(201) Gold Coast Fall 2015 | Page 45

performed on street corners, in clubs, in private homes and in pool rooms,” as described by the Hoboken Historical Museum in an article printed on its website, titled, “Frank Sinatra, The Voice.” Before long, Sinatra became a prominent figure in the town’s music scene, landing gigs at his father’s bar, Marty O’Brien’s, as well as the Crystal Ballroom, Tutty’s Bar, The Cat’s Meow and Union Club. A breakthrough came in 1935 when he joined up with a Hoboken trio, the Three Flashes, to form the Hoboken Four. The group sang on a nationally broadcast radio show called Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour – described by the Hoboken Historical Museum as “the American Idol of its day” – and was voted its most popular act. Sinatra briefly toured with the group, then landed a solo gig at the Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, and was later hired as a vocalist in the Tommy Dorsey band. He left the band in 1943 to pursue a solo career that would change music history. By the mid-1940s, more than a decade removed from those Hoboken street corners, Sinatra was a pop culture icon with the world on a string, sittin’ on a rainbow. New York City skyline. Sinatra unveiled a new musical style that featured smaller bands and smaller sounds, a change that proved successful as capacity crowds filled with celebrities packed the 1,000-seat venue night after night. “It was a real turning point in Sinatra’s career,” says Meyers. The message to the music industry was clear: “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was back. Fly Me to the Moon STEVENS: AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW; CHILDHOOD: AP PHOTO; LOEW’S: AP PHOTO/DAVID BOE That’s Life One of the few low points of his career came in the early 1950s, when Sinatra’s days as a teen heartthrob had ended, and failing relationships with MGM and Columbia Records stalled his success as an actor and musician – matters that were complicated further by a vocal cord hemorrhage suffered in 1953 that temporarily cost him his singing voice. The stage was set for a dramatic comeback, and the 1953 release of the film From Here to Eternity – featuring Sinatra’s Academy Award-winning portrayal of Pvt. Angelo Maggio – proved to be the catalyst. Buoyed by a resurgence in popularity due to the film’s success, Sinatra launched a musical comeback, returning to his Gold Coast roots with a two-week run at Bill Miller’s Riviera in Fort Lee, a club that Meyers describes as “head and shoulders above other nightclubs in America” at that time due to its outdoor patio that featured views of the HOMETOWN HERO (Top to bottom) Sinatra and his wife, Barbara, greet the crowd at the Stevens Institute of Technology commencement on Thursday, May 24, 1985, in Hoboken. Sinatra received an honorary engineering degree from the college; A photo, from the collection of Joseph Decesare, of Hollywood, Fla., who was a childhood friend of Frank Sinatra, shows Sinatra (left), at age 9, when he was the May Walk King of Hoboken; Two Gold Coast landmarks proved pivotal in Frank Sinatra’s career: Bill Miller’s Riviera in Fort Lee, where he re-energized his singing career with a run of shows in 1953, and Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City (pictured), where a young Sinatra found his musical inspiration during a 1934 Bing Crosby concert. Sinatra toured internationally, cofounded the famed “Rat Pack” and scored hits like “My Way” and “Strangers in the Night” during the second half of his career. He passed away in 1998 with accomplishments that were the stuff of legend, including more than 150 million records sold and 11 Grammy Awards, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal to his name. Doing justice to such a legacy is an unenviable task, but the Hoboken Historical Museum has proven equal to it, opening the first Sinatra exhibit in its history in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth. “We never wanted to be pegged as a ‘Frank Sinatra Museum,’” director Robert Foster says, “but about five years ago we decided to do a fullfledged exhibit for his anniversary.” The exhibit, which opened in August and runs through July 2016, presents Sinatra’s life through a vast collection of movie posters, photographs and fan letters, with an emphasis on his years in Hoboken. The museum welcomes Sinatra tribute singers/bands for performances on the first Sunday of each month, and screens Sinatra films on the second Tuesday of each month. A birthday celebration on Dec. 12 will in clude a concert at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. “People of any age who are true fans of Sinatra were likely introduced to his music through their parents and grandparents,” Foster says. “The music is important, but the people who introduced them to the music are more important. Fans listen to Frank and think of them. The music and the memories are connected.” ◆ (201) GOLD COAST FALL 2015 43