Frank Sinatra — May 22, 1968

It’s no secret amongst friends and family that I am a huge fan of Frank Sinatra. From his crooner days with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to his Columbia years to his Capitol years to his Reprise years. He lived an extraordinary life.

The only son of Dolly and Marty Sinatra, Frank grew up in Hoboken, NJ with big dreams and aspirations. After seeing a Bing Crosby movie and the local movie theater, Sinatra decided to follow in der Bingle’s footsteps. He set out by forming the Hoboken Four and traveled the country performing for Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour Show. He moved from their to playing at The Rustic Cabin as a performing waiter up to playing with the Harry James Orchestra. After his brief period with James’ orchestra, fate came knocking and Sinatra landed the cushy position as a side attraction with Tommy Dorsey, who at the time was one of the biggest bandleaders in pre-WWII. Two years into his stint with Dorsey and after achieving wild success, Sinatra knew he needed to be a solo act. He gave a year’s notice and left in 1943. Sinatra would go on to reach magnificent highs (and lows) as a solo act. He tried his hand at acting and won three Academy Awards (one for 1945′s short-film, The House I Live In, one for 1953′s From Here To Eternity and another for his charitable work in 1971).

He loved hard, fought hard and played hard. He married his teenage sweetheart, Nancy Barbato in 1939 only to divorce her in 1951, after commiting numerous adulterous affairs. After Nancy he moved to Ava Gardner, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful women to grace the screen. Their marriage lasted until 1957. He moved on to Mia Farrow in 1966 with a brief marriage and ultimately ended up with Barbara Sinatra, whom he married in 1976 and remained married until his death in 1998. The affairs are too numerous to list, but think of every female star from 1940 until 1975 and you better believe that Frank was all over her.

Frank partied with presidents (Kennedy, Reagan, Nixon) as well as Rat Pack pallies (Sammy, Dean, etc.) with equal ease. His ties to the mafia were never proven in court, but his dealings with Sam Giancana, Willie Moretti, Sidney Korshak, Lucky Luciano are thought to be common knowledge. Sinatra literally helped build Las Vegas in to the swinging city that it is today. He started performing at The Sands in 1952 and would perform Vegas engagements until his career as a performer ended in 1994.

This is a fantastic show of Sinatra’s talent and skill as a vocalist in 1968. He was 52 years old at the time and nearing his first “retirement” in 1971. Enjoy!

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Setlist:
1 Day In Day Out
2 I Get A Kick Out Of You
3 Moonlight In Vermont
4 The Lady Is A Tramp
5 I Have Dreamed
6 I’ve Got You Under My Skin
7 That’s Life
8 O’l Man River
9 All I Need Is The Girl
10 Willow Weep For Me
11 Goin’ Out Of My Head
12 Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
13 Fly Me To The Moon
14 It Was A Very Good Year
15 My Kind Of Town
16 Frank Says Goodbye