Rating: 
Summary: There will never be another...
Review: I only saw my hero, Frank Sinatra, perform once. It was at the end of his career - and his life. It was a strange evening; he was obviously at the end - he couldn't remember the words to his songs or read the teleprompter. Few people left however - the evening soon became about us - his fans - letting him know that we still loved him. "I LOVE YOU FRANK!" a huge, middle-aged, rough-looking man yelled out during a pause. Sinatra, taken aback by the violence of the outburst, chuckled and replied, "I love you too, pal." As Pete Hamill once pointed out, "Seeing Sinatra in ruins is like seeing the Coliseum in ruins - it's still magnificent."Why Sinatra Matters is a must-read for any Sinatra-phile. In the Overture, Hamill cites Sinatra's death as the impetus for writing this book. He saw all these young reporters from MTV and VH1 doing stories on Sinatra (obviously prepared in advance) telling the world Sinatra was important, without really understanding why. It certainly wasn't just because he did it "his way." This is a very short book. As Hamill points out it is not a "definitive biography" - although once he was in talks with Sinatra to write just that. It is, as the title plainly states, an explanation of why Sinatra matters - artistically and culturally - and why he always will. In terms of Culture, Hamill reminds the reader of a time when America felt it was morally obligated to persecute Italians - Sinatra helped change all that. Musically, the reasons are more complex. To put it succinctly, no one ever sounded like Sinatra before. The book is great because it also sheds light on Sinatra the man, who is often lost in the obscurity of his own public image. He was not just some gruff tough guy - a kind of idiot savant who could churn out a great recording in one take. He was a fiercely intelligent, well-read, well-cultured, self-educated man who worked hard at his craft. The most enjoyable parts of the book are the conversations Hamill recounts between himself and Sinatra. Most shocking of all - to me at least - was to imagine Sinatra using the F-word!
Rating:
Summary: There will never be another...
Review: I only saw my hero, Frank Sinatra, perform once. It was at the end of his career - and his life. It was a strange evening; he was obviously at the end - he couldn't remember the words to his songs or read the teleprompter. Few people left however - the evening soon became about us - his fans - letting him know that we still loved him. "I LOVE YOU FRANK!" a huge, middle-aged, rough-looking man yelled out during a pause. Sinatra, taken aback by the violence of the outburst, chuckled and replied, "I love you too, pal." As Pete Hamill once pointed out, "Seeing Sinatra in ruins is like seeing the Coliseum in ruins - it's still magnificent." Why Sinatra Matters is a must-read for any Sinatra-phile. In the Overture, Hamill cites Sinatra's death as the impetus for writing this book. He saw all these young reporters from MTV and VH1 doing stories on Sinatra (obviously prepared in advance) telling the world Sinatra was important, without really understanding why. It certainly wasn't just because he did it "his way." This is a very short book. As Hamill points out it is not a "definitive biography" - although once he was in talks with Sinatra to write just that. It is, as the title plainly states, an explanation of why Sinatra matters - artistically and culturally - and why he always will. In terms of Culture, Hamill reminds the reader of a time when America felt it was morally obligated to persecute Italians - Sinatra helped change all that. Musically, the reasons are more complex. To put it succinctly, no one ever sounded like Sinatra before. The book is great because it also sheds light on Sinatra the man, who is often lost in the obscurity of his own public image. He was not just some gruff tough guy - a kind of idiot savant who could churn out a great recording in one take. He was a fiercely intelligent, well-read, well-cultured, self-educated man who worked hard at his craft. The most enjoyable parts of the book are the conversations Hamill recounts between himself and Sinatra. Most shocking of all - to me at least - was to imagine Sinatra using the F-word!
Rating: 
Summary: A worthwhile read, but may stray a bit for casual fans
Review: I purchased this book fully knowing what the title proposes. We all know it's the music. I give it four stars because it's about FAS and written by someone who knew and liked him, although it strays a bit from what is a great premise. It's also quite honestly a classy *looking* little volume. The cover won me over as much as the title. Are there design awards for these things? It's been sitting on top of my collection of Sinatra books for a couple of months since I was savoring it, waiting for just the right time and mood to read it in one sitting. It's definately a book for the true fan to have (after I secured my own copy I got 2 others from friends who know my love for anything Frank). I ate up every quote from Frank in the book, and the author's accounts of personal meetings with the man. It seemed to me the author showed us this could have been a much more detailed and thorough biography in the making. At times I felt I could have been in the middle of the most comprehensive account of the singers life and history of the 20th century, and not just reading an essay about why he matters. I was not turned off by this. I just got a good reading on his "times" that I enjoyed but wasn't counting on it. What is in here about Frank is important enough to read whatever some people may think is not relavant. Frank is important enough to music and this country to write about anything connected to him. It is a good read, written and packaged with class by a good writter who knows his subject. Incidently, Hamill is the type of guy that the Sinatra children should seek out next time they need a good contributor to balance out any new cd releases liner notes. I cringed when I saw the intro on the '57 In Concert cd by Kelsy Gramer. Those of you who have it know what I mean. *Any* work put out there about Frank deserves class...
Rating:
Summary: "It's a quarter to three and there' s no one in the place...
Review: I've read several books on Sinatra;But this one is really different.Hamill is an excellent writer and shows us why Sinatra matters;this was not done in other books.He has also shown what made Sinatra so popular,what influenced the changes in his audiences and without coming right out and saying so;why there won't nor can't ever be another one like him.He also reveals the art form that Sinatra perfected in his voice.
As great as Sinatra's music was;it was Sinatra as a man,and all that he represented, as well as the use of the microphone like a painter uses a brush;that made him so great.
Read this book;it will give you a deeper appreciation of Sinatra.
Rating:
Summary: The man who owned loneliness
Review: It is enough to say "Sinatra," any literate American knows that means only Frank Sinatra -- the singer, draft-dodger, actor, bully, womanizer, Mafia star, founder of the old Hollywood Rat Pack and the Chairman of the Bored. In this loving portrait, Hamill explains Sinatra as an American icon. In so doing, he explains a lot about the values of the United States; this isn't a country where you become an "American" by getting off the boat or, in today's terms, wading across a river. Several factors are involved; starting with basic talent, then a single-minded ability to work hard, plus an instinct for self-publicity, and finally that most American of all characteristics -- redemption, the ability to rise above defeat and start over. Sinatra is the only major star of the 1940's who remained popular into the 1980's and whose music has rarely been matched. The entertainment world has a voracious appetite for fresh young talent; for most, the formula for lasting success was nicely summed up in the 1949 film 'Knock on Any Door' when Johnny Romano says, "Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse." Sinatra tried and failed to get the part of Romano in the film, it went to John Derek. John who? Sinatra matters because he represents the American faith in redemption. He became the top vocalist in the early 1940's, was washed up by the end of the decade; then worked his way back to respectability and a roller coaster career. His story is as current as the year 2000, and Hamill's version of it will remain popular for years to come. It's the story of pride; in Sinatra's youth, the Italians were regarded with less favor than illegal Mexican immigrants today. Rosemary Clooney had a hit with "C'mon-a my house," which embarrassed Sinatra and made many Italians wince; Sinatra mastered the delicate intricacies of English pronunciation which enabled him to add subtle yet commanding enhancements. He wasn't simply a crooner, there were hundreds of those when he began his career in the late 1930's. He worked exceedingly hard to create a sound and mood that still defines the loneliness of a long empty night. Hamill brings out the character of Sinatra that made him a success. He ignores his dark alter ego, the "evil twin" that contributed nothing to the legend. This isn't a biography, although it covers much of Sinatra's life; the focus is on his success, then his redemption. For that reason, it's a better book than most biographies; instead of dates and places, Hamill explains what made Sinatra so popular. How else do you explain a kid who was a high school dropout, but who recorded hundreds of songs that had more impact than any diploma? It's why he was finally awarded an honorary doctorate from a college; success wasn't in following the old rules, it was a triumph over the odds. After reading "Why Sinatra Matters," it's easy to understand the success and intense hatred generated by two modern politicians -- Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Like Sinatra, both men were "born again" in terms of reviving their careers. Nixon came back as the "New Nixon" in 1968; and, in 1992, Hillary saved Bill's political career by going before the nation to forgive his amorous past. "Most Americans love stories of redemption, of course, but men identify more often with the tale of the hero, the man who comes back wearing the scars of battle, harder and wiser than when he left," Hamill writes. That sums up Sinatra's career; and, in some ways, the redemption of Nixon and Clinton. Both politicians reverted to their old ways, a failing Americans cannot forgive. Sinatra was an honored guest at Nixon's second inaugural. After Watergate, he said of Nixon, "You think some people are smart, and they turn out dumb. You think they're straight, they turn out crooked." I shudder to think would he would have said about Clinton. It nicely sums up Sinatra. In understanding him, you learn a lot about America.
Rating:
Summary: MUSIC LOVERS WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK
Review: Many books have been written about the legendary singer. This is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: MUSIC LOVERS WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK
Review: Many books have been written about the legendary singer. This is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: One More For The Road.....
Review: Pete Hamill hits the nail right on the head with this Sinatra book. No it's not a spicy, gossipy tellall - it a truthful essay on a man that has created music that the world marks time by. Sinatra Matters, made me think of the days from my childhood when the whole family would be sitting around a Christmas tree and instead of listening to Christmas music we were listening to Sinatra and maybe a Sinatra Christmas album would makes its way onto the turntable, but it was Sinatra all the way.
Rating:
Summary: One More For The Road.....
Review: Pete Hamill hits the nail right on the head with this Sinatra book. No it's not a spicy, gossipy tellall - it a truthful essay on a man that has created music that the world marks time by. Sinatra Matters, made me think of the days from my childhood when the whole family would be sitting around a Christmas tree and instead of listening to Christmas music we were listening to Sinatra and maybe a Sinatra Christmas album would makes its way onto the turntable, but it was Sinatra all the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Why Sinatra Matters is a fine book.
Review: Pete Hamill is a fine reporter who knew Frank Sinatra as a friend. Sinatra was an enigmatic, charismatic and complex singer of the American soul. Perhaps no singer in 20th century America popular song could get inside a lyric and make it his own like the great "ole blue eyes."
Hamill's opening chapter in which we sit beside Sinatra and his cronies in a Brooklyn bar in 1970 is like something out of Hemingway in its description of a man, era and city.
Hamill points out that it was Sinatra in music, Laguardia in politics and Joe Dimaggio in sports who raised the immigrant Italian ethnic group to greatness in insular, xenophobic America of the 1940s.
Sinatrta could be obnoxious and cruel but he could also be
generous and kind,
This book reminds me of the Penguin Lives series as it is a good starting place for anyone who wants to learn more about Sinatra, his women, his era and most importantly his music. The music will live forever in the American soul.
Sinatra did it his way and Hamill does a fine job of writing in this interesting little book. A good read to take on vacation or a long flight. I recommend it.
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