Frank, as in Frank Sinatra. One of my heroes.

Frank Sinatra, a hero? Before you move on, please consider this. If a hero is someone ordinary who does extraordinary things, then Frank Sinatra is a hero. Actually, he is one of the best examples of a hero, because his flaws were also right out there for the world to see.

Aren’t we all a mass of contradictions? Sometimes, we resort to the lowest level of human behaviour and sometimes we can give all we’ve got in kindness. Sometimes, we waste away our talents and other times we’re in the flow of being ourselves, and making a difference. That’s life. (another of his songs!)

Back to Sinatra. He is a hero to me because he was given an extraordinary gift and he developed it to the fullest. He gave it all he got. He did it his way (in the best sense of the word).

Now, I consider myself very lucky because my father was a huge Sinatra fan and heard his music constantly growing up. It’s become ingrained in me. But my Dad also took the time to tell me why Frank Sinatra was so good.

• His phrasing, or the way he worked the words around the melody in a unique way.
• His breath control, which he said he learned by watching Tommy Dorsey play the trumpet. “He could blow a whole song on one tank of air.”
• And the subtle emotion he evoked in his songs.
• Another thing I discovered on my own was his incredible connection with the band. While singing it was as if he and the band were one – very mystical!

The casual listener may not be aware of these incredible gifts because he made it look so easy. Many just think of him as a good singer of standard love songs. But there were all kinds of successful singers that sang what Sinatra sang and even had better voices, but he rose above the rest.

There is only one Frank Sinatra.

If you want to learn more about Sinatra as an artist, I recommend the book, Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer’s Art, by Will Friedwald. It focuses on his career completely through song and is a delight to read.

Last Sunday would have been Frank Sinatra’s 95th birthday. He died twelve years ago. Yet, the music lives on and even the very young are still discovering his work. Here are a few tributes, discovered on Twitter.

• Listening to summer wind by frank sinatra. why can’t music still sound like this?
• You know what kinda day it is? It’s a listen to Frank Sinatra kind of day.
• Listening to Frank Sinatra on my first full day at 25yrs old. That’s what you do when you get older right?
• There is no such thing as too young/hip for frank sinatra, i promise.
• Is jayz the modern day Frank Sinatra?
• Frank Sinatra and apple pie. It’s like both things you’d do on a rainy day. I have Franky on, that’s why I bring it up. =]

Who is a hero of yours that completely developed their gifts?