Editing Frank Sinatra (section)

=== 1942–1945: Onset of Sinatramania and Role in World War II ===
[[File:Sinatra Radio.gif|left|thumb|Sinatra with [[Alida Valli]], {{circa|1940}}s]]
{{blockquote|Perfectly simple: It was the war years, and there was a great loneliness, and I was the boy in every corner drugstore, the boy who'd gone off drafted to the war. That's all.|Sinatra, on his popularity with young women<ref name="tcm">{{Cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/194235 |title=Ship Ahoy |last=Arnold |first=Jeremy |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216074217/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/194235%7C0/Ship-Ahoy.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' and ''[[DownBeat]]'' magazines.{{sfn|Summers|Swan|2010|p=94}} His appeal to [[Bobby-soxer|bobby soxers]], as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a new audience for popular music, which had previously been recorded mainly for adults.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/century/1940-1949/Story/0,,127764,00.html|title=Frank Sinatra and the 'bobby-soxers'|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=January 10, 1945|access-date=June 2, 2012|archive-date=November 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116080008/https://www.theguardian.com/century/1940-1949/Story/0,,127764,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942.{{sfn|Lahr|2000|p=60}} 

According to Nancy Sinatra, [[Jack Benny]] later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion{{nbsp}}... All this for a fellow I never heard of."{{sfn|Sinatra|1986|p=44}} Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the [[Benny Goodman]] orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1,000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US.{{sfn|Sinatra|1986|p=76}} 

Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=78, 99}} When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in.{{sfn|Roby|2010|p=111}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/11/frank-sinatra-pop-star|title=The Columbus Day riot: Frank Sinatra is pop's first star|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Jon|last=Savage|author-link=Jon Savage|date=June 11, 2011|access-date=October 19, 2015|archive-date=September 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908023401/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/11/frank-sinatra-pop-star|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Booker|2004|p=79}} Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and steal clothing he was wearing, most commonly his [[bow-tie|bow tie]].{{sfn|Booker|2004|pp=79–80}}

[[File:Ivan Ives - Sinatra Club - Wynyard Park.jpg|thumb|Young Sinatra fans listening to his records on a portable gramophone in [[Sydney, Australia]], 1945.]]
Sinatra signed with [[Columbia Records]] as a solo artist on June 1, 1943, during the [[1942–44 musicians' strike]].{{sfnm|1a1=Sinatra|1y=1986|1p=60|2a1=Ackelson|2y=1992|2p=6}} Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All",{{sfn|Sinatra|1986|p=24}} which reached number 2 on June 2 and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks.{{sfn|Peters|O'Brien|Sayers|1982|pp=123, 157}} He initially had great success,{{sfn|Shaw|1968|p=67}} and performed on the radio on ''[[Your Hit Parade]]'' from February 1943 until December 1944,{{sfn|Tyler|2007|p=267}} and on stage. 

Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so [[Alec Wilder]] was hired as an arranger and [[Conducting|conductor]] for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers.{{sfn|Friedwald|1995|p=133}} Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|type=CD booklet|title=Frank Sinatra: The Columbia Years: 1943–1952, The Complete Recordings|year=1993}}</ref> That year he made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's [[Riobamba (nightclub)|Riobamba]],{{sfn|Kaplan|2010|pp=88–89}} and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious [[Waldorf-Astoria New York]] that year secured his popularity in New York high society.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=93–95}} Sinatra released "[[You'll Never Know]]", "[[Close to You (1943 song)|Close to You]]", "[[Sunday, Monday, or Always]]" and "[[People Will Say We're in Love]]" as singles. By the end of 1943, he was more popular in a ''DownBeat'' poll than Bing Crosby.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=96, 568}}

Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified [[Class 1-A|4-F]] ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of his perforated eardrum. However, Army files reported that Sinatra had actually been rejected because he was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint;" his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service".{{sfn|Santopietro|2008|p=45}} Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist [[Walter Winchell]] that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid military service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Sinatra FBI Files Opened|first=Bill|last=Holland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQoEAAAAMBAJ&q=walter+winchell|date=December 19, 1998|page=10|issn=0006-2510|access-date=October 9, 2018|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801195218/https://books.google.com/books?id=KQoEAAAAMBAJ&q=walter+winchell|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Newton|2003|p=314}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vault.fbi.gov/Frank%20Sinatra|title=The Vault — Frank Sinatra|work=FBI |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]|access-date=October 20, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426204352/https://vault.fbi.gov/Frank%20Sinatra/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Sinatra Shore Crosby AFRS.jpg|thumb|Sinatra (left) on the Armed Forces Radio in 1944 with [[Dinah Shore]] and [[Bing Crosby]] (right)]]
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas [[USO]] tours with comedian [[Phil Silvers]].{{sfn|Andrews|Gilbert|1993|p=293}} During one trip to Rome, he met [[Pope Pius XII|the Pope]], who asked him if he was an operatic tenor.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=115–116}} Sinatra worked frequently with the popular [[The Andrews Sisters|Andrews Sisters]] in radio in the 1940s,{{sfn|Nimmo|2004|p=228}} and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the [[Armed Forces Radio Service]] (AFRS).{{sfn|Sforza|2015|p=80}} In 1944, Sinatra released "[[I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night]]" as a single and recorded his own version of Irving Berlin's "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]". The following year he released "[[I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)]]", "[[Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)]]", "[[Dream (1944 song)|Dream]]", and "[[Nancy (with the Laughing Face)]]" as singles.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=568}}