REMEMBERING THE SKINNY KID FROM HOBOKEN

It's 10 years since we lost America's Voice, the great Frank Sinatra. The son of Italian immigrants, he rose to fame as the quintessentially American singer. He came of age and into great fame at the same time as another son of Italian immigrants, Joe DiMaggio, was defining the American baseball player. Both men were born and died within a year of one another and both left their mark on America like few before or since. Frank Sinatra was a skinny kid out of Hoboken, New Jersey who dropped out of high school at 15 to become a singer.

Starting with a group called The Hoboken Four, then becoming the featured singer in the Harry James Band, then The Tommy Dorsey Band, Sinatra moved on to become a solo artist and In the process recorded the sound track to American life in the 20th Century, doing what he did better than anybody. Not since the songwriter Steven Foster defined the 1800's with his songs had any one musical artist so fully represented the American ethos of his day. He sang his music his way, heedless of the trends that came and went. He did what he did, sang standards in way that brought a song to life and made it a personal message from him to his audience. What he had was far more than a great voice and exacting professionalism. It was a way with a song, an ability to get inside the lyric and the melody in a profound way.

Frank Sinatra was a songwriter's dream, a man who could wring the most out of their songs, bringing something fresh and important to the work while at the same time rendering it faithfully. It was his phrasing, his timing, his superb musicianship and his raw and intimate personal honesty that informed every important recording he made, and he made a ton of them. It's no easier to pick a favorite Sinatra song than it is to pick a favorite Beatles' song or the best home run hit by Joe Dimaggio. His breathtaking body of work not only spoke of a long career but also a lifetime commitment to a standard of passion and excellence. Sinatra also had a deep reverence for the American songbook and showcased the work of our finest songwriters.

Like many singers, Sinatra also had an acting career, even winning an Oscar for his part in "From Here To Eternity." Good singers are natural actors, long accustomed to invoking the emotions and the story of the songs they sing. Every song is piece of drama where the audience must be thoroughly convinced. And like his singing, Sinatra made acting look easy. Neither singing nor acting are easy, no matter how much talent a performer has. A great deal of study, hard work and craftsmanship goes into appearing natural, and possession of a certain indefinable feel for one's chosen art. The best performers appear to make their art look like second nature, like Joe Dimaggio on a baseball diamond or Frank Sinatra behind a microphone, all grace and ease and making the astounding look effortless.

So, ten years gone and Frank Sinatra is still very important, still relevant and his work will never get old. Few Americans go through a single day without hearing at least a bit of his music. Other singers of standards, his peers and his successors still regard him as the best who ever lived and still learn from the master. Sometimes when listening to one of his songs you've heard a hundred times you find something new, something more, something deeper that you never noticed before. No discussion of popular American culture is complete without Frank Sinatra. What he gave us was more than his talent, it was a mirror held up to America and showing us who we are, how deeply we love and how strongly we feel our shared emotions. Here's to you, Mr. Blue Eyes. Thank you.