1956
“Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” was produced by one of Frank Sinatra’s long-time collaborators Voyle Gilmore. The fourth studio album was recorded in 1956 by Sinatra for Capitol Records.
Once again, Sinatra teams up with Nelson Riddle, who arranges and conducts a powerful yet subtle swinging album that is upbeat, jazzy and brash. As you listen to the album, you can’t help but notice Sinatra bounces off the hard-hitting horns while at the same time floats romantically along the breezy sounds of the woodwinds.
Comparing this album with Sinatra’s earlier albums about tragic love gone wrong, “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” puts the spot light on Sinatra’s carefree and easy-going side. He is hip, bubbly, energetic and bold with standards like “You Make Me Feel Young,” “Love is Here to Stay” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
Even with light and cheery songs such as “Makin Whoopee” and “Anything Goes” Sinatra delivers a deep romantic ballad. One can’t help but feel the vibration of Sinatra’s expansive and fluid voice with the ultimate precision of clarity – Sinatra knew how to accentuate the vowels between the consonants.
1957
For the first time ever, “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!” scored as the number one album in the U.K. for three weeks. The popular album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. The success of the album continued in 2003 when Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 greatest albums of all time” ranked the album number 306.
An interesting note for collectors, the 1956 album cover showed Sinatra turned away from the young couple and in 1957 the album cover was altered with Sinatra facing them. The final album cover stayed the same and is used even today with every CD released.
