The Head of the Summit: How Sinatra’s Career Evolved in the 1960s
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“It’s Frank’s world, we just live in it.” ~ Dean Martin
It was the dawn of the “Swinging Sixties,” and Frank Sinatra was coming out of the 1950s with an Academy Award and several Gold and Platinum albums. When his 1960 album Nice N’ Easy stayed at the top of the Billboard charts for 86 weeks, there was no denying that the 45-year-old still held mass appeal. Though his recording career was strong, the singer began to feel restless at Capitol Records and realized that he would have to contemporize his persona to reach the younger audiences raving about Elvis Presley.
Ready to try something new, Sinatra formed his own record company and named it Reprise. Dedicated to modernizing his style and sound, he split with his arranger of seven years, Nelson Riddle, and worked with two up-and-coming arrangers and conductors, Quincy Jones and Don Costa. To build Reprise’s reputation and give major recording companies a run for their money, Sinatra persuaded friends Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bing Crosby, and his daughter Nancy to sign with the new label.
Despite recognizing the shift in popular music, Sinatra was unwilling to adopt the rock & roll style because he detested the fast tempo and constant body…
