The Friday Canon: FRANK SINATRA

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Swingin' crooner Frank notched up 31 UK Top 40 hit singles, but which ones are the best of the bunch? You get TEN ticks to decide...

[Poll #1016325]

Donna Canon results up later.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I am amazed that the more famous songs weren't singles, but then again half of them were from fillums/on super famous albums etc. I guess this is where the canon methodology falls down...

Love And Marriage remains one of the worst songs of all time though. Even his voice sounds awful on it.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

I know about five of these songs but can safely say that I hate ALL OF THEM.

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

Not too long ago, I was listening to the radio and there was Frank doing a live version of Mack The Knife, which might just be the song that has suffered the most from the Robbie/Westlife/wee Ray offa The X Factor assault on the Sinatra (and chums) songbook – I guess you could claim it's the ultimate in Brechtian alienation as the singers don't show any sign of having the first clue about the basic narrative content of the song (as for anything beyond that, well, Westlife might all be big Gramsci freaks, for all we know?). Anyway, even though Frank's version, being live, ended with a long string of shout-outs, I was still struck by the way it had all the bite and menace and power that is missing from all these chumps who reckon if you put on a tux you're halfway there...

Not really a singles artist for me

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

I've got the four classic late-50s Capitol albums and that's enough, movies aside.

I actually find it kind of difficult to remember that he's dead - he was always SO old while I was conscious of him.

Not one tick

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I have come to realise that I don't need my pop stars to be good people, but I need them to be better people than Sinatra.

My Ticks In Full

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I knew only about 3 of these but still ticked 10 as follows:

THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN: Know it, it's OK.
LEARNIN' THE BLUES: Nelson Riddle FTW
WITCHCRAFT: Ooh spooky.
FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION: How can a song called that be bad?
OL' MACDONALD: Assuming it is what I think it is! Farm animal canon pls.
MY BLUE HEAVEN: There was a good issue of Swamp Thing named after this.
EVERYBODY'S TWISTING: Good old Twist.
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT: Doo-be-doo-be-doo
MY WAY: Daaaaa-da-da-da-da
I WILL DRINK THE WINE: A sentiment we can all endorse.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Not only one of the all-time great singers, one of the very best American actors ever, for me. I love Sinatra, despite him being a horrible person. I have more tracks by him than almost anyone else, I think. I only dislike the idiotic novelty ones - I have his version of the Woody Woodpecker song, for instance. I love pretty much all the series of albums with Nelson Riddle.

[strange-powers.livejournal.com]

I advise anyone with a passing interest in Sinatra to grab a copy of Songs For Swinging Lovers - mostly upbeat swing of the very highest quality, with Nelson Riddle leading the band and Frank on incredible form.

POP BEGINS HERE.

Fillums

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Frank is AWESOME in:

High Society
Guys & Dolls
Manchurian Candidate

What else?

[spittake.livejournal.com]

The Gordon Jenkins "Future" album from Trilogy is kind of insane.