RING-A-DING-DING: It’s Frank Sinatra’s Birthday, Baby!!!

(ABOVE: photo by Robert Wagner)

“Make It One For My Baby, 104 The Road…”

One hundred and four years ago today, Francis Albert Sinatra was born at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The rest is history.

We proudly burn a candle for Frank Sinatra here at hMAG, as we know there’s a Sinatra song for pretty much everything. In fact, we test that theory week after week after week, with our Fridays Are For Frank segment.

For Frank’s 100th birthday (2015), we had the honor of speaking with esteemed author Pete Hamill about Why Sinatra Still Matters.

Pete Hamill at Leo’s Grandevous – Craig Wallace Dale photo

Of course Frank had a troubled relationship with This Town. On the complex subject of Sinatra and Hoboken, we also spoke with author James Kaplan, whose tandem biographies on “Hoboken’s gift to the world”—Frank: The Voice and Sinatra: The Chairman (Random House)—are two of the most in-depth explorations of Frank’s life.

If you’re looking for ways to celebrate the “Skinny Kid from Hoboken,” there’s always the Sinatra Guided Walking Tour from the Hoboken Historical Museum. Two of our favorite stops are Piccolo’s or Leo’s.

Sinatra’s Room – Piccolo’s

Because we all know, “It’s Sinatra’s World, We Just Live in It”…

So let the birthday bells “Ring-a-Ding-Ding!”

This toe-tapper is the title track off Sinatra’s 1961 album—the first to be released by his Reprise label—which more or less set the tone for the Rat Pack era. The idea was “an album without ballads”, offering only uptempo swing numbers.

The song itself was written specifically for Sinatra by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. “Ring-a-Ding-Ding!” reached No. 4, and managed to maintain a 35-week stay on the charts.

Frank always did have staying power.

“May you live to be a hundred, and may the last voice you hear be mine.”

Cent’anni, Frank.

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