There’s no doubt that Frank Sinatra is a man who’s familiar in the minds of everyone. Whether you’re a fan, or you’ve just heard his rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” every Christmas, Sinatra dominated the music industry without question throughout the 1940s-50s and even into the ’60s. 

Sinatra was never someone I would have found myself listening to until recently when I bought a CD with some of his essentials that I decided to sit down and listen to a few of the songs on the track. 

While listening, I realized just why Sinatra became such an essential figure within the music industry. There’s always a certain signature to each of his songs. No matter how different they are, they all remind me of the older animated movies or cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid. 

His songs are no doubt very set in their time, but there is a very specific nostalgia that comes with how the trumpets ring in the background, or the familiar twinkle that chimes behind his vocals that can only remind you of a snowy winter day back in the ’50s. 

“My Way” is a song that caught my eye in particular for many different reasons, but the main one is that it had a very different feeling from any of the others I had listened to. Sinatra songs usually fell between soft, lighthearted jazz that you could gently bob your head to, but “My Way” sang a very different tune, and one that resonated deeply. 

Like most of his other songs, it starts with a slower, more melodic melody with faint strums that resonate in the background. As the song goes on, it takes a rather sharp turn. A beautiful orchestra begins to open up in the background as Sinatra begins reminiscing over his life.

As he progresses, he soon begins bellowing the lyrics instead of softly singing them. Along with this, the orchestra begins to grow louder and louder as Sinatra shouts, but only to die back down to the previous “put-down” pace. 

This slower pace does not last long at all, as it is quickly interrupted by the same quickly paced, and rapidly growing melody that was now accompanied by loud trumpets and drums in the back to emphasize whatever words Sinatra is pelting at the audience. In the most beautiful comedown, we are slowly floated out of this intense emotional river with a soothing orchestra and light harp strums that give a perfect resolution to this intense and heartfelt song. 

Francis Albert Sinatra, who more commonly went by the name Frank, started from humble beginnings. Being born to Italian immigrants, Sinatra began his music career during the swing era and was strongly influenced by bigshot artists such as Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. 

Shortly after this, Sinatra created his record label in 1960 and later went on to release many successful albums, along with growing a career as a successful actor. He continued to grow influential over the years, and even won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in “The Man with the Golden Arm” in 1955.

Sinatra’s song “My Way” could not have been a better send-off for the musicians’ “show days” and was performed in the highest style Sinatra could deliver. If you ever feel down or need a song that will lighten your mood, do not hesitate to give Sinatra’s “My Way” a listen.