FRIDAYS ARE FOR FRANK: “Love’s Been Good To Me”

“I have been a rover
I have walked alone
Hiked a hundred highways
Never found a home
Still in all I’m happy
The reason is, you see
Once in a while along the way
Love’s been good to me…”

“Love’s Been Good To Me” is a track from Sinatra’s troubadour era—a Frank phase that admittedly seems out of context with the man, but still shows his demonstrated willingness to get out of his comfort zone. The album, A Man Alone, features songs written by American poet Rod McKuen, a man who once ran with the beatest of the Beat, including Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassidy and Allen Ginsberg.

Frank Sinatra would stick out like a sore thumb in that crowd, but 1969 was a turbulent time for pop culture, and Frank wanted to try to stay ahead of the curve. After his marriage to Mia Farrow ended in trainwreck fashion, Frank was lost for a while—grabbing onto whatever he thought would keep him in the spotlight.

“There was a girl in Portland
Before the winter chill
We used to go a-courtin’
Along October hill
And she could laugh away the dark clouds
Cry away the snow
It seems like only yesterday
As down the road I go…”

In the spirit of “To thine own self be true,” Frank eventually returned to form and felt comfortable again in his own skin. But not before spending a bit of time as A Man Alone…