Rare Songs by Frank Sinatra, Chairman of the Board Film Collection

A rare recording from his 1945 radio program, Songs by Sinatra. Had he survived the cold, music legend Frank Sinatra would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. But there's still some of his stuff almost no one in the world has heard—so all of that is coming out in a new compilation this month. Sinatra had a long history of performing the American classic Ol’ Man River by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was one of his go-to tunes for nearly three decades. He sang it during his Man and His Music TV special and even included a stripped-down rendition during his 1962 world tour. The version below is taken from one of his early performances, from a radio show in 1945. At just 30 years old, a young Sinatra sings what will become a lifelong favorite for one of the first times. Source: www.thedailybeast.com

To celebrate “The Chairman of the Board’s” centennial, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) release Frank Sinatra: 3 Film Collection DVD & Blu-ray on November 16th and we have a Blu-ray up for grabs! This collection includes newly re-mastered releases of Anchors Aweigh, On the Town and Robin and the 7 Hoods for the first time on Blu-ray and is packed full of new special features!

Throughout his six-decade career, Frank Sinatra performed on more than 1,400 recordings and was awarded 31 gold, nine platinum, three double platinum and one triple platinum album by the Recording Industry Association of America. Sinatra demonstrated a remarkable ability to appeal to every generation and continues to do so; his artistry still influences many of today’s music superstars. He also appeared in more than 60 films and produced eight motion pictures. Source: www.nerdly.co.uk

Sinatra had been growing steadily more impatient with Capitol Records, with which his contract would expire in November 1962. He had been agitating for many things—a greater share of the profits, a producer of his own, control of his master recordings—but it’s hard to escape the impression that what he wanted most of all was out. When one listens to the recordings Frank made on the night of May 14 —and especially to his new “I’ll Never Smile Again”— it’s hard to escape the impression that, consciously or not, he already had one foot out the door. Singing over Jenkins’s sad strings, Sinatra sounds tender and vulnerable and middle-aged; there’s a slight quaver to his voice that’s not at all unattractive. Yet as he sings the first chorus —I’ll never smile again, until I smile at you, I’ll never laugh again, what good would it do— something quite strange happens. His pitch is uncertain from the first syllable, and—after weirdly mispronouncing the word “laugh” as “luff”—he hits an unmistakable clam on the word “do.” Frank’s ear was exquisitely tuned: he was famous for bringing a take to a grinding halt if, say, the third violin was a half note off, fixing the offender with an ice-blue glare and saying, “Where you working next week?” He would do multiple takes of a song if anything about his vocal or the accompaniment displeased him. Why did he not rerecord this “Smile”? –SINATRA: THE CHAIRMAN (2015) by JAMES KAPLAN