August 14, 1965: Frank Sinatra Releases "September of My Years"

August 14, 1965: Frank Sinatra releases his album September of My Years. The title seemed appropriate, as he was turning 50 on December 12 of that year.

Recorded on April 13 and 14 in Los Angeles, the Chairman of the Board was still popular with the people who grew up in the Great Depression and World War II. And he was still selling records in the Rock and Roll Era. But with The Beatles ruling the charts, and Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and the various acts of Motown Records gaining the headlines, it seemed as though time had passed him by.

Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, two of his favorite songwriters, had contributed the title track and "It Gets Lonely Early." Gordon Jenkins, who arranged this and other Sinatra albums, wrote "How Old Am I?" and "This Is All I Ask." Another pair of songwriting legends, Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, brought "Last Night When We Were Young."

There were two songs that Sinatra had previously recorded, but seemed to take on new meaning: He had done "Hello, Young Lovers" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein and "September Song" by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, both in 1951, when he was 35 -- more on that in a moment. Now, at 49, the latter song was especially appropriate, since it dovetailed with the idea of the title track.

He recorded Sunny Skylar's "Don't Wait Too Long," Bart Howard's "The Man in the Looking Glass," Don Hunt and Henry Stinson's "When the Wind Was Green," Alec Wilder and William Engvick's "I See It Now," and Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' "Once Upon a Time."

But what would become the album's signature song was "It Was a Very Good Year," by Ervin Drake. Drake had also written "Good Morning Heartache," a hit for Billie Holiday, and "I Believe," a Number 1 hit for Frankie Laine, also known for a doo-wop version by The Earls.

Drake had written "It Was a Very Good Year" in 1961, for Bob Shane, who was doing a solo album after leaving The Kingston Trio. Early in 1965, Sinatra heard it on the radio while driving home from Las Vegas to Palm Springs. He immediately looked for a payphone, found one, called Jenkins, and told him he wanted to record it with lots of strings and an oboe solo.

There are 4 verses. In the 1st, the singer recalls being 17 years old. In the 2nd, 21. In the 3rd, 35. Each, he concludes, "was a very good year," with a different kind of "girl," who was right for that specific time in his life.

But when Sinatra sang the song, he was lying. Or, at least, acting:

* He was 17 for most of 1933, and it was the Great Depression. He had dropped out of what's now named Hoboken High School, and took any job he could get, including the occasional singing gig.

* He was 21 for most of 1937, and was singing with a group called The Hoboken Four, and they never got anywhere, either with or without him. It would take until 1940, and his signing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, for him to make it big; and 1944, the start of his solo career, for him to make it huge.

* He was 35 for most of 1951, and that may have been the worst year of his life: His 1st marriage, to Nancy Barbato, had fallen apart; his affair with, and then marriage to, actress Ava Gardner, generated bad publicity and heated arguments between them; and the stress caused him to temporarily lose his voice and lots of bookings. He had fallen from one of the biggest stars in the world to an afterthought, seemingly washed-up.

He even found disappointment at the ballpark that year: A fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he went to the Playoff game between the Dodgers and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, with actor Jackie Gleason, a Brooklyn native and also a Dodger fan. When Bobby Thomson hit the home run to give the Giants the Pennant, not only had their Dodgers lost, but Gleason threw up all over Sinatra's shoes.

The next year, Sinatra filmed From Here to Eternity, and his comeback as both an actor and a singer was on. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The 4th verse begins, "But now, the days are short. I'm in the Autumn of the year." And the singer compares his life to wine, closing by saying of his life, "It was a very good year."

This was a song in which people of all ages could find something to relate to. People who were 17, and likely to be Beatles fans, could understand. People who were 21, and listening to Dylan and other "protest singers," could understand. People who were in their early-to-mid-30s, and had been fans of Elvis Presley and the other 1st-generation rock-and-rollers, could understand. And people older than that, who could feel September coming on, or were in it, or even older than that, could understand. With this song, and with the entire album, Sinatra had won over every generation.

And while he hadn't been doing badly in the Sixties thus far, his career took off again. Later in 1965, he re-recorded many of his old songs, for an album titled Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and taped a TV special with the same title for NBC. It aired on November 24, the night before Thanksgiving.

Calendar year 1966 would see the Number 1 hit "Strangers in the Night" and the Top 10 hit "That's Life," which -- taking out my bias toward the New York Yankees, and thus toward "Theme from New York, New York" -- is my favorite Sinatra song. The year would also see his daughter Nancy become a star, with "her own brand," with the Number 1 hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." In 1967, father and daughter would duet on "Somethin' Stupid," and hit Number 1. They remain the only parent and child combination on a single recording to hit Number 1.

Paul Anka wrote "My Way" for him, and it was a hit in 1969. That year, he sang at the Royal Albert Hall in London, introduced by his former film co-star, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. She asked the audience, "How many of us have a favorite Sinatra song? And, for how many of us is it a different song?"

Then, Sinatra retired. But, like so many performers in his favorite sport, boxing, he couldn't stay retired. In 1973, he released the album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. He kept going until 1995, when his health gave out. He reached his New Year's Eve in 1998.

*

August 14, 1965 was a Saturday. Brannon Braga, a producer for the Star Trek franchise from the 1990s onward, was born on this day. Perhaps that's why, for Deep Space Nine, he created the 1962 Las Vegas fantasy for the Holodeck. Allegedly, Frank Sinatra Jr. was asked to play lounge singer Vic Fontaine, but he didn't want to do it, especially given that his father was still alive. The role went to another Italian-American singer of Frank Jr.'s generation, James Darren.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Athletics, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. The A's led 2-1 going to the bottom of the 9th, but Hector Lopez singled home the tying and winning runs, making Pedro Ramos the winning pitcher in relief of Whitey Ford. Roger Repoz hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3, although he did draw a walk.

Ford, like Sinatra, was nicknamed "The Chairman of the Board." Part of it was his control, but the nickname also rhymed with his name. He loved the nickname, because he loved Sinatra. So did Yankee shortstop-turned-broadcaster Phil Rizzuto. Joe DiMaggio and Sinatra, the 2 most famous Italian-Americans of all time, had been good friends, but Joe cut Frank out of his life after Frank made a move on Joe's ex-wife, actress Marilyn Monroe. They never reconciled. Mantle preferred country music to Sinatra.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. The winning run scored in the top of the 10th inning, when Ron Hunt grounded back to Astro pitcher Danny Coombs, who threw the ball away, allowing Chuck Hiller to score. Galen Cisco (6 innings) and Darrell Sutherland (4) held the Astros to 4 hits over 10 innings. It was Sutherland's 1st major league win. There would be only 4 more, the last at age 26.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Joe Cunningham won it for the Senators with a 3-run home run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Gene Oliver hit 2 home runs for the Braves. Hank Aaron didn't homer, but he did go 2-for-5 with an RBI. Ernie Banks went 4-for-5, but no RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. For the Reds, Frank Robinson went 0-for-4, and Pete Rose went 1-for-4. For the Cards, Lou Brock went 0-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax went the distance, a 10-inning, 5-hit, no-walk, 12-strikeout shutout. Don Cardwell was the hard-luck losing pitcher. Roberto Clemente not only went 0-for-4, but made a rare error, mishandling Jim Gilliam's line drive that brought Koufax himself, who had walked, home with the winning run.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the the San Francisco Giants, 4-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Bunning outpitched Juan Marichal. Willie Mays went 0-for-3.