Best
Known As: Singer of New York, New York and leader of the Rat Pack.
Frank Sinatra
is an American icon. His official career was singing: he began as a rail-thin
crooner during World War II, and matured into the most respected pop singer
of his generation. He also took up acting, winning an Academy Award for
his performance in From Here To Eternity (1953, with Burt Lancaster). Along
the way Sinatra developed a reputation as a stylish, fast-living, fist-fighting
swinger. He was the acknowledged leader of the Hollywood 'Rat Pack' of
the early 1960s, which included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others.
Among his best-known tunes are the standards Come Fly With Me, New York,
New York, All the Way, Strangers in the Night and One For My Baby (And
One More For the Road). He ranks with Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and The
Beatles as among the most influential pop musicians of the 20th century.