Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
Encyclopedia
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.
The album consists of a collection of haunting, melancholic ballads, following a formula similar to Sinatra's previous albums - In the Wee Small Hours
(1955) and Where Are You? (1957).
At the time of the recording, Sinatra's divorce from Ava Gardner
had been finalized, and Nelson Riddle
(who wrote the albums arrangements) had recently suffered the deaths of his mother and daughter. Of these events, Riddle remarked: "If I can attach events like that to music...perhaps Only the Lonely was the result."
Sinatra had planned to record Only the Lonely with arranger Gordon Jenkins
, with whom he had worked on Where Are You?. Since Jenkins was unavailable at the time of the sessions, Sinatra chose to work with his frequent collaborator, Nelson 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
.
On May 25, 1958, as part of the sessions for Only the Lonely, 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 sung the song in his career.
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. Rockwell writes at length about Sinatra's performance on Only the Lonelys 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.
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.
on June 21, 1962, nearly four years after its release.
, and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. It was released in the United States by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, in September 1958.
The album consists of a collection of haunting, melancholic ballads, following a formula similar to Sinatra's previous albums - In the Wee Small Hours
In the Wee Small Hours
In 2003, the album was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also the first album reviewed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery. In 2007, Time Magazine selected it as one of The All-TIME 100 Albums...
(1955) and Where Are You? (1957).
At the time of the recording, Sinatra's divorce from Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
had been finalized, and Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
(who wrote the albums arrangements) had recently suffered the deaths of his mother and daughter. Of these events, Riddle remarked: "If I can attach events like that to music...perhaps Only the Lonely was the result."
Sinatra had planned to record Only the Lonely with arranger Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
, with whom he had worked on Where Are You?. Since Jenkins was unavailable at the time of the sessions, Sinatra chose to work with his frequent collaborator, Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
. The three tracks conducted by Riddle at the first session were not used, and the subsequent sessions were conducted by Felix Slatkin
Felix Slatkin
Felix Slatkin was an American violinist and conductor.-Biography:Slatkin was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a Jewish family originally named Zlotkin from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. He began studying the violin at the age of nine with Isadore Grossman...
, after Riddle went on tour with Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
.
On May 25, 1958, as part of the sessions for Only the Lonely, Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to record Billy Strayhorn
Billy Strayhorn
William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
's ballad "Lush Life
Lush Life (song)
"Lush Life" is a jazz standard with lyrics and music written by Billy Strayhorn from 1933 to 1938. However, the song was only performed privately by Strayhorn until he and vocalist Kay Davis performed it on November 13, 1948 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall...
". A bootleg recording of Sinatra's attempt at "Lush life" exists; this was the only time Sinatra sung the song in his career.
According to John Rockwell
John Rockwell
John Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
'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. Rockwell writes at length about Sinatra's performance on Only the Lonelys final track, Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
's "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
", which also provided the musical accompaniment for Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
's Sinatra ballets.
The album cover is adorned with a portrait of Sinatra's face as a tragic, Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
-like clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
, painted by Nicholas Volpe; on the back of the album is another of Sinatra's recurrent visual motifs: a lamppost.
Reception
Q Magazine placed Only the Lonely at #1 on the '15 Greatest Stoner Albums of All Time'. The album also peaked at #1 on Billboard's pop album chart during a 120 week chart-run, and was certified GoldMusic recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
on June 21, 1962, nearly four years after its release.
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 YearGrammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
, and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.
Track listing
- "Only the Lonely" (Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 4:10 - "Angel Eyes" (Matt DennisMatt DennisMatt Dennis was a singer, pianist, bandleader, arranger, and writer of music for popular music songs.He was born in Seattle, Washington. His mother was a violinist and his father a singer, and the family was in vaudeville, so he was early exposed to music. In 1933 he joined Horace Heidt's...
, Earl Brent) – 3:46 - "What's New?What's New?"What's New?" is a 1939 popular song composed by Bob Haggart, with lyrics by Johnny Burke.It was originally an instrumental tune titled "I'm Free" by Haggart in 1938, when Haggart was a member of Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. The tune was written with a trumpet solo, meant to showcase the talents...
" (Bob HaggartBob HaggartRobert Sherwood Haggart was a dixieland jazz double bass player, composer and arranger...
, Johnny BurkeJohnny Burke (lyricist)Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
) – 5:13 - "It's a Lonesome Old Town" (Harry Tobias, Charles Kisco) – 4:18
- "Willow Weep for MeWillow Weep for Me"Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. It is mostly known as a jazz standard, but it was a Top 40 hit for the British duo Chad & Jeremy in 1964.-Notable recordings:...
" (Ann RonellAnn RonellAnn Rosenblatt, known as Ann Ronell was an American composer and lyricist best known for the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" .- Biography :...
) – 4:49 - "GoodbyeGoodbye (Gordon Jenkins song)Goodbye is a song written by American composer and arranger Gordon Jenkins, published in 1935. It became well known as the closing theme song of the Benny Goodman orchestra....
" (Gordon JenkinsGordon JenkinsGordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
) – 5:45 - "Blues in the NightBlues in the Night"Blues in the Night" is a popular song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues...
" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) – 4:44 - "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to DryGuess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" is a 1945 song, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was introduced on stage by film star Jane Withers in the 1944 flop, Glad to See You, which closed in Philadelphia and never made it to Broadway...
" (Cahn, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) – 4:00 - "Ebb Tide" (Robert MaxwellRobert Maxwell (songwriter)Robert Maxwell is a harpist and songwriter, who wrote the music for two well-known songs: "Ebb Tide" and "Shangri-La ....
, Carl SigmanCarl SigmanCarl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...
) – 3:18 - "Spring is HereSpring Is Here"Spring is Here" is a 1938 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel , where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.-Notable recordings:...
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
) – 4:47 - "Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (song)"Gone with the Wind" is a popular song. The music was written by Allie Wrubel, the lyrics by Herb Magidson. The song was published in 1937. A version recorded by Horace Heidt was a #1 song in 1937.Diane E...
" (Allie WrubelAllie WrubelAllie Wrubel was an American composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Wrubel attended Wesleyan University and Columbia University before working in dance bands. He began his musical career in Greenwich Village, New York where he roomed with his close friend James Cagney...
, Herb MagidsonHerb MagidsonHerbert A. "Herb" Magidson was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway reviews. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934....
) – 5:15 - "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
" (Arlen, Mercer) – 4:23- Bonus tracks included on the 1987 CD release:
- "Sleep Warm" (Lew SpenceLew SpenceLew Spence was an American songwriter.Spence received little formal musical training, and led a dance band in his hometown as a teenager. He played piano and sang in his twenties, but did not publish any songs until he was almost 30 years old...
, Marilyn KeithMarilyn BergmanMarilyn Bergman is a composer, songwriter and author.She was born Marilyn Keith in Brooklyn, New York and studied psychology and English at New York University...
, Alan BergmanAlan BergmanAlan Bergman is an American lyricist and songwriter.-Life & career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCLA. His involvement in the entertainment industry began in the early 1950s as a director of children's television shows...
) – 2:45 - "Where or WhenWhere or When"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. It also appeared in the movie of the same title two years later...
" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:25
Selected personnel
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Nelson RiddleNelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
– arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents... - Felix SlatkinFelix SlatkinFelix Slatkin was an American violinist and conductor.-Biography:Slatkin was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a Jewish family originally named Zlotkin from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. He began studying the violin at the age of nine with Isadore Grossman...
– conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Bill MillerBill Miller (pianist)Bill Miller was an American jazz pianist, who accompanied Frank Sinatra over fifty years, and for the last eight years of his life, accompanied Frank Sinatra, Jr.....
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Gus BivonaGus BivonaGus Bivona was an American musician.This reed player—covering a range of clarinets, saxophones, and flute—was at the height of the big band era. Following World War II, he was a staff musician for the MGM Studio Orchestra, playing on countless soundtracks and sessions...
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...