Videos: Frank Sinatra, 1943

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

On September 3, 1942, Frank Sinatra left the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra after nearly three years as its star vocalist. On his own as a solo act, Sinatra signed with Columbia. The problem was, however, that the American Federation of Musicians' ban was still on, forcing Sinatra to record a cappella with backup singers for the label. Singers weren't in the musicians' union.

To keep his reputation in tact and his popularity at boil, Sinatra performed around New York and Los Angeles (much to the delight of teenage bobby-soxers), and he began starring in a number of feature Hollywood films and shorts. [Above, Sinatra at the Hollywood Bowl in 1943]

Here are four clips I found yesterday at YouTube documenting Sinatra's emergence as a conversational solo singer but not yet recorded in the studio backed by an orchestra. That wouldn't begin in earnest for Columbia until the following year, when the ban ended for the label and RCA. 

Here's Sinatra singing Night and Day from Reveille With Beverly...

Here's Sinatra in 1943 singing Stardust...

Here's Sinatra at the Walton High School auditorium in the Bronx...

And here's Sinatra in Higher and Higher...

Used with permission by Marc Myers