Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
 |
To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, the introduction of this article may need to be rewritten. Please discuss this issue on the talk page and read the layout guide to make sure the section will be inclusive of all essential details. (January 2009) |
| Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Frank Sinatra | ||||
| Released | September 1958 | |||
| Recorded | May 29, June 24, 26, September 11, 1958 at Capitol Studio A, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Vocal jazz, Traditional pop music | |||
| Length | 59:45 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Voyle Gilmore | |||
| Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
|
||||
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (also known as Sings for Only the Lonely or simply Only the Lonely) is a studio LP by the American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released in the United States by Capitol Records, in September 1958.[1]
The album consists of a collection of ballads, following a formula similar to Sinatra's previous albums In the Wee Small Hours (1955) and Where Are You? (1957).[2]
At the time of the recording, Sinatra's divorce from Ava Gardner had been finalized, and Nelson Riddle (who wrote the album's arrangements) had recently suffered the deaths of his mother and daughter.[3] Of these events, Riddle remarked: "If I can attach events like that to music... perhaps Only the Lonely was the result."[4]
Sinatra had planned to record the album with arranger Gordon Jenkins, with whom he had worked on Where Are You?. Since Jenkins was unavailable at the time, Sinatra chose to work with his frequent collaborator, Riddle. The three tracks conducted by Riddle at the first session were not used, and the subsequent sessions were conducted by Felix Slatkin, after Riddle went on tour with Nat King Cole.[4]
On May 25, 1958, Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to record Billy Strayhorn's ballad "Lush Life". A bootleg recording of Sinatra's attempt at "Lush life" exists; this was the only time Sinatra sang the song in his career.[5]
According to John Rockwell's book, Sinatra: An American Classic, when asked at a party in the mid-1970s if he had a favorite album among his recordings, without hesitation, Sinatra chose Only the Lonely.[6] Rockwell writes at length about Sinatra's performance the final track, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", which also provided the musical accompaniment for Twyla Tharp's Sinatra ballets.[7]
The album cover is adorned with a portrait of Sinatra's face as a tragic, Pagliacci-like clown, painted by Nicholas Volpe; on the back of the album is another of Sinatra's recurrent visual motifs: a lamppost.
Contents |
[edit] Reception
Q Magazine placed Only the Lonely at #1 on the '15 Greatest Stoner Albums of All Time'.[8] The album also peaked at #1 on Billboard's pop album chart during a 120 week chart-run, and was certified Gold on June 21, 1962, nearly four years after its release.[9]
[edit] Grammy Awards
Sinatra was nominated for five Grammys at the inaugural Grammy Awards in 1959. Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and Sinatra's other album released in 1958, Come Fly with Me, were nominated for the Album of the Year, and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.
[edit] Track listing
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [10] |
- "Only the Lonely" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 4:10
- "Angel Eyes" (Matt Dennis, Earl Brent) – 3:46
- "What's New?" (Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke) – 5:13
- "It's a Lonesome Old Town" (Harry Tobias, Charles Kisco) – 4:18
- "Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) – 4:49
- "Goodbye" (Gordon Jenkins) – 5:45
- "Blues in the Night" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 4:44
- "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" (Cahn, Jule Styne) – 4:00
- "Ebb Tide" (Robert Maxwell, Carl Sigman) – 3:18
- "Spring is Here" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 4:47
- "Gone with the Wind" (Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson) – 5:15
- "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" (Arlen, Mercer) – 4:23
- Bonus tracks included on the 1987 CD release:
- "Sleep Warm" (Lew Spence, Marilyn Keith, Alan Bergman) – 2:45
- "Where or When" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:25
[edit] Selected personnel
- Frank Sinatra – vocals
- Nelson Riddle – arranger
- Felix Slatkin – conductor
- Bill Miller – piano
- Gus Bivona – alto saxophone
[edit] Notes
- ^ Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely at Allmusic
- ^ Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn. Sinatra: The Life. Doubleday, 2005. ISBN 0552153311. p. 271.
- ^ Ingham, Chris. The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra. Rough Guides Ltd. June 30, 2005. ISBN 1843534142. p. 174.
- ^ a b Ingham, p. 174
- ^ "Frank Sinatra: Lush Life | Randy Wong | Audio". Red Room. http://www.redroom.com/audio/frank-sinatra-lush-life. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ Petkov, Steven and Mustazza, Leonard. The Frank Sinatra Reader. Oxford, 1995. ISBN 9780195113891. p. 70.
- ^ Petkov and Mustazza, p. 71
- ^ "Rocklist.net...Q - 150 Rock Lists". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q150lists.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Database –Frank Sinatra". RIAA. 2008-05-01. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=frank%20sinatra&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- ^ "Allmusic review". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r67980.
[edit] References
- Ingham, Chris. The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra. Rough Guides Ltd. June 30, 2005. ISBN 1843534142
- Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn. Sinatra: The Life. Doubleday, 2005. ISBN 0552153311
