Chapter 6 - Ethical Culture Fieldston School

“Mr. Sinatra Gets Rejected”
established public perception that Sinatra was not quite the celebrity he had been
during the war. Indeed, Sinatra took the gig in part because he needed the
money, and the mental and physical stresses of multiple shows a night over a
period of weeks was no doubt a major factor in the vocal health of a not‐quite
young 34 year‐old who simply lacked the effortless ability he exuded a decade
earlier.
Sinatra’s fall from grace can plausibly be attributed to shifts in public taste
and a real decline in the quality of his singing (though the latter, as I plan to
make clear later, is a partial explanation at best). Strictly speaking, these were
both matters beyond his control. But the most important cause of his fall may
well have been was his own personal conduct. In part, this was a matter of
comeuppance by those who had been neglected – and, all too often, abused –
during his rise, and who were now only too happy to see him fall. “It was
pathetic,” a Columbia Records engineer said of Sinatra’s recording sessions at
mid‐century. “Sinatra would open his mouth and nothing would come out but a
croak. Usually, when a singer is in bad shape, we can help him by extending his
notes with an echo chamber. But Sinatra was one of the meanest men we ever
worked for, so we engineers and musicians just sat on our hands and let him go
down.” 29
However widespread or fair such comments may have been, they were
essentially a private matter concerning Sinatra’s workaday world. Far more
problematic was public behavior that could be witnessed – and reported.
Rumors over Sinatra’s involvement in organized crime can be dated to 1947,
when he visited the notorious gangster Lucky Luciano in Havana. Long
fascinated by gangsters, Sinatra ate, gambled, and even posed for pictures with
28 Wilson, p. 77.
American History for Cynical Beginners
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