Why would Frank Sinatra need to stage a comeback, when he'd never really been away?
It was a popular question in the mid-1960's and KINESCOPE HD , who is a world-class F.O.F ( Fan of Frank:), isn't sure the answer is known, even to this day.
Much has been written about that period in our country and in Old Blue Eyes' career, when the nascent youth movement was sending seismic ripples through American society, and popular music was at the epicenter of that tectonic shift.
Critics said that the problem with the 1965 Sinatra , Dear Frank , was not in your stars, but in your charts.
No,not the astrological charts.
They felt Sinatra had moved, quickly, from the pinnacle to passe as rock, roll and soul artists from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones to James Brown topped the very record sales charts that Sinatra once dominated.
They complained that the swingy, brassy musical charts that Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle arranged for Frank's albums were feeling outdated and archaic.
There was no more expedient way to reach a new audience and demonstrate relevance in the mid-1960's than to step in front of a network, television camera and engage the video viewers.
On November 24, 1965, The Chairman of the Board sauntered center stage in NBC's vast Studio 1 in Burbank, Ca and ignited a new and vibrant phase in his storied career with the CBS-TV special FRANK SINATRA - A MAN AND HIS MUSIC.
The song selection was fun,familiar, and welcome: "I've Got You Under My Skin," "I Get A Kick Out Of You," "My Kind Of Town," "Come Fly With Me," "Witchcraft," and "The Lady Is A Tramp.
But wait, Image Orthicon Breath...Did you just say...???
That's right - The 1966 Emmy award winner, for Outstanding Musical Program, was videotaped at NBC, but aired on CBS. Apparently it as the preference of both the star and his legendary producer/director Dwight Hemion, to work in the Peacock's Palace, but deliver their efforts on the Tiffany Network.
The stunning show introduced Sinatra to a new generation of viewers, cast him in a more playful, contemporary light and caused CBS-TV to order a sequel for the 1966 season.
On June 5th & 6th of 1966, Old Blue Eyes, Hemion and the production team were joined by the next Sinatra progeny to voice a chart-busting tune, daughter Nancy, as they returned to NBC's Burbank studios to record FRANK SINATRA - A MAN & HIS MUSIC - PART II.
The program , which CBS-TV aired on December 7, 1966, introduced American television viewers to a song that would become a Sinatra standard, Dean Kay's,"That's Life." This show was austere, while opulent, in production values and featured the dual orchestras of Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle on a sprawling set.Part of it was even staged in the manner of a recording session. Above all, when not rhapsodizing, Sinatra's repartee connected with the audience in a personal, one on one conversation.
The 60 minute, COLOR effort was an unqualified success in the estimation of the audience,the critics, the network ,the sponsor (Budweiser Beer) and ,of course , Sinatra, himself.
In this, and the many television specials to follow, Frank Sinatra re-established himself as a sovereign, global force in music, media and in the minds of an appreciative audience.
Here, posted below, from a variety of YOU TUBE sites, are four excerpts of the 1966 CBS-TV special, FRANK SINATRA-A MAN AND HIS MUSIC PART II. Enjoy!!!!!!
FLY ME TO THE MOON
YOU'RE NOBODY TIL SOMEBODY LOVES YOU
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD
LUCK BE A LADY
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