When Frank Sinatra launched Reprise Records in 1961 with Ring-a-Ding Ding!, the greats of the jazz world came to the future Chairman of the Board. Johnny Mandel arranged that volcanic first offering, and Sinatra’s next concept albums teamed the singer’s singer with a top flight of talents, past and present: Billy May, Sy Oliver, Don Costa, Gordon Jenkins, Robert Farnon and a trumpeter, arranger and composer named Neal Hefti. That last-named gent would figure prominently in a 1963 collaboration
Sinatra on Screen: Rare Dramatic Scores By Bernstein and Antheil Arrive From Kritzerland
When Frank Sinatra won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for 1953’s From Here to Eternity, it was the “comeback” story of the year. As Sinatra was earning plaudits in Hollywood, he was also beginning the most significant chapter of his recording career at Capitol Records, recording his Capitol debut Songs for Young Lovers in November 1953. After his triumph as Maggio in From Here, Sinatra’s Hollywood career was riding high, as he embarked on a number of high-profile dramatic films.
Review: Frank Sinatra, "Ring-a-Ding Ding!: Expanded Edition"
Ring-a-ding ding! It can be used as an adjective or an interjection. But when Frank Sinatra chose the expression to title his very first album for his very own label, it was simply an ecstatic expression of pure joy. Sinatra was no longer tethered to Capitol Records, the label at which he'd made history with a series of "concept" albums. He had the freedom to make some new history, his way, when he launched Reprise. And Ring-a-Ding Ding!, now reissued and remastered for its 50th anniversary
Ring-a-Ding Ding! 1961 Sinatra Debut For Reprise Is Remastered and Expanded
Shortly before Christmas 1960, Frank Sinatra entered the studio to record the tracks that would yield Ring-A-Ding Ding!, his inaugural release on the record label he founded, Reprise. As the company’s slogan went, Reprise albums were meant “to play and play again,” and boy, did Sinatra live up to his word! Ring-A-Ding Ding! is still one of the singer’s most beloved albums some fifty years after its March 1961 release, and Concord Records is marking the occasion on June 7 with a remastered
Shout! Factory Takes Frank Sinatra Fans "Around the World"
Shout! Factory and Frank Sinatra Enterprises delivered a remarkable treat last November with the release of the 7-DVD Frank Sinatra: Concert Collection. This expansive box set restored to catalogue the splendid series of television specials starring the one and only Chairman of the Board, in which he celebrated his musical legacy. Sinatra welcomed a diverse roster of guests including Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Tony Bennett, Loretta Lynn, The 5th Dimension and his daughter
Ain't That a Kick in the Head? Rat Pack Comp to Feature Unreleased Sinatra Track
The three core members of the superstar collective known as "The Rat Pack" - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. - have had their share of catalogue reissues and box sets, more than all the riches in Las Vegas. But together, there have only been a few compilations, thanks to the necessary wrangling between labels (Sinatra's Rat Pack era material was captured between Capitol and his own Reprise label; both of which saw releases from Martin and Davis). The last such release was
New Sinatra Box Coming from the U.K.
Another massive box set coming toward collectors from the U.K.: a set compiling all of Frank Sinatra's albums for his own Reprise Records label. Half a century after Sinatra founded it himself, The Reprise Years collates mini-paper sleeve replicas of all of Sinatra's standard albums from 1961's Ring-a-Ding Ding! to 1984's L.A. is My Lady and adds a deluxe booklet and DVD of Sinatra's A Man and His Music television specials from 1965 to 1967. Most of this material has been released before;
Review: Frank Sinatra, "September of My Years"
Frank Sinatra was always one to face the world head-on. So it was with his turning 50. The man who had pioneered the “concept album” with a string of themed records for Capitol began thinking of an LP that would allow him to plant his feet squarely in the present, 1965, and reflect with every ounce of experience he’d acquired in the many lives he’d led over a mere 50 years. The album that would become September of My Years began its life inspired by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson’s “September
News Round-Up: Sinatra TV Specials Boxed, Handmade Does Comedy
Rhino Handmade has revealed the latest addition to its catalogue, and it's an unexpected one. The State began its MTV run in 1993, and ran for three seasons, showcasing its young ensemble in edgy sketch comedy. The troupe spent January 1996 recording an album for Warner Bros. Records, but it was ultimately shelved. That album, Comedy for Gracious Living, gets its first-ever release on September 20 from the busy Handmade folks. Cast members are recognizable from their work in Wet Hot American
July 4th Special Review: Frank Sinatra, "America, I Hear You Singing"
“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,” Walt Whitman famously wrote in 1900. In early 1964, the country was still recovering from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and as in so many times of turmoil, artists stepped up to raise their voices in song and perhaps lend comfort and assurance. One such artist was Frank Sinatra. While his many other loves have been well-documented, love of country surely ranked high among them. A lifelong civil rights champion and proud
Review: Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Sinatra/Jobim: The Complete Reprise Recordings"
"Tall and tan and young and handsome..." Those lyrics to Antonio Carlos Jobim's "The Boy from Ipanema" kicked off a bossa nova boom that saw virtually every noteworthy vocalist and jazz musician of the 1960s recording in the mellow Brazilian style. Frank Sinatra, though, was hardly one to follow a trend for hipness' sake. By 1967, the label he founded, Reprise, was turning its sights to Laurel Canyon and Haight-Ashbury, and the bossa craze was on the wane. Sinatra would, as always, record on his
In Memoriam: Quincy Jones (1933-2024)
Quincy Delight Jones was just 14 years old when he introduced himself to Ray Charles. Though the pianist-singer was just two years older, he was already an inspiration to the younger musician. Charles had the gift of synthesizing the various strains of music - jazz, folk, country, pop, soul, rhythm and blues, and gospel, among them - into a sound both wholly new and wholly American. Jones was struck by how Charles overcame adversity, and their shared ethos became one which shaped young
In Memoriam: Jack Jones (1938-2024)
Music was Jack Jones' birthright. The singer's singer - best-known for "Wives and Lovers," "Lollipops and Roses," "The Race Is On," and, yes, the theme to The Love Boat - was born to actors Allan Jones and Irene Hervey in 1938 and grew up in the world of show business, eventually reaching its heights himself. Jones has died at 86 after a battle with leukemia, and while his passing closes another chapter of The Great American Songbook, his extraordinary body of work will continue to
Release Round-Up: Week of October 25
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Blue Magic, Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings (SoulMusic/The Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Let the sideshow begin! SoulMusic Records and TSD are proud to unveil a new 6-CD box set dedicated to the sweet 'n funky soul stylings of Philly quintet Blue Magic ("Sideshow," "Three Ring
Release Round-Up: Week of September 6
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Neil Young, Archives Vol. III (1976-1987) (NYA/Reprise) 17CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 17CD/5BD Deluxe Set: Official Store This week's biggest release is the long-awaited third volume of Neil Young's long-running Archives series. Archives Vol. III (1976-1987), spans in its deluxe form a whopping 17 CDs and
In Memoriam: Peter Marshall (1926-2024)
Peter Marshall celebrated the new millennium with the release of his album Boy Singer. The album was the first full-length recording in over thirty years from the longtime Master of The Hollywood Squares, but not the last. Over the course of an extraordinary career spanning nine decades, Marshall made his mark in every arena of show business. Peter passed away yesterday at the age of 98, epitomizing a long life, well-lived. TV buffs, of course, remember Peter's multiple Emmy Award-winning
Release Round-Up: Week of August 9
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Also, don't miss out on today's eclectic slate of releases from Real Gone Music; click here to find out what's new from Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Firehouse, Azar Lawrence, Charlie Nothing, and 3 Inches of Blood! Elvis Presley, Memphis (RCA/Legacy) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon
The Weekend Stream: July 20, 2024
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week's got a new single by a comedy icon, some more Duran Duran EPs, a recent Paul McCartney 7" making its way to streaming and so much more. "Weird Al" Yankovic, Polkamania! (Way Moby) (iTunes / Amazon) Ten summers ago, pop's parody king released his 13th (and likely final) album Mandatory Fun, and even got a No. 1 debut on
Release Round-Up: Week of July 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Mungo Jerry, Electronically Tested: Expanded Edition (7a Records) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mungo Jerry's eclectic 1971 album Electronically Tested, featuring the global hit "In the Summertime," returns in a newly remastered and expanded edition from our friends
Release Round-Up: Week of June 14
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. David Bowie, Rock 'n' Roll Star (Parlophone/Rhino) 5CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 5CD/1Blu-ray collection from the late David Bowie follows 2019's Conversation Piece (which shed light on the 1968-1969 David Bowie/Space Oddity era) and 2022's Divine
At Last: "Dreams Do Come True: George Benson Meets Robert Farnon" Arrives in June
Earlier this year, George Benson announced his return to Warner Music Group, bringing him back to the home of such classic albums as the multi-platinum Breezin' and platinum In Flight and Give Me the Night. On June 14, the superstar guitarist-singer will debut a previously unreleased album from 1989 in CD, vinyl, and digital formats. Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon paired Benson with the Canadian composer-conductor-arranger whose most famous clients include Frank
The Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2024: Our Essential Picks
Tomorrow, Record Store Day is once again upon us! It's that time of year where music lovers and vinyl flippers get together at their favorite physical music retailers and wait in line to snag some treasured albums - almost all of which are pressed on vinyl instead of CD (or, you know, sold on secondary marketplaces for above their retail value). This year, the list tops out at over 350 titles, so there's very nearly something for everybody. It wasn't easy to narrow our choices down to around
Release Round-Up: Week of April 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. With Record Store Day events taking place tomorrow, this is one of the biggest weeks in recent memory - so if you hit up your local indie store tomorrow, remember: there's plenty of non-exclusive releases to check out, too. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. TSD also mourns the passing of Dickey Betts, 80. As a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of The
Lark Day: Lainie Kazan's 1966-1968 MGM Albums Arrive on Digital Platforms
Here at TSD HQ, we're so excited that the legendary Lainie Kazan's four original MGM Records studio albums have been made available for the first time in almost 60 years that we just couldn't wait for The Weekend Stream! While Lainie may be best known today for her roles in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding film series, My Favorite Year, or television's The Nanny, this quartet of albums from 1966-1968 showcases the stage and screen veteran's indelible artistry as one of popular music's most
Release Round-Up: Week of March 15
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Paul Young, No Parlez: 40th Anniversary Edition (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Edsel revisits Paul Young's 1983 debut LP in a 2CD deluxe gatefold edition. The first disc features the original LP while the second disc has 14 bonus cuts including 7- and 12-inch single versions and remixes. Barbara
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