Frank Sinatra has always been known as one of the greats, and his music has been present in my household for as long as I can remember. You can imagine my excitement when I saw a New York Times article featuring a biography on Sinatra himself! The biography (and the article) praise Sinatra, referring to him as “The Voice That Has Thrilled Millions.” Author of the biography, James Kaplan wrote about how Sinatra’s drive and ambition are the two main factors that allowed him to become so great. He learned so much so quickly by watching and studying with people such as Gene Kelly, Montgomery Clift, and Bing Crosby. When Sinatra attended a performance by violinist Jascha Heifetz, he was amazed at how fluid Heifetz was able to play the lines, not breaking any phrases whatsoever. But of all Sinatra’s role models, Kaplan claims that trombone player Tommy Dorsey was the most influential. From Dorsey, Sinatra learned the importance of singing all the way through a line, not taking a breath until the phrase ended. This feature of Sinatra’s singing gave his words meaning and feeling, and became a big part of why so many people loved him.
Professor Smaldone pointed out how excellent Sinatra’s diction is. One never has a problem understanding the words to a song when sung by Sinatra. Kaplan touches on this fact in his biography as well. He called Sinatra’s diction “another crucial contribution to the magic”, and he couldn’t be more right. Like Professor Smaldone mentioned in class, Sinatra never leaves off the ending of a word, yet he does not overdo it. He creates a perfect blend of sound that allows for a clear pronunciation and easy understanding. Listen to the following clip and allow yourself to be immersed in the wonderful crooning of the legendary Frank Sinatra.
