How Frank Sinatra Became “The Sultan of Swoon”
In the 1940s, Sinatra’s stardom catapulted and changed American culture forever.
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“It was incredible. It was like a mass hypnosis.” ~ Frank Sinatra Recalling His 1944 Performance at New York’s Paramount Theater
In 1940, a 24-year-old Frank Sinatra was traveling across the country with the Tommy Dorsey Band, considered the second most popular band in America (behind the Glenn Miller Orchestra) and releasing hit after hit. During that first year with Dorsey, he recorded 40 songs, among them “Imagination” and “I’ll Never Smile Again” with Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers. Sinatra idolized Dorsey and would imitate his breathing techniques as he played the trombone. When his first daughter, Nancy Sandra, was born in June of 1940, Dorsey was asked to be her godfather.
With his wife Nancy and their baby daughter tucked away near family in Jersey City, Sinatra set out to conquer the masses. In 1941, his fame ascended; fans no longer came to see the Tommy Dorsey Band, they came for Sinatra. The women especially were drawn to the thin Italian American who made them swoon with his sensual voice. Sinatra was in heaven with this love and adoration, but Dorsey was mystified by the sensation…
