Editing Frank Sinatra (section)

=== 1935–1942: Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey ===
[[File:The Hoboken Four on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour.jpg|thumb|Sinatra (''far right'') with the [[Hoboken Four]] on ''[[Major Bowes' Amateur Hour]]'' in 1935]]
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager. He never learned to read music but [[Learning music by ear|learned by ear]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/top-ten-things-that-make-frank-sinatra-cool-6614026 | title=Top Ten Things That Make Frank Sinatra Cool | work=Phoenix New Times | date=July 7, 2011 | access-date=September 28, 2015 | author=D'Andrea, Niki | archive-date=September 29, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929090722/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/top-ten-things-that-make-frank-sinatra-cool-6614026 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Young|Young|2007|p=474}} He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group called the [[Hoboken Four|3 Flashes]] to let him join. [[Baritone]] Fred Tamburro stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car{{efn|Nancy Sinatra notes that he owned a Chrysler and people would show amazement that such a young kid could afford it.{{sfn|Sinatra|1986|p=18}}}} and could chauffeur the group. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the ''[[Major Bowes Amateur Hour]]'' show and "begged" the group to let him join.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=39}} 

With Sinatra, the group became known as the "Hoboken Four" and passed an audition from [[Edward Bowes]] to appear on the show. They each earned $12.50,{{sfn|Santopietro|2008|p=25}} and attracted 40,000 votes to win first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the U.S.{{sfn|Rojek|2004|p=40}} Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from the girls.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=42}}{{efn|The jealousy exhibited by the group members often led to brawls in which they would beat up the small, skinny young Sinatra.{{sfn|Quirk|Schoell|1999|pp=19–20}}}} Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".<ref name="SS" />

[[File:Frank Sinatra and Harry James at the Hollywood Canteen, 1943.jpg|thumb|left|Sinatra performing with [[Harry James]] at the [[Hollywood Canteen]] in 1943]]
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a [[Roadhouse (facility)#United States|roadhouse]] called "The Rustic Cabin" in [[Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey]], for which he was paid $15 a week.{{sfnm|1a1=Hodge|1y=1992|1p=11|2a1=Rojek|2y=2004|2p=41}} The roadhouse was connected to the [[WBBR|WNEW]] radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the ''Dance Parade'' show.{{sfn|Santopietro|2008|p=27}} Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him".{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=46}} In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT, arranged for him to audition and record "[[Our Love (1939 song)|Our Love]]", his first solo studio recording.<ref name=CoyneK />{{efn| Only one copy of this recording was made, a 78{{nbsp}}rpm disc. Mane wrote "Frank Sinatra" on the record label and kept the recording in a drawer through the years, giving Sinatra a copy on a cassette tape as a gift in 1979. Mane died in 1998, only months after Sinatra's death; in 2006, Mane's widow offered the recording for sale through Gurnsey's auction house in New York.<ref name=CoyneK>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E4D71F30F931A15753C1A9609C8B63|author=Coyne, Kevin|date=October 22, 2006|title=Sinatra's First, Freed at Last|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2015|archive-date=September 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929202454/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E4D71F30F931A15753C1A9609C8B63|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In June, bandleader [[Harry James]], who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed him to a two-year contract of $75 a week after a show at the [[Paramount Theatre (New York City)|Paramount Theatre]] in New York.{{sfnm|1a1=Kelley|1y=1986|1p=53|2a1=Ingham|2y=2005|2p=9}}{{efn|The only sticking point was that James wanted Sinatra to change his name to Frankie Satin, as he thought that Sinatra sounded too Italian.{{sfn|Rotella|2010|p=8}} Neither Sinatra nor his mother would agree to this; he told James that his cousin, [[Ray Sinatra]], was a bandleader in Boston, kept his own name and was doing well with it. James actually knew Ray Sinatra, so he did not press the issue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/463189-Ray-Sinatra|title=Ray Sinatra|publisher=[[discogs]]|access-date=September 1, 2015|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524084341/http://www.discogs.com/artist/463189-Ray-Sinatra|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MykEAAAAMBAJ&q=frank+sinatra&pg=PT66|title=The Sinatra Report|date=November 20, 1965|author=Simon, George T.|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 1, 2015|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818191444/https://books.google.com/books?id=MykEAAAAMBAJ&q=frank+sinatra&pg=PT66|url-status=live}}</ref>}} It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies were sold,{{sfn|Petkov|Mustazza|1995|p=85}} and further records released with James through 1939, such as "[[All or Nothing at All]]", also had weak sales on their initial release.<ref name=rollingstone>{{cite news|title=Frank Sinatra|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/frank-sinatra/biography|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=September 19, 2011|archive-date=September 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920061203/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/frank-sinatra/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "[[My Buddy (song)|My Buddy]]", "[[Willow Weep for Me]]", "[[It's Funny to Everyone but Me]]", "Here Comes the Night", "[[On a Little Street in Singapore]]", "[[Ciribiribin]]", and "Every Day of My Life".{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=55}}

[[File:Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey, 1942 (close-up).jpg|thumb|Sinatra and [[Tommy Dorsey]] in ''[[Ship Ahoy (film)|Ship Ahoy]]'' (1942)]]
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend [[Hank Sanicola]] persuaded him to stay with the group,{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=54}} but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard{{efn|the vocalist, not to be confused with the comedian [[Jack E. Leonard]].}} as the lead singer of the [[Tommy Dorsey]] band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in [[Chicago]],{{sfn|Wood|1996|p=135}} and James released Sinatra from his contract.<ref name=pc1a>{{Pop Chronicles 40s|1|A |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633217/m1/#track/3}}</ref>{{efn|Sinatra acknowledged his debt to James throughout his life, and upon hearing of James' death in 1983, stated: "he is the one that made it all possible."{{sfn|Sinatra|1986|p=24}}}} 

On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the [[Coronado Theatre]] in [[Rockford, Illinois]],{{sfn|Silva|2000|p=12}} opening the show with "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]".{{sfn|Lees|1998|p=94}} Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no [[matinée idol]]. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos".{{sfn|Lahr|2000|pp=59–60}} 

Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a [[father figure]]. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter [[Nancy Sinatra|Nancy]] in June 1940.{{sfnm|1a1=Kelley|1y=1986|1pp=59–60|2a1=Lahr|2y=2000|2p=59}} Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey."{{sfn|Kaplan|2011|p=1}} Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer [[Buddy Rich]] were bitter rivals,{{efn|Kelley says that arguments and fights regularly broke out between Sinatra and Rich, who were both arrogant with volatile tempers. In one incident witnessed by Stafford backstage at the [[Astor Hotel]] in New York, Rich called Sinatra a name, and Sinatra threw a heavy glass pitcher filled with water and ice at Rich's head. In another incident at the [[Golden Gate Theater]] in San Francisco, Rich reportedly attempted to ram Sinatra against the wall with his high F cymbal.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=58–59}}}} other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.{{sfnm|1a1=Shaw|1y=1968|1p=34|2a1=Consiglio|2a2=Douskey|2y=2011|2p=135}}

In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded more than forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "[[Polka Dots and Moonbeams]]" in late April 1940.{{sfn|Whitburn|1986|p=136}} Two more chart appearances followed with "[[Say It (Frank Sinatra song)|Say It]]" and "[[Imagination (1940 song)|Imagination]]", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit.{{sfn|Whitburn|1986|p=136}} His fourth chart appearance (and his first on the first officially published [[Billboard chart|''Billboard'' chart]])<ref name="bronson">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVFLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA202 |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits |first= Fred |last=Bronson |date= 1997|isbn=9780823076413 |publisher=Billboard Books|page=202}}</ref> was "[[I'll Never Smile Again]]", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July.{{sfnm|1a1=Whitburn|1y=1986|1p=136|2a1=Summers|2a2=Swan|2y=2010|2p=91}} Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by [[RCA Victor]] include "[[Our Love Affair]]" and "Stardust" in 1940; "[[Oh! Look at Me Now]]", "[[Dolores (song)|Dolores]]", "[[Everything Happens to Me (song)|Everything Happens to Me]]", and "[[This Love of Mine]]" in 1941; "[[Just as Though You Were There]]", "[[Take Me (Frank Sinatra song)|Take Me]]", and "[[There Are Such Things]]" in 1942; and "[[It Started All Over Again]]", "[[In the Blue of Evening]]", and "[[It's Always You]]" in 1943.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=567–568}} 

As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "[[Night and Day (song)|Night and Day]]", "[[The Night We Called It a Day (song)|The Night We Called It a Day]]", "[[The Song is You]]", and "[[Lamplighter's Serenade]]" at a Bluebird recording session, with [[Axel Stordahl]] as arranger and conductor.{{sfnm|1a1=Kelley|1y=1986|1p=67|2a1=Lees|2y=1998|2p=97}} Sinatra first heard the recordings at the [[Hollywood Palladium]] and [[Hollywood Plaza Hotel|Hollywood Plaza]] and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=67}}

After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo,{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=67–68}} with an insatiable desire to compete with [[Bing Crosby]],{{efn|Sinatra said: "The reason I wanted to leave Tommy's band was that Crosby was Number One, way up on top of the pile. In the open field, you might say, were some awfully good singers with the orchestras. [[Bob Eberly]] (with [[Jimmy Dorsey]]) was a fabulous vocalist. [[Perry Como|Mr. Como]] (with [[Ted Weems]]) is such a wonderful singer. I thought if I don't make a move out of this and try to do it on my own soon, one of those guys will do it, and I'll have to fight all three of them to get a position".{{sfn|Lahr|2000|p=60}}}} but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings.{{sfn|Lahr|2000|p=60}} A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=70}}{{efn|Sinatra's lawyer, Henry Jaffe, met with Dorsey's lawyer N. Joseph Ross in Los Angeles in August 1943. In the words of Kelley: "In the end, MCA, an agency representing Dorsey and courting Sinatra, made Dorsey a $60,000 offer, which he accepted. To obtain Frank as a client, the agency paid Dorsey $35,000 while Sinatra paid $25,000, which he borrowed from Manie Sacks as an advance against his royalties from Columbia Records. MCA agreed that until 1948, it would split its commissions on Sinatra with GAC, the agency Frank had signed with when he left the Dorsey band."{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=70}} However, during a 1979 concert at the [[Universal Amphitheatre]] in Los Angeles, Sinatra said that it took him years to escape the contract and that Dorsey had cost him 7{{nbsp}}million dollars.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=72}}}} On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying "I hope you fall on your ass",{{sfn|Lahr|2000|p=60}} but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer [[Dick Haymes]].<ref name="pc1a" /> 

Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, [[Willie Moretti]], coerced Dorsey at gunpoint to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars.{{sfn|Anastasia|Macnow|Pistone|2011|p=301}}{{efn|The incident started rumors of Sinatra's involvement with the Mafia and was fictionalized in the book and film ''The Godfather''.{{sfn|Levinson|2009|p=161}}}} Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey.{{Sfn|Goldstein|1982|p=9}} Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=71}}