lady in Cement (1968).

With rock in the ascendant and his fans becoming more and more indifferent on March 21, 1971 he announced his retirement. The man who never quit, it seemed was about to quit. On June 14 1971 At the Los Angeles Music Center he made his farewell appearance.

Comeback

In the few years of Frank's retirement he mostly just relaxed and rested in Palm Springs California. But possibly due to his own boredom during a two week period in June 1973 he recorded enough songs for a comeback album. It was reported that he received more than 30,000 letters from fans wanting him to make such an album. The comeback album was names Ol' Blue Eyes. In a one hour TV special on NBC he formally performed his first performance since his retirement.


In 1975 Sinatra went on to perform 140 times within a span of only 105 days. He performed for audiences of more than a half a million, several of them for charity. During this time media mostly applauded his shows.
From 1976-the early 1980's Frank continued to perform but not as often. He also made a return to film making. Sinatra never lost his dedication, his care, or his belief in his art. He also was starting to get criticism of his voice. He was starting to get older and his voice was not what it once was. He went on to perform in Australia, Germany and Israel. He was given the Jerusalem Medal as he pledged $250,000 in Stat of Israel Bonds to Jerusalem Foundation for Arab and Jewish children. On May 23, 1976, The University of Nevada at Las Vegas awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for 'his charitable endeavors which have raised millions of dollars for humanitarian causes and deeds that have been frequently done anonymously'. Frank continued behaving like a star, although at a slower pace. In 1977  Frank played in The Guardian and also went to London and raised money for a National Advisory Center on Battered Children.
In 1979 he went to Egypt to play another concert for charity, where he raised $500,000. Frank continued his concerts and charitable contributions starting with traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1981. He also went to Brazil, where he raised money in the aid for the Atlanta murder task force who were seeking a killer who murded 21 black children.

Coda

In 1988 Frank Sinatra joined up with Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis to begin the Together Again Tour. After the fourth show in Chicago Dean Marting left the tour due to Frank pushing him into trying to drink and party into the night. Liza Minnelli replaced Martin and the tour went on. That year and the next Sammy Davis and Frank continued to do shows together.



In 1991 Sinatra started a world tour. He would go on to do 80 concerts that year and 87 in 1992. He then went on to do 97 in 1993 then 60 in 1994.
There was also a T.V. special to mark Frank's 65 birthday entitles The Best is Yet to Come. This special was critisized due to the fact that he had gained weight, voice cracks and notes being strained and often never reached. Frank began forgetting his songs, as well as needed various monitors to read the lyrics to his songs. In October 1992 Frank released the Duets album. Some of the artist who accompanied Sinatra were Barbra Streisand, Bono, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Julio Iglesias, Luther Vandross and Duets eventually went No. 2 on the Billboard chart and sold three million copies. It became Frank's largest selling album ever.




In Early March 1994 Frank was awarded a Grammy "Legend" Award.




In 1995 on Frank's 80th birthday The Empire State Building glowed blue, and gigantic billboards along Fifth Avenue served as the nation's birthday cards. Frank appeared on television for the last time, in a two hour special.
In November of 1996 a month short of his 81st birthday, Sinatra was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He had suffered from a heart attack,complicated by pneumonia and cancer of the ureter. Although the cancer was not life threatening the heart and lung trouble was very serious. Brain scans had now confirmed Frank had dementia.

He spent the next two years at home, during which old friends came to visit and spend time with him. On May 14, 1998 Frank had another heart attack and was rushed back to the hospital. He was alive when he reached the hospital but not in good condition. According to his family Franks last words were "I'm loosing it." Frank was formally pronounced dead at 10:50 pm on May 14th, 1998.

Sinatra's Influence on Early Musical Recording and Performance

From 1943 onward Frank used 33 1/3 rpm smooth glass or aluminum record discs. These discs were then coated with a soft plastic "lacquer", and revolutionized the sonic quality of both recording studio and radio recordings.

These recording sessions typically lasted three hours, during which three or four tunes were completely recorded and mastered. Until the stereo "tape" era (1957), the direct-to-disc recording method necessitated a perfect mix of all the orchestral elements, plus the vocalist and occasionally a choral group. Bear in mind these were monophonic (one-track) recordings, beings balanced and mixed "on the fly," with no chance to go back and fix technical or performance mistakes after the fact. These records were the forerunner to the modern LP records (long playing).

Frank was one of the great pioneers of musical recording. Although he was part of radio, television, and films his true medium was the phonograph record, especially the LP (long playing) album which was virtually created in the 50's. The LP proved ideal for Sinatra because he tried to give each of his albums a distinct mood, the inherent dijunctiveness allowed him to explore a range of emotional tones, unfettered by the need to present a consistent persona; song followed song without the artificial glue of plot or patter. He treated each song as a discrete dramatic text.

The single most important benefit of the vocalist's big-band experience was undoubtedly his discovery of the tool that would become his own personal, secret weapon: the microphone. In his early stage appearances he would grasp the tall microphone stand, and lean into not only the microphone itself, but the note as well, physically communicating the figurative and literal dynamic that he desired.The simple stage maneuver perfectly accentuated his unique vocal style. Although performers of that time followed suit and used the modern microphone, none handled it more fluidly or effortlessly than Frank. He also used it as a natural dynamic range expander during a recording session. Frank once said "You must know when to move away from the mike, and when to move back into it. The whole secret is getting the air in the corner of your mouth, and using the microphone properly."

Jazz and Crooning

Some of Frank's works were considered jazz, although some albums have more of a jazz "feel" than others. There's a jazz foundation to everything he does, particularly his ballads. Sinatra was influenced by Louis Armstrong,  Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and others, but went beyond them in establishing his own rhythmic identity. Rhythm section players praise Sinatra for digging deep into the rhythmic groove in everything he does, ballads or uptempos. Sinatra was once categorized as a classical vocalist because of the fact he used Bel canto in the 1940's, but it should be obvious that rhythmically Sinatra owes far less to opera singers than to Louis Armstrong. Usually swing numbers are associated more with jazz than ballads, but Sinatra is more likely to linger behind the beat, in a "jazzy" fashion, on a ballad, for dramatic effect. In Sinatra's music rhythm and emotion are, in effect, the same thing. He also started to leave space, and in his unique way leaving out whole sections of lyrics, or perhaps punctuating them with just one word, and you know exactly what it means. That's why jazz musicians love him and other singers hate him: because he can leave out huge chunks of a song and, because he's got such great time, everything else is implied anyway. You as a listener fill in the gaps. No matter if you think Sinatra was a jazz singer or not he was heavily influenced by jazz music and it has played a role in shaping his musical style.

Crooning is a style that has its roots in the Bel Canto, but with the emphasis on subtle vocal nuances and phrasing found in jazz. This style of music, characterized by a relaxed and intimate posture by the performer, became possible with with the invention microphone, popular singers had to project to the rear seats of a theater, which made for a very loud vocal style. The microphone made possible the more personal style. Crooning is not so much a style of music as it is a technique in which to sing. This style of music was popular from the years between 1920-1950 and generally the artist was accompanied by and orchestra or big band.

Popular Culture

Baritone Frank Sinatra was indisputably the 20th century's greatest singer of popular song., Frank Sinatra mainstreamed the concept of singing colloquially, treating lyrics as personal statements and handling melodies with the ease of a jazz improviser. Sinatra, despite his 1957 denunciation of rock & roll as degenerate, has recorded songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Jimmy Webb, and Billy Joel. Not only did his freely interpretive approach pave the way for the idiosyncrasies of rock singing, but with his character a mix of tough-guy cool and romantic vulnerability, he became the first true pop idol, a superstar who through his music established a persona audiences found compelling and true.

The main reason for Sinatra's long time in the spot light is his ability to reinvent himself. His reinventions include Sinatra the singer, actor, businessman, master of public relations and of recording technology. He went from the bow tied gentleman, snap brim hipster, chairman of the board, and then the elder statesman.

No American performer has held center stage so long as Frank Sinatra. Sinatra is timeless he has fans from the 1940's until this very day. In looking at our pop culture at the end of the century, one might be so bold as to claim Sinatra was the entertainer who most represented America to Americans. He was a superb performer who developed rich, complex style based on the many ethnic strains of his times; he had an endlessly fascinating personality containing the constant counterpoints of toughness and tenderness.
 
One of the remarkable things about Sinatra's image is how it spans generations. A quote from a book by Stanislao G. Pugliese explains this well, "What may be most remarkable about Frank Sinatra is that, in our throw away culture, where neon always dies, Sinatra never became a has-been. To the end he remained the Man. He is gone, but his voice will long remain both timely and timeless, thanks to more than two hundred albums he recorded in his remarkable career."
 
Through six succeeding decades in the studio and on the concert stage, Sinatra proved himself to be the consummate American popular vocalist. And he made it look easy, though it wasn’t. Sinatra’s impeccable artistry was a combination of technique, technology, and taste. His vision of what singing could be and his continuous commitment to perfection set him apart from even his most gifted contemporaries, and made him an enduring figure in the nation’s musical culture.

Present Day Sinatra Influences

Many artist that are involved in various musical genres look at Frank Sinatra as an icon. As I have discussed his music influenced various aspects of popular American culture, but now I will show you a few examples through celebrity quotes, songs and even commercials that were influenced by "The Man" himself.

Alicia Keys-Popular music singer quoted this about Frank Sinatra
"Frank Sinatra is an all-timer, the true definition of class and style."  she also stated"You felt every word he said," and "I appreciate his phrasing the most."

In recent years, Sinatra's raw charisma and edgy glamor have fascinated the hip-hop community in particular. Jay-Z, has called himself "the Sinatra of my day" in his lyrics

Alicia Keys and Jay-Z were so much influenced by Sinatra they did a cover to his song New York, New York.





This personally is one of my favorite covers of all time. It mixes Sinatra's style and edgy feel with hip hop culture.

John Legend a popular r&b and hip hop singer stated:

"He was always an icon to me, I always thought of him as one of the great singers. His voice was distinctive and magical." as well as

"He's got an image that so many rappers appropriate," Legend says. "He was part of the establishment, but rebellious at the same time. You knew this was a guy you didn't (mess) around with."

Season 6 Idol runner-up Blake Lewis recalls watching that legendary crew — Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a few other buddies who held court in Hollywood and Las Vegas in the 1950s and '60s — "in classic movies" as a child and admiring Sinatra for his "camaraderie with his chums" and "because he seemed to have fun every time he took the stage. This is what I try to emulate."

A commercial by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs for Ciroc Vodka was influenced solely on Frank Sinatra's song Come Fly With Me. This commercial with actors in finely attired tuxedos and the actresses in nice dresses coupled along with the "celebration" of life, I feel embodies the "Sinatra Style".



Sean Combs also did another commercial for Ciroc that embodies the Smooth influences of Frank Sinatra. The commercial is entirely centered around the concept of "Smooth" and inevitably Frank Sinatra himself. It also uses a humorous approach to this concept of "Smooth" which I feel can be appreciated.