Master Groove Hot List - Week 4

The Voice. The Chairman of the Board. Ole' Blue Eyes.

Whatever nickname you know him by probably indicates which era in the enduring career of Frank Sinatra that you became aware of him. In His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra, I read that when he was singing with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, Sinatra was mesmerized by Dorsey's breath control while playing the trombone. He relentlessly shadowed Dorsey to learn from him how to control his breathing to incorporate it into his singing. Frank even practiced breath holding underwater to elongate the time he could hold a note.

Of all the wonderful songs crooned by Sinatra, the pinnacle for me is 'Old Man River'. I simply cannot resist being swept along by his voice on the heart breaking journey of the lyrics. The command and control of his voice pulls me in every time I hear Old Man River. This is one of the rare songs that elicits such a reaction from me that I cry every time I hear Sinatra sing it. His rendition is so impeccable that I am forced to feel the emotion intended by the original writer. When Sinatra gets to the crescendo "I'm tired of living, but I'm scared of dying. And old man river, he just keeps rollin' along", the tears, they come.

So, no matter what you may think of Frank Sinatra the man, you gotta hand it over: That is power.