JFK+50: Volume 6, No. 1949
SINATRA DIED 18 YEARS AGO TODAYLos Angeles, California (JFK+50) Eighteen years ago today, May 14, 1998, singer-actor-Hollywood icon Francis Albert Sinatra* passed away at the age of 82 here in L.A. The cause of death was due to a heart attack.
Frank Sinatra is described by Stephen Holden of the New York Times as...
"the first modern pop superstar...(whose) most far-reaching acclaim was infusing popular song with intimate personal emotion."
Sinatra was a big supporter of Senator John F. Kennedy's candidacy for President of the United States in 1960. Ol' Blue Eyes recorded a campaign record based on his big hit "High Hopes." The record was titled "High Hopes with Jack Kennedy." Sinatra also starred in a performance for JFK's INAUGURAL GALA in Washington, D.C.
Another Kennedy connection came from the fact that Sinatra's "Rat Pack" included JFK's brother-in-law Peter Lawford.
*Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) was born in Hoboken, NJ. He was expelled from high school as a freshman, and later joined the Hoboken Four. In 1939 he released his 1st single, "From the Bottom of My Heart."
Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Band and had more than 40 songs in one year. By 1941, he was a star particularly among the "bobby soxers" or teenage girls of the 40s.
SOURCE
"Frank Sinatra: A Hundred Years On, the Voice Resonates Still," by Stephen Holden, The New York Times, December 11, 2015, www.nytimes.com/
Frank Sinatra
at the Girl's Town Ball
NARA Photo
Sinatra's Campaign Record for JFK**
