Frank Sinatra Timeline

1915

This timeline starts on on December 12, 1915 when Francis Albert Sinatra was born at 415 Monroe Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He was the son of his Sicilian father Anthony Martin Sinatra and Natalie Della Gavarante Sinatra, better known as 'Dolly'

Frank attended Demarest High School, Hoboken, NJ. When he left school he worked for the circulation manager of the Jersey Observer newspaper and enrolled in a Journalism class

1929

Frank Sinatra met Nancy Barbato who he would later marry in 1939

1933

He got a job as a cub sports reporter

1935

His first break in singing was at the Hoboken Union Club. His mother persuaded a singing group called The Three Flashes to include Frank and they renamed themselves as the Hoboken Four. Success followed when they appeared on a show called the Major Bowes Amateur Hour which won them a six month contract to perform live on stage as well as radio. Frank Sinatra left the Hoboken Four and his mother arranged a singing job at the Rustic Cabin in New Jersey which enabled Sinatra to be heard across New York City on radio station WNEW

1938

Frank Sinatra was arrested on a morals charge when an old girlfriend accused him of a breach of promise. The case was dismissed in court in January 1939

1939

Frank Sinatra married Nancy Barbato. They had three children Nancy Sandra - born in 1940; Franklin Wayne Emmanuel (Frank Jr.) - born in 1944; and Christina (Tina) - born in 1948.
Made his first recording with the Frank Mane band singing Our Love and signed a contract a contract for one year.

1940

Frank Sinatra joined Harry James’s band and recorded ten songs with Harry James for the Brunswick and Columbia labels. Frank Sinatra was then approached by Tommy Dorsey to join his band, which he did. In July he topped the charts with "I'll Never Smile Again" for twelve weeks. He also acted in the film, Las Vegas Nights as a member of the band.

1941

Frank Sinatra reached the top position of the male singer polls in magazines such as Billboard and Downbeat. Between 1940 and early 1943 he had 23 top ten singles on Billboard

1942

Sinatra left the Dorsey band and recorded his first solo tracks. Fans, the "bobby soxers", went crazy when he appeared at the Paramount theatre in New York

1943

Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist and made his debut at Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl

1944

Frank Sinatra returned to Paramount started his film career with RKO making Step Lively and Higher and Higher. Louis B. Mayer bought his contract and Frank moved to MGM

1945

Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Anchors Aweigh. He also starred in a short film on tolerance and racial equality called The House I Live In, which won him a special Academy Award

1946

Frank Sinatra was i the movies Till the Clouds Roll By and It Happened in Brooklyn. He also released his first album called The Voice of Frank Sinatra and hosted his own weekly radio show

1947

April 13, 1947: Frank Sinatra received the Thomas Jefferson Award for Fighting Against Intolerance.

1948

Bad publicity and rumours of womanising and a violent temper led to a decline in his career

1949

Frank Sinatra starred in the movies On the Town and Take Me Out to the Ball Game both with Gene Kelly which gave him success again and improved his image

1950

Frank returned to live concerts but his voice had suffered, resulting in him haemorrhaging his vocal cords on stage at the Copacabana on April 26, 1950. He recovered and went to star at the London Palladium accompanied by Ava Gardner. He and his wife Nancy were splitting due to the scandal with Ava and Frank Sinatra’s popularity went into a decline once again to bad publicity

1951

Frank Sinatra made his debut at the Desert Inn and he married Eva Gardener

1953

Frank Sinatra and Eva Gardener split up leaving Frank devastated. But his career improves once again due to his role of Maggio in the movie From Here to Eternity for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also signed a contract with Capitol Records and had major hit records with "Young At Heart," "Learnin' The Blues" and "The Tender Trap". Capitol later released Songs For Swinging Lovers and NBC offered him a multimillion dollar, write-his-own-ticket TV contract.

1955

1955: This year saw the release of In the Wee Small Hours.

1957

Frank Sinatra starred in The Joker Is Wild, a biopic of nightclub singer Joe E. Lewis. His acting was acclaimed. He also starred in Pal Joey

1958

Come Fly With Me was released and became a number one album

1960

1960: Frank Sinatra began his own label called Reprise Records. The 'Rat Pack' was in the media and consisted of Frank Sinatra and his friends Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford appearing together on stage at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and in several movies, including Robin and the Seven Hoods and the original Ocean's Eleven.

Frank was introduced to Senator John Kennedy by Peter Lawford who was JFK's brother-in-law. Frank's valuable contributions helped with JFK's presidential ambitions. Kennedy won the Presidential Election and his friendship with Sinatra went well until Chicago Mob leader Sam Giancana became involved. Giancana and John Kennedy both shared the charms of Judith Campbell Exner. JKF had agreed to spend time at Frank's Palm Springs compound which Sinatra had remodeled his house in honor of the presidential visit. At the last minute JFK announced that he was going to stay with with Bing Crosby instead.

1961 - 1966

Frank Sinatra released albums such as Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Sinatra-Basie and Sinatra at the Sands. He was romantically linked with Juliet Prowse and Lauren Bacall

1966

Frank married Mia Farrow - Frank was 51, Mia was 21, the marriage was short lived and they separated after 16 months. He released the album Sinatra at the Sands

1967

Frank had a chart-topping duet later that year with his daughter Nancy

1971

Frank Sinatra announced his retirement

1973

Frank was back in the studio on April 30, 1973 to record tracks for his Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back album

1974

He returned to Las Vegas performing at Caesar’s Palace

1976

Frank Sinatra married Barbara Marx on July 11, 1976.

1983

Frank Sinatra was one of the five recipients at the Kennedy Center Honors