Frank Sinatra is rightful known today as an entertainment icon, but many forget that there was a time when he was just another washed up teen idol trying to reinvent himself artistically and revive his career. After his teen idol stardom ended, Sinatra went through a rough period that he described as 'all Monday's' when his personal life was in shambles, his professional prospects non-existent and his financial status in ruin.
To make matters worse, the impresarios at Columbia Records were abusing his talent in an effort to revive his album sales. His pairing with producer Mitch Miller was particularly disastrous. The nadir of this unholy alliance was probably the recording of "Mama Will Bark", where the greatest voice of the 20th century shared the microphone with a buxom actress named Dagmar (sort of a Rhonda Shear of her day) and some other 'vocalist' howling and barking like a dog in the background. Not surprisingly, Sinatra's recordings with Mitch Miller were not a resounding commercial success and in 1952 he was dropped by Columbia.
In 1953, several singers who here friends of Sinatra, most notably Jo Stafford and June Hutton brought him to the attention of Capitol Records A&R man Dave Dexter, Jr. This led to a contract, and begun a nine year association with Capitol that most critics consider the finest era of Sinatra's work. Initially, Frank worked with Axel Stordahl (June Hutton's husband, with whom he had worked at Columbia) and these sessions produced some decent recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Lean Baby", but nothing incredibly significant. Dexter wanted Frank to try something different, and with Stordahl leaving to accept a job with Eddie Fisher in New York, he agreed reluctantly to a pairing with Nelson Riddle. Riddle was an experienced big band conductor, known best at that point for his work with Nat King Cole. Dexter had envisioned this pairing ever since he had signed Sinatra, but its doubtful that even he could have foreseen the magic that was to result.
To say that the pairing 'clicked' from the start is a severe understatement. The first Sinatra/Riddle session produced 'I've Got The World On A String'. Riddle's arrangement gave the Ted Kohler/Harold Arlen chestnut a new life and complimented Sinatra's more mature vocal styling perfectly. It wasn't a huge hit at the time, reaching only #14 on the charts, but has since become a classic. Sinatra himself loved the song and would continue to perform it live for the rest of his life--frequently using it to open his performances.
When examined in a modern context, Sinatra's career 'reinvention' is almost mind boggling. It's difficult to envision a star of today popular with the teenage set--like The Jonas Brothers for example--becoming accepted as a serious vocalist for adults. Sinatra not only became a critical and popular sensation, but would go down in history as arguably the most important entertainer ever in American popular culture. None of this would have happened were it not for the magical pairing of Sinatra with Nelson Riddle.
To make matters worse, the impresarios at Columbia Records were abusing his talent in an effort to revive his album sales. His pairing with producer Mitch Miller was particularly disastrous. The nadir of this unholy alliance was probably the recording of "Mama Will Bark", where the greatest voice of the 20th century shared the microphone with a buxom actress named Dagmar (sort of a Rhonda Shear of her day) and some other 'vocalist' howling and barking like a dog in the background. Not surprisingly, Sinatra's recordings with Mitch Miller were not a resounding commercial success and in 1952 he was dropped by Columbia.
In 1953, several singers who here friends of Sinatra, most notably Jo Stafford and June Hutton brought him to the attention of Capitol Records A&R man Dave Dexter, Jr. This led to a contract, and begun a nine year association with Capitol that most critics consider the finest era of Sinatra's work. Initially, Frank worked with Axel Stordahl (June Hutton's husband, with whom he had worked at Columbia) and these sessions produced some decent recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Lean Baby", but nothing incredibly significant. Dexter wanted Frank to try something different, and with Stordahl leaving to accept a job with Eddie Fisher in New York, he agreed reluctantly to a pairing with Nelson Riddle. Riddle was an experienced big band conductor, known best at that point for his work with Nat King Cole. Dexter had envisioned this pairing ever since he had signed Sinatra, but its doubtful that even he could have foreseen the magic that was to result.
To say that the pairing 'clicked' from the start is a severe understatement. The first Sinatra/Riddle session produced 'I've Got The World On A String'. Riddle's arrangement gave the Ted Kohler/Harold Arlen chestnut a new life and complimented Sinatra's more mature vocal styling perfectly. It wasn't a huge hit at the time, reaching only #14 on the charts, but has since become a classic. Sinatra himself loved the song and would continue to perform it live for the rest of his life--frequently using it to open his performances.
When examined in a modern context, Sinatra's career 'reinvention' is almost mind boggling. It's difficult to envision a star of today popular with the teenage set--like The Jonas Brothers for example--becoming accepted as a serious vocalist for adults. Sinatra not only became a critical and popular sensation, but would go down in history as arguably the most important entertainer ever in American popular culture. None of this would have happened were it not for the magical pairing of Sinatra with Nelson Riddle.
About the Author:
David Glisan is a journalist covering fighting sports including MMA and boxing. He is also the heavy metal editor for The Savage Science, a website covering both MMA and music, and is a noted authority on both heavy metal and jazz. He contributes to many MMA news websites and provides UFC news for the broadcast and online sports media. He's also a published expert on boxing, pro wrestling and judo.
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