Sinatra: An Intimate Portrait of a Very Good Year [Hardcover]

Richard B. Stolley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2002

Frank Sinatra famously shunned the press, yet in 1964, at the height of his career, he gave Life photographer John Dominis unprecedented access to his personal and professional life. Dominis shadowed Sinatra across the country for three months, generating more than 4,000 images of Ol' Blue Eyes, but only a few were used for the Life cover story. Featuring 150 of the most revealing of those pictures, almost all unpublished, this book creates a deeply personal portrait of the man behind the icon. Startling in their intimacy, these mesmerizing photographs offer a compelling portrait of America's greatest popular singer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Frank Sinatra generally didn't grant photojournalists an opportunity to follow him around for an evening, let alone four months. But in 1965, at the height of Sinatra's career return, Life magazine's Dominis was given the chance to shadow Sinatra, and this series of portraits (many of which Life had never before released) offers a surprisingly candid, human look at the great entertainer. In his brief intro, Dominis explains how he eased his way into Sinatra's life: "For the first few days after we were introduced, I didn't even carry a camera. I wanted to play it real cool." He first began by asking permission to take pictures-never using a flash-until he became almost invisible. And, indeed, these photos are rare glimpses into Sinatra's personal life. One series shows a self-consciously balding Sinatra shaving, with his head wrapped in a turban (forceps scars clearly visible below his ears); another shows him thin in his briefs and white tube socks, lying on a massage table. Intense photos of Sinatra performing are interspersed with photos of him noshing on hot dogs with the likes of Tony Bennett, Jilly Rizzo and a cigarette girl. Dominis's photos depict a suave Sinatra brainstorming with Count Basie and Quincy Jones (Stolley writes that while Sinatra told racist jokes as part of his routine, "The singer deplores racism and will not allow the n-word to be used in his presence"). Though they are revealing, these photos further deepen Sinatra's mystique.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Frank Sinatra generally didn't grant photojournalists an opportunity to follow him around for an evening, let alone four months. But in 1965, at the height of Sinatra's career return, Life magazine's Dominis was given the chance to shadow Sinatra, and this series of portraits (many of which Life had never before released) offers a surprisingly candid, human look at the great entertainer. In his brief intro, Dominis explains how he eased his way into Sinatra's life: 'For the first few days after we were introduced, I didn't even carry a camera. I wanted to play it real cool.' He first began by asking permission to take pictures-never using a flash-until he became almost invisible. And, indeed, these photos are rare glimpses into Sinatra's personal life. One series shows a self-consciously balding Sinatra shaving, with his head wrapped in a turban (forceps scars clearly visible below his ears); another shows him thin in his briefs and white tube socks, lying on a massage table. Intense photos of Sinatra performing are interspersed with photos of him noshing on hot dogs with the likes of Tony Bennett, Jilly Rizzo and a cigarette girl. Dominis's photos depict a suave Sinatra brainstorming with Count Basie and Quincy Jones (Stolley writes that while Sinatra told racist jokes as part of his routine, The singer deplores racism and will not allow the n-word to be used in his presence ). Though they are revealing, these photos further deepen Sinatra s mystique. --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584792469
• ISBN-13: 978-1584792468
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,896,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Sinatra, Frank

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Known Facts About Mr. Sinatra ... Very Interesting!, January 18, 2005

By 

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sinatra: An Intimate Portrait of a Very Good Year (Hardcover)

Photographer, John Dominis and former editor of Life Magazine, Richard B. Stolley, collaborated and came out with this interesting book about the world's most famous and charismatic singer, the legendary Frank Sinatra. In 1965, it was a very good year for the "Golden Boy" when he turned 50 and gave Dominis full access to his professional as well as his personal life for Life Magazine's cover story. Thirty-seven years later, Dominis and Stolley came out with this 144-page hardcover, which consists of numerous black and white photos of Sinatra with other movie and music celebrities. These photos were taken from Life magazine's archives and never-before published. It also includes some notable articles and anecdotes about his famous and celebrated life.

There are a lot of little known facts about him revealed in this fabulous book. Sinatra as described by friends and co-artists was perfectionist, fearless, kinetic, generous, attentive to details and had an acutely sensitive ears. According to his friend and musical partner for more than four decades, pianist Bill Miller, "he would pick the tunes himself and position them on the albums." This is a perfect example of his being attentive to details. Another fact is a reference to his famous song "Fly Me To The Moon" (also sung on the movie "Wall Street") with Count Basie & His Orchestra that made history when it was beamed to the U.S. astronauts as they landed on the moon for the first time in 1969.

According to Stolley, despite Sinatra's flamboyant lifestyle, he used bathroom potions and powders right off the drugstore shelf. And he was one of the biggest tippers in the world. He was always loyal to friends and usually courteous to strangers. He was a 'party animal' and slept only five hours a night. He turned on music, read a while and finally falls asleep. He listened to music, mostly classical and never his own records. These are just some of the many interesting and little known facts about Sinatra indicated in this book. Dominis is a very good photographer and his black and white images are all stunning and eye-catching. Stolley did a great job on the captions and articles and made them reader-friendly.

For Sinatra buffs, it goes without saying that if you are interested in his music, you'd also be interested to know more about his life. And this book will give you more insights about him that you'll find to be noteworthy. Likewise, please check out "The Sinatra Treasures" and "Sinatra: An Intimate Collection" for more interesting must-reads.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SINATRA FANS THIS IS A MUST!, February 20, 2003

By 

Michael Brandmeier (Madison, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinatra: An Intimate Portrait of a Very Good Year (Hardcover)

I LOVE this book. It's a collectors item no doubt. Pics of Frank that you've never seen before. Classics with Frank and Jackie Gleason and Sammy Davis jr. Frank at his house, on the massage table, in private places never seen. You can tell he wasn't posing for these pics. All naturally which is why it is so unique. And the texts keeps you wanting to roll thru the book without putting it down. What a life he had! What a book this is!!

Michael Brandmeier

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinatra - King of Entertainment, November 23, 2004

By 

Domenic Vitanza (Cleveland,Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinatra: An Intimate Portrait of a Very Good Year (Hardcover)

Francis Albert Sinatra....what more needs to be said. His music will live on as long as their is men loving women and women loving men. This book is fabulous. I read it all in 1 day and reread it again. You will love this book if your a Sinatra fan like me.