The Sinatra debate is absolutely forcing me to the keyboard (computer keyboard, that is) .. as a guy that has been in the music business pretty much the majority of my life, you can Bank on the fact that dissing "The Chairman of the Board" is treading on sacred ground .. and as proof of my cred, I have a photo he personally autographed to me back in the '80's .. this, in and of itself, forces me into the fray ..
Are there better singers ... ?? Certainly .. However, if you decided to debate Harry Connick JR or Michael Bublé on the quality of Sinatras singing ability, either one would happily pound you to the ground for such sacrilege or at least have one of their entourage do it for them ..
Many, many have claimed Frank was a mediocre vocalist .. so, we'll talk about that first .. Sinatra early on developed a technique where he could actually sneak in small amounts of air while holding a note, thus giving him very long note durations .. in addition, he did extensive underwater swimming in order to develop lung capacity ..
His voice in a technical sense, was a light baritone with about a 2 octave range (that's pretty good, Christina Aguilera covers 3 octaves) .. early recordings he was in near tenor range and his voice did get darker as he aged .. however, take a listen to "All or Nothing at All" and his version of "Ol' Man River" where he hits the low E ..
But the mark of a really great vocalist goes way, way beyond just the voice .. and Frank was just impeccable in his ability to get to the meat of a song by highlighting single words and lines in ways that just made it feel like he was singing the song just for you and you alone .. this trait is what made him arguably the first Pop idol with the ladies .. in addition to his uncanny ability to sing before or behind the beat and make it work ..
In 1942, when Sinatra had his first major booking at the Paramount in New York City with Benny Goodman, he brought the house down .. not because he was the World's Best Singer, but because by that time, he had developed his craft and knew exactly how to work his audience .. thru hard work and sheer determination .. and when he looked at the ladies with those clear, blue eyes .. well, ask any of them if the man could sing .. the Sultan of Swoon came along at a time when we were at War and sang of Love, Loss and Longing .. and provided the soundtrack to the times and started the Legend that is Frank Sinatra .. there will never be anyone that can compete .. because it's not just the Voice, it's the whole package .. I won't disagree that in later years, he did at times sing very slightly flat, but still had near perfect pitch .. still impressive even into his 60's .. considering the fact that his hearing was going bad .. and the fact that he was rejected from the Military because of a perforated eardrum .. !!
Lastly, much of Sinatra's work was done well before modern, highly sophisticated studio equipment, vocal tunings, auto tune, etc .. it was the Voice, basic studio gear and his Studio mic, the Neumann U47, of which he was the absolute master .. moving to a Shure SM58 for live work .. and as far as those that have mentioned Mom's That Could Not Sing, trust me when I say with todays gear, I can make a Walrus into a passable vocalist ..
I'd be happy to critique his Acting as well but I'll just add a brief blurb .. since his Oscar for Private Angelo Maggio in "From Here to Eternity" was so well deserved .. and as a side note, one of the best films ever made, IMO .. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden .. how can it get any better than that .. ??
Well, I've rambled on longer than I expected, and I could go on, but I'll leave it with you as follows, keeping in mind that they say Frank is buried with a bottle of Jack :
“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”
― Frank Sinatra
....i'll quit ramblin now
