Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (also known as Sings for Only the Lonely or simply Only the Lonely) is the fifteenth studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra. It was released on September 8, 1958, through Capitol Records.[2]
According to John Rockwell's book, Sinatra: An American Classic, when asked at a party in the mid-1970s if he had a favorite album among his recordings, without hesitation, Sinatra chose Only the Lonely.[4]
The album's front cover was painted by Nicholas Volpe, who won a Grammy Award for the painting.[5] The painting features Sinatra as a sullen, Pagliacci-like clown. Sketched on the album's back cover is one of Sinatra's recurrent visual motifs: a lamppost.
Background
Sinatra had planned to record the album with arranger Gordon Jenkins, with whom he had worked on Where Are You?. Since Jenkins was unavailable at the time, Sinatra chose to work with his frequent collaborator, Nelson Riddle. The three tracks conducted by Riddle at the would-be first session (May 5, 1958) were not used, and the subsequent May 29 session was conducted by Felix Slatkin,[6] uncredited, after Riddle went on a pre-arranged tour with Nat King Cole.[7][8]
At the time of the recording, Sinatra's divorce from Ava Gardner had been finalized, and Nelson Riddle (who wrote the album's arrangements) had recently suffered the deaths of his mother and daughter.[7] Of these events, Riddle remarked: "If I can attach events like that to music...perhaps Only the Lonely was the result."[7]
Mono and stereo version differences
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely was recorded during the time when mass-produced stereo musical recordings were just entering the marketplace. The album was Sinatra's third full-length album to be recorded in both mono and stereo versions, after Where Are You? and Come Fly with Me. According to audio engineer Steve Hoffman, who produced a number of reissues of Capitol Records albums originally recorded in the 1950s, Capitol was during this time continuing to record sessions in mono using their by-then standard microphone placement techniques (including the use of eight separate microphones on the orchestra), and making separate recordings of the session on a 3-track tape recorder using two or three microphones. This method of recording soon gave way to a method where the same set of microphones was used to record sessions to a single multi-track tape, which then served as the source for both mono and stereo mixes (for albums that were issued in both formats).
Capitol's 3-track session tapes (which used fewer microphones) were used as the source for the original stereo album release and for subsequent stereo reissues. Differences in the number of microphones and their proximity to the orchestra's instruments contributed to some of the differences in the sound of the mono and stereo versions. "[F]or me, the mono version kills the stereo mix," Hoffman wrote of the two versions of the album.[9]Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely was the final Sinatra Capitol album to be recorded using separate equipment for the mono and stereo versions.
The original mono album had 12 tracks, while the original stereo version had only 10 tracks. The original stereo version did not include "It’s a Lonesome Old Town" and "Spring is Here", though subsequent stereo reissues of the album used all 12 original tracks.
In 2000 it was voted number 125 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[11]Q placed Only the Lonely at No. 1 on the "15 Greatest Stoner Albums of All Time".[12] The album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard′s pop album chart during a 120-week chart-run, and was certified Gold on June 21, 1962, nearly four years after its release.[13] As noted by biographer Peter J. Levinson, "Nelson chose several instrumental soloists to communicate the essence of the music on the album. Harry Edison showed the somber side of his playing on 'Willow Weep for Me.' The late, great trombonist Ray Sims, the unsung soloist with Les Brown and Harry James and brother of jazz tenor saxophonist stalwart 'Zoot' Sims, delivered the finest recording work of his long career with a brace of meaningful solos. Bill Miller contributed several beautifully conceived piano solos."[8]
Pete Candoli (tpt); Tommy Pederson, Milt Bernhart (tbn); Ken Shroyer (b-tbn); Vincent DeRosa, James Decker, John Cave (fr-h); Arthur Gleghorn, Harry Klee (fl); Champ Webb, Arnold Koblentz (oboe); Mitchell Lurie, Mahlon Clark (cit); Charles Butler, Chuck Gentry (b-clt); Jack Marsh, Don Christlieb (bsn); Israel Baker, Paul Shure, Emo Neufeld, Victor Amo, Arnold Belnick, Marshall Sosson, Daniel Karpilowsky, Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Henry Hill, David Frisina, James Getzoff (vln); Stanley Harris, David Sterkin, Alvin Dinkin, Paul Robyn (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Armand Kaproff, Kurt Reher, James Arkatov (vie); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Al Viola (g); Mike Rubin, Joe Comfort (b); Frank Flynn, Bill Richmond (perc). Nelson Riddle (arr. all titles); Felix Statkin (cond).
Tommy Perderson, Milt Bernhart (tbn); Ken Shroyer (b-tbn); Vincent DeRosa, James Decker, John Cave (fr-h); Arthur Gleghorn, Harry Klee (fl); Champ Webb, Arnold Koblentz (oboe); Mitchell Lurie, Mahlon Clark (cit); Charles Butler, Chuck Gentry (b-clt); Jack Marsh, Don Christlieb (bsn); Israel Baker, Paul Shure, Emo Neufeld, Victor Amo, Arnold Belnick, Marshall Sosson, Daniel Karpilowsky, Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Henry Hill, David Frisina, James Getzoff (vln); Stanley Harris, David Sterkin, Alvin Dinkin, Paul Robyn (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Armand Kaproff, Kurt Reher, James Arkatov (vie); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller, Harry Sukman (p); Al Viola (g); Mike Rubin, Joe Comfort (b); Frank Flynn, Bill Richmond (perc); Dominic Frontiere (accordion [l]). Felix Slatkin, Nelson Riddle (arr); Felix Statkin (cond).
Cappy Lewis (tpt); Tommy Pederson, Russell Brown, Ray Sims (tbn); Juan Tizol (v-tbn); George Price, James Decker, Sinclair Lott (fr-h); Arthur Gleghorn, Harry Klee (fl); Champ Webb, Arnold Koblentz (oboe); Sal Franzella, Morris Bercov, Chuck Gentry (cit); Norman Herzberg, Don Christlieb (bsn); Felix Slatkin, Paul Shure, Emo Neufeld, Marshall Sosson, Victor Amo, Israel Baker, Gerald Vinci, Ben Gill, Arnold Belnick, Daniel Karpilowsky, Alex Beller, Victor Bay (vln); Alvin Dinkin, David Sterkin, Stanley Harris, Paul Robyn (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Armand Kaproff, James Arkatov, Joseph Saxon (vie); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller, John Williams Jr. (p); Al Viola (g); Eddie Gilbert, Joe Comfort (b); Frank Flynn, Bill Richmond (d/perc); Nelson Riddle (arr/cond).
Cappy Lewis (tpt); Tommy Pederson, Milt Bernhart, Russell Brown, Ray Sims (tbn); George Price, James Decker, James McGee (fr-h); Arthur Gleghorn, Harry Klee (fl); Champ Webb, Arnold Koblentz (oboe); Gus Bivona, Sal Franzella, Morris Bercov, Chuck Gentry (cit); Norman Herzberg, Don Christlieb (bsn); Felix Slatkin, Paul Shure, Erno Neufeld, Marshall Sosson, Victor Arno, Israel Baker, Gerald Vinci, Ben Gill, Arnold Belnick, Daniel Karpilowsky, Alex Beller, Victor Bay (vln); Alvin Dinkin, David Sterkin, Stanley Harris, Paul Robyn (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Armand Kaproff, James Arkatov, Joseph Saxon (vlc); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Al Viola, Al Hendrickson (g); Eddie Gilbert, Joe Comfort (b); Frank Flynn (d); Bill Richmond (perc); Nelson Riddle (arr/cond).
Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Mickey Mangano, Cappy Lewis (tpt); Tommy Pederson, Dick Noel (tbn); Juan Tizol (v-tbn); George Roberts (b-tbn); Willie Schwartz, Bill Green, Champ Webb, Joe Koch, Harry Klee (sax/wwd); Harold Dicterow, Ben Gill, Murray Kellner, David Frisina, Lisa Minghetti, Alex Beller, Victor Bay, Felix Slatkin, Eudice Shapiro, Marshall Sosson (vln); David Sterkin, Stanley Harris (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Victor Gottlieb, Elizabeth Greenschpoon (vie); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Al Viola (g); Joe Comfort (b); Alvin Stoller (d); Jimmy Joyce, Bill Stafford, Charles Parlato, Thomas Kenny, Betty Joyce, Vangie Cannichael, Jackie Noyes, Hillard Street (voe [1]). [14]
On May 29, 1958, Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to record Billy Strayhorn's ballad "Lush Life".[6] A bootleg recording of Sinatra's attempt at "Lush life" exists; this was the only time Sinatra sang the song in his career.[16] The session material of "Lush Life" was included as part of the 60th anniversary deluxe edition of Only The Lonely, released in October 2018, and in the 1958 Mono Mix / Expanded Edition of Only The Lonely, also released in October 2018.
Bibliography
Ingham, Chris, The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra, Rough Guides Ltd, June 30, 2005. ISBN1-84353-414-2
Summers, Anton, and Robbyn Swan, Sinatra: The Life, Doubleday, 2005. ISBN0-552-15331-1
References
^Cogan, Jim; Clark, William (2003). Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios. San Francisco, California, USA: Chronicle Books. p. 17. ISBN0-8118-3394-1.
