by ghosty » Sat Dec 20, 2008 8:53 am
[quote]Originally posted by marvymarv
[br]Frank Sinatra. Oh my God, can anybody be more fucking "celebrated" than this guy? It seems like any buffoon on the street becomes a musical expert as soon as this guy's name comes up. You want instant credibility in any music conversation? Just say no one is greater than this guy. You don't even have to be capable of any kind of rational thought. He's alright I guess, but Jesus Christ, the guy's so cliche and not really a remarkable vocalist. And spare me all the "he's such a gentleman" bulllshit because anybody can put on a tux and pull chairs out for ladies. From what I've read about him and the rest of the Rat Pack, I'd say they were a cut-throat band of back-stabbers, each vying for the next venue to play in Vegas - loyalty to eachother be damned.
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Love or hate Sinatra but he did create something that everyone should give him props for and that's inventing the modern day album. Prior to Sinatra, albums were collections of previously released 78 rpm records held in what resembled a photo album hence the name. In other words, every album was just a "greatest hits" collection and only sold to those who hadn't already purchased those hits individually. Sinatra was the first artist to record new material specifically for an album. The industry thought he was crazy but it sold like hot cakes and quickly became the album as we know it, whether it be "London Calling" or Britney Spears' "Circus".[;)]
Ironically, Sinatra's idol and eventual rival Bing Crosby was the main financer of the Ampex company and convinced the recording industry to switch from cutting masters on acetate discs to the higher fidelity reel-to-reel tape. In a roundabout way, without Bing Crosby no one would've been able to make mix tapes.[:D]