Customer Reviews

Frank Sinatra: The Family Album

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No doubt, Frank is the #1 singer-actor performer ever. When someone tells me Elvis fits this category, I can not really respond with a stright face. Anyway, this is another in the non-stop Frank factory of book productions, and is good for a few reasons that may not be in others. Mainly, there are comments and photos by many of Frank's arrangers, instrumentalists, and songwriters; all people sometimes nearly forgotten when we remember the monumental Frank ouevre. Here we have Axel Stordahl, N. Riddle, Billy May, Al Viola, Bill Miller, and others along with the standard family and big name entertainers noted in a lot of Frank bios. I was hoping there might be photos and comments going to the very end, but this was not to be. Still, we see Frank as a baby all thr way thru about his 80th year. All which makes for another interesting look at history's #1 live entertainer and recording artist..By the way, there is a similar Elvis book for all you Elvis fans out there!

Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe

Designed in the form of a family photo album, this elegant book brings back the magic of Sinatra-as his family and friends knew him. Pignone has gleaned photos from many sources, starting from Sinatra's babyhood through his growing-up years, his marriage and children, his beginning show business years and right through the rest of his life.

There is a wonderful introduction by his granddaughter, Amanda Erlinger, and a dedication by Nancy Sinatra, Jr. to Al Viola that is very enlightening.

Pignone is also the author of The Sinatra Treasures and is the official archivist for the Sinatra family. He organizes and maintains the huge collection of photographs and memorabilia from Sinatra's life, and he has put together a treasury from this vast store so that we can all enjoy the wealth.

The many color and black and white photos are accompanied by unique, firsthand stories from Frank's life, told by family, friends, and coworkers. As a lifelong fan of Frank Sinatra, I loved seeing him on the movie sets, vacationing with his family, and on the stage during his many performances, and the photos of him with other showbiz and national personalities.

I will treasure this photo album right along with my own family albums and it has a place of honor on my shelf.

Armchair Interviews says: A great book for Sinatra fans.

Excellent book by Charles Pignone, noted Sinatraphile. Charles does a fabulous job in putting together this great family albulm of great photos and remarks, this is a must have book for all Sinatra fans and collectors.
Frank Sinatra is and will always be the greatest singer in the world and this book shows you a little bit of how he got there over the years in pictures. Awesome.

As a Frank Sinatra fan and collector since about 42 years, I highly recommend that book. It's a superb release including many photos never published previously, a must for fans and collectors.
Just one remark, the photo on page 72 was not taken in Mexico City 1961 but on French Riviera in 1958 (which is without consequence on the quality of the book)

He's one of the true icons of the entertainment industry as well as one of the most renowned stars ever. Ol' Blue Eyes...Frank Sinatra. His name is still synonymous with stardom. Sinatra is one of those stars who will never fade away. It's not just that he left an enormous body of work in music, film, and television when he passed away, lots of stars did that. But Sinatra has something only a handful of celebrities had, true charisma and a certain aura to him. It's what separates Sinatra and others like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis, from the pack.

With Christmas fast approaching, Little Brown & Co., has released a book that is sure to be a hit this holiday season. Frank Sinatra: The Family Album is a glimpse into the personal life of this legendary performer. As the title implies, this book is photo album of Sinatra's life. His family has graciously supplied most of the photos in the book, a gift to his legions of fans. The book contains over 100 color and black & white photos, tracing his life and career every step of the way. Writer Charles Pignone provides the informative captions as well lively anecdotes that include comments from Sinatra himself as well as various friends and family members, all sharing their memories of Frank.

What must assuredly be the most rare Sinatra picture shows as an infant, lying naked on a blanket, and even at that age, the eyes were already striking. We see Frank as a kid on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, riding his bike and also visiting the beach with friends along the Jersey shore. My only regret is that we didn't get to see Frank more as a child and the album quickly moves into young adulthood with his marriage to Nancy in 1939. The happy couple are shown walking down the steps of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Jersey City. It's evident that Frank and Nancy were deeply in love as evidenced by the joyful photos. Nancy notes that in those early days they were together 24 hours a day as Frank traveled from show to show for his blossoming career. There's also lots of pictures of Frank and his children having many fun times together.

Much of the book is focused on Frank's careers from his days as a big band crooner and later with his film and television career. Frank is shown at lavish parties with a who's who of Hollywood including Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, and many more. Frank's life truly lived up to the type of a legendary star! Oddly though, there were no pictures of the Rat Pack together as one might have thought.

The book comes full circle as an older Sinatra becomes a Grandpa. Frank's status as a true family man is cemented as he plays with his granddaughters Angela and Amanda, building snowmen, sledding, and hanging out in the swimming pool. Amanda reveals that Frank was a big fan of the "Jeopardy" TV show. A star to the very end, this book presents a unique and personal look into the life of one of the 20th century's greatest stars. A fantastic tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

My dad is a big fan and already has lots of books so I was afraid this might not appreciated. But he loved it. He thought that it was a copy of photos in a real family album.

felt like i was there when the pics were taken like
a SINATRA family member

A very intimate portrait of Francis Albert, giving us a different perspective of his begginings through photos as provided by his family, creates a more human appreciation of the greatest pop singer of our generation. A must for Sinatra fans and collectors.

Being an avid Frank Sinatra fan, this book had some great pictures I have never seen. I recommend to any Sinatra fan.

As a huge Sinatra fan, I have several Sinatra books. Some of the pictures in this book I have seen before or have in other books. There are many pictures I haven't seen, including many family pictures; my only complaint is I wish there were more pictures...only 142 pages. I would have like to have seen more family pictures taken at the Sinatra compound in Rancho Mirage.

Also, there is a HUGE error found on Page 78. It shows a black and white picture with the caption "Frank took this photo of the Coliseum in Rome". First of all, the correct spelling is Colosseum, not Coliseum. But the big error is that the picture is NOT a picture of the Colosseum in Rome at all, but rather of the Roman Herodes Atticus Theatre that sits below the Acroplis in Athens, Greece. As a matter of fact, Mr. Sinatra gave a concert in that very theater in 1962 during his World Tour, benefitting children in several countries in which he performed. How the author and the editors of this book could make this mistake baffles me.