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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
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I learned to love Frank Sinatra’s music as an adult. He was persona non grata in our house growing up. When I was an adult, I asked my mom about that because we listened to so many of the classic crooners. She said she never cared for Sinatra because of his alleged ties to the mob. I had no such qualms and collected his music and some of his movies, especially the musicals he did for MGM.
Recently I read the ARC of Strangers in the Night: A Novel of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner by Heather Webb https://bargain-sleuth.com/2023/03/05/strangers-in-the-night-a-novel-of-frank-sinatra-and-ava-gardner-by-heather-webb-netgalley-arcreview-hollywood/ and wanted to know how much of the book was real or not. It became clear to me that Heather Webb relied on Kaplan’s work when writing her historical fiction account of Sinatra and Ava Gardner because things match up pretty well with this book.
Frank Sinatra was a complex man, and Italian American who faced prejudice because of his heritage, but he didn’t let that stop him. In fact, it made him more tolerant of all minorities in a time when Jim Crow was still prevalent in society.
However, as forward-thinking Frank was about that, he was absolutely horrible when it came to the treatment of women, which is surprising because he had a strong mother figure. He used and abused women, treating his first wife, Nancy, horribly. He had affairs with Lana Turner and Marilyn Maxwell, and then he met Ava Gardner. He’d met his match. At least that’s how he saw it.
For all of Frank Sinatra’s early successes, there was the undercurrent of mafia help when he needed bookings at clubs, and he never could shake that image. Of course, it didn’t help that Frank kept up these friendships throughout his life. They certainly helped launch him into the big time with first the Harry James Orchestra and later the Tommy Dorsey Band.
Before Sinatra, there was Bing Crosby, who changed the way popular music was sung for every generation that came after him. Frank did something that Crosby did not: he appealed to the younger crowd, the bobby soxers went wild for him and screamed and hollered so loud and fainted whenever he performed. Some of this was staged, but plenty of it was real. He was a musical heartthrob who reigned until Elvis came along and elicited the same response from teenage girls.
But then, just as quickly as Sinatra became hot, his star cooled. His movies weren’t making money, his music didn’t sell, there was something wrong with his voice and he couldn’t fill the clubs. All the trade papers thought he was washed up. The book reaches the climax when Sinatra begged and pleaded and did a screen test for the movie From Here to Eternity. He was convinced that if he played Maggio, he could win an Academy Award and things would turn around for him.
And then, the book ends, on the cusp of his big comeback. Volume two of his biography to be reviewed in a few weeks!
I learned to love Frank Sinatra’s music as an adult. He was persona non grata in our house growing up. When I was an adult, I asked my mom about that because we listened to so many of the classic crooners. She said she never cared for Sinatra because of his alleged ties to the mob. I had no such qualms and collected his music and some of his movies, especially the musicals he did for MGM.
Recently I read the ARC of Strangers in the Night: A Novel of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner by Heather Webb https://bargain-sleuth.com/2023/03/05/strangers-in-the-night-a-novel-of-frank-sinatra-and-ava-gardner-by-heather-webb-netgalley-arcreview-hollywood/ and wanted to know how much of the book was real or not. It became clear to me that Heather Webb relied on Kaplan’s work when writing her historical fiction account of Sinatra and Ava Gardner because things match up pretty well with this book.
Frank Sinatra was a complex man, and Italian American who faced prejudice because of his heritage, but he didn’t let that stop him. In fact, it made him more tolerant of all minorities in a time when Jim Crow was still prevalent in society.
However, as forward-thinking Frank was about that, he was absolutely horrible when it came to the treatment of women, which is surprising because he had a strong mother figure. He used and abused women, treating his first wife, Nancy, horribly. He had affairs with Lana Turner and Marilyn Maxwell, and then he met Ava Gardner. He’d met his match. At least that’s how he saw it.
For all of Frank Sinatra’s early successes, there was the undercurrent of mafia help when he needed bookings at clubs, and he never could shake that image. Of course, it didn’t help that Frank kept up these friendships throughout his life. They certainly helped launch him into the big time with first the Harry James Orchestra and later the Tommy Dorsey Band.
Before Sinatra, there was Bing Crosby, who changed the way popular music was sung for every generation that came after him. Frank did something that Crosby did not: he appealed to the younger crowd, the bobby soxers went wild for him and screamed and hollered so loud and fainted whenever he performed. Some of this was staged, but plenty of it was real. He was a musical heartthrob who reigned until Elvis came along and elicited the same response from teenage girls.
But then, just as quickly as Sinatra became hot, his star cooled. His movies weren’t making money, his music didn’t sell, there was something wrong with his voice and he couldn’t fill the clubs. All the trade papers thought he was washed up. The book reaches the climax when Sinatra begged and pleaded and did a screen test for the movie From Here to Eternity. He was convinced that if he played Maggio, he could win an Academy Award and things would turn around for him.
And then, the book ends, on the cusp of his big comeback. Volume two of his biography to be reviewed in a few weeks!
I found "Frank: The Voice" to be a really interesting, detailed, well-written biography of Frank Sinatra. I learned a whole lot, and checked out some Sinatra songs that I hadn't heard before while I was reading it. Having read Lauren Bacall's autobiography, "By Myself," it was interesting to see the intersections between her and Sinatra from another point of view. The story of Sinatra's rise to fame also provides a good vantage point into U.S. life in the 1950s, including Hollywood. However, you may wish to discount my praise of this book slightly, given that while I write this, I am listening to NPR's this review, I'm listening to "Hot Jazz Saturday Night." In other words, it appears that I'm considerably more interested in 1930s-50s music and movies than the average person who didn't grow up then.
Very interesting read. I really enjoyed the analysis of how Sinatra made his singing so evocative and powerful. Some of the details about his inner feelings and those of the people in his life seemed impossible for the author to have been in on, and the writing was occasionally over the top, but I would definitely recommend this to Sinatra fans.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
The definitive biography. No stone left unturned. Very excited to read the second book covering the second half of Sinatra's life. Not much more I can say, really.
He was an asshole, and I don't need to read 600 pages of him being one.
What a phenomenal biography of Frank Sinatra. James Kaplan does a marvelous job at telling an honest, engaging look at the life of "The Voice" from his birth all the way to the early 50s when his legendary run with Capitol is about to begin. Yes, Frank was a conflicting man, but Kaplan makes sure to show you all sides of him and not just the parts he is, rightly or wrongly, most well-known for. The second volume, "The Chairman," is already on my list of must-reads, and soon!
emotional
informative
It took me six months to read. Not because of the book, just because of my surroundings.
Good book, reads very easy and "like a romance"
What I liked about this book is that the author not only goes beneath the surface of the life of Frank Sinatra but stays there and sort of stays WITH Frank so that even when it's the bad side of Frank that's being discussed you have patience and understanding. Most bio's on FS give you the story and that's all but the author lets you get to know him before the stories.
Excited for the second part.
3 stars because some areas do tend to drag for some time.
Good book, reads very easy and "like a romance"
What I liked about this book is that the author not only goes beneath the surface of the life of Frank Sinatra but stays there and sort of stays WITH Frank so that even when it's the bad side of Frank that's being discussed you have patience and understanding. Most bio's on FS give you the story and that's all but the author lets you get to know him before the stories.
Excited for the second part.
3 stars because some areas do tend to drag for some time.