Postal Service offers exclusive Sinatra CD
WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The "Chairman of the
Board's" children joined the Postal Service's Chairman to celebrate the
achievements of "Ol' Blue Eyes" by dedicating the Frank Sinatra
commemorative stamp in the first of three ceremonies taking place in New
York City, Las Vegas and Hoboken, NJ, today. All 120 million Frank Sinatra
42-cent First-Class stamps become available nationwide today. To celebrate
the iconic entertainer's legacy, the Postal Service is offering exclusive
Sinatra memorabilia available at http://www.usps.com/sinatra and at select Post
Offices.
"Today, the Postal Service is proud to deliver its own special tribute
to the 'Chairman of the Board,'" said Postal Service Board of Governors
Chairman Alan Kessler. "On Frank's 80th birthday, the City of New York
turned the Empire State Building blue. Starting today, we're going to try
to do New York City one better -- by turning America's mail a beautiful
shade of blue. One hundred twenty million portraits of 'Ol' Blue Eyes' will
carry our cards, letters and packages to their destinations all around the
world."
Nancy Sinatra, her daughter, A.J. Lambert, and Frank Sinatra Jr.,
accompanied Kessler and Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-NY) in dedicating the stamp
during a 10 a.m. first-day-of-issue ceremony in New York City's Gotham
Hall. Serrano is a long-time admirer of Sinatra and learned to speak
English from listening to his father's Sinatra records.
Tina Sinatra will join Postal Service Governor James Bilbray at a
first-day-of-issue ceremony in Las Vegas at the Bellagio Fountains main
alcove at noon PT (3 p.m. ET) to dedicate the stamp. At 2:30 p.m. PT, she
and Frank Sinatra stamp artist Kazuhiko Sano will participate in an
autograph session at the Wynn Las Vegas. The Sinatra stamp will be
available for sale at the Wynn Las Vegas' Restaurant and Show Reservation
kiosk located on the Esplanade from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT.
Also at 3 p.m. ET, Frank Sinatra Jr. will join Postal Service District
Manager Maria Morse and Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) in a first-day-of-sale
ceremony near the Frank Sinatra Post Office in Hoboken, NJ, at Pier A Park.
"Our father loved this country," said the Sinatra family, represented
by Nancy, Frank Jr. and Tina Sinatra. "This would have been one of his
happiest days."
Sinatra left his mark on American culture with his amazing vocals and
romantic style. To celebrate the life of this great entertainer, the Postal
Service is offering limited quantities of specially designed Sinatra
shipping supplies, Sinatra musical greeting cards, classic Sinatra artwork
and a new Sinatra Nothing But the Best CD. Unique to CDs sold in music
stores under the same title, the Postal Service limited edition offers an
exclusive bonus track featuring "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself
A Letter," -- a one-time hit parade tune of particular interest to the
Postal Service. The CD also includes a collectible commemorative Frank
Sinatra stamp bearing the official USPS first-day-of-issue postmark.
Customers visiting HYPERLINK "http://www.usps.com/sinatra"
http://www.usps.com/sinatra and select Post Offices can also enter a sweepstakes
to win an ultimate entertainment system, Sinatra music, movies and more.
Art director Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ, worked with stamp artist
Kazuhiko Sano of Mill Valley, CA, to create the image based on a 1950s
photograph of the entertainer. The stamp depicts Sinatra's charismatic
smile, trademark fedora and striking blue eyes that earned him the nickname
"Ol' Blue Eyes." Sinatra's autograph also appears on the stamp.
In a 60-year career studded with accolades, Sinatra won several
Grammys, received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1971, and was
recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983. Sinatra gave generously to
many charities and was noted for his philanthropy. President Reagan awarded
him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985. Sinatra was born in Hoboken,
NJ, in 1915. He died in 1998 (see attached backgrounder).
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only
delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 146 million
homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and
relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to
pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenue of $75
billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.
How to Order first-day-of-issue Postmark
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by
mail. They may purchase new stamps at http://www.usps.com/shop, by calling
800-STAMP-24 or by visiting their Post Office. They should affix the stamps
to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or
others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
Frank Sinatra Stamp
Postmaster
1001 E. Sunset Rd., Rm. 1006B
Las Vegas, NV 89199-9998
Frank Sinatra Stamp
Postmaster
421 8th Ave., Rm. 2029B
New York, NY 10199-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will
return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark.
All orders must be postmarked by July 12, 2008.
How to Order First-Day Covers
Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first day covers for new stamp
issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official
first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number
and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may
request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:
Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
P.O. Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
There are eight philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
-- Item 463299, Cancellation Keepsake w/two Digital Color Postmarks,
$11.40.
-- Item 463284, Uncut Press Sheets (six up), $50.40.
-- Item 463261, First Day Cover -- New York, $.80.
-- Item 463269, First Day Cover -- Las Vegas, $.80.
-- Item 463265, Digital Color Postmark -- New York, $1.50.
-- Item 463279, Digital Color Postmark -- Las Vegas, $1.50.
-- Item 463289, Compact Disc w/Insert, $16.99.
-- Item 463291, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
Domestic customers will be charged a $1 shipping and handling fee per
order, regardless of quantity. As Sinatra's popularity extends worldwide,
international customers may purchase the stamp and related merchandise for
an additional $5 fee by fax at 1-816-545-1201 or by calling
(1-816-545-1100. International customers may submit orders through the mail
by writing to:
Stamp Fulfillment Services
P.O. Box 7247
Philadelphia, PA 19107-7097
At this time international customer orders are not available through
http://www.usps.com/sinatra
or through http://www.usps.com/shop.
Frank Sinatra Backgrounder
An Oscar-winning actor who appeared in more than 60 motion pictures,
Frank Sinatra was even more celebrated as a singer, admired the world over
as a supreme interpreter of American popular song.
The son of Italian immigrants, Francis Albert Sinatra was born Dec. 12,
1915, in Hoboken, NJ. As a boy he would sit on the docks, staring across
the Hudson River at New York City's skyline, pondering his future. Decades
later, when he first sang the theme from "New York, New York," Sinatra
might have remembered those times as he belted the line, "If I can make it
there, I'll make it anywhere." By then, he had long since become an iconic
figure, known as much for his visual image -- particularly the jauntily
cocked fedora and loosened collar of his classic album covers -- as for his
music.
Street Corner Singer
Inspired by Bing Crosby, a major vocalist of the 1930s, the youthful
Sinatra set his sights on a career in music and began singing on street
corners with friends. In 1935, he and three others auditioned for Major
Bowes' Amateur Hour, a popular radio program of its day. They performed as
the "Hoboken Four" and won the talent contest.
After touring for a season with the Hoboken Four, Sinatra decided to go
it alone. In 1939, he was singing at a roadhouse in New Jersey when
trumpeter and bandleader Harry James hired him to sing with his orchestra.
He made his first appearance with the James band in June 1939 and soon made
his first commercial recording, "From the Bottom of My Heart."
Months after signing with James, Sinatra was invited by Tommy Dorsey to
sing with his band. He sang with the famous trombonist, who then led one of
the top swing bands in the country, from January 1940 to September 1942.
Six months after joining the Dorsey orchestra, he hit number one with "I'll
Never Smile Again." Other hits with Dorsey included "Polka Dots and
Moonbeams" and "The Song Is You."
America's First Pop Icon
Sinatra made his breakthrough appearance as a solo performer on Dec.
30, 1942, when he debuted in New York at the Paramount Theater. The
hysteria set off by his fans made headlines, and within weeks he had signed
recording, movie and radio contracts.
In this phase of his career, Sinatra was known primarily as a sensitive
crooner whose musical style was perfect for the World War II era, when many
couples were separated by circumstance. He worked hard at making his
singing as conversational as possible and giving the melody and lyrics a
flowing, surprisingly unbroken quality.
His wholehearted embrace of the technology of sound recording enhanced
Sinatra's talent. He effectively used the microphone, which brought
intimacy and articulation to the forefront of the art of popular singing,
as a prop to convey emotion and to expand his dynamic range.
Academy Award Winner
Highlights among Sinatra's early musical films include Anchors Aweigh
(1945) and On the Town (1949). In 1946, he received a special Academy Award
for The House I Live In, a short film arguing in favor of racial and
religious tolerance. In 1953, Sinatra's popularity soared to new heights
with the release of From Here to Eternity, in which he proved that he was
an outstanding dramatic actor, winning an Academy Award for his supporting
role as Maggio, a scrappy Italian-American soldier. For his dramatic
performance in The Man With the Golden Arm (1955), Sinatra received a Best
Actor nomination. Other highlights of his film career include the musicals
Young at Heart (1955), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), Pal Joey
(1957), and Can-Can (1960). He also excelled in non-singing roles in films
such as the crime caper Ocean's Eleven (1960) and The Manchurian Candidate
(1962), a political thriller that addressed the Cold War.
Darker, Emotional Singer
Musically, Sinatra had entered another phase in the 1950s, an era that
is generally considered his greatest period. The boyish crooner evolved
into a deeper, more personal interpreter of pop songs who conveyed the
meaning of a lyric with intensity and remarkable nuance. Sinatra had begun
to express darker emotions that had not been previously acceptable, thus
paving the way for the aggressive style of singers in the rock era. At the
same time, his rhythmic acuity intensified, so that he sang with
finger-snapping confidence that made him seem the essence of "cool" -- a
shift that mirrored postwar America's newfound swagger.
"Concept Album" Pioneer
Sinatra did much to establish and preserve the great American songbook.
He gave the classic songs new life by almost single-handedly inventing the
pop album format. As the new medium of the long-playing record developed,
Sinatra pioneered what was later known as the "concept album" -- a musical
album created entirely around a single concept. Collaborating with such
legendary arrangers as Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Gordon Jenkins, as well
as personally choosing the songs for each album, the order in which they
would appear, the microphone placement for the instruments -- and in some
cases even conducting the orchestra himself -- Sinatra made some of his
most important and inspired musical works.
From 1955 to 1958, he released several albums now considered classics,
including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), a selection of torch songs; Songs
for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), containing "I've Got You Under My Skin," a
favorite of many fans; A Swingin' Affair! (1957); and Frank Sinatra Sings
for Only the Lonely (1958). Sinatra said the latter collection of moody
ballads, including his signature "saloon songs," "Angel Eyes" and "One for
My Baby (and One More for the Road)," was his favorite.
Sinatra formed his own recording company, Reprise, in late 1960, and
around this time became known as the "Chairman of the Board." Now in his
late 40s, Sinatra was famous not only for his musical talent and acting
ability, but as the central figure in the so-called "Rat Pack," a
professional and personal circle that included Dean Martin, Peter Lawford,
Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop. During this period, Sinatra became
closely identified with Las Vegas, which he helped to popularize as an
entertainment center.
Versatile Performer
In the 1960s, Sinatra worked in almost every conceivable setting, from
the great jazz orchestras of Count Basie (It Might as Well Be Swing, 1964)
and Duke Ellington (Francis A. & Edward K., 1967) to the semi-symphonic
settings of Sinatra & Strings (1962) and The Concert Sinatra (1963) to the
gentle bossa nova of Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
and the jukebox pop of Strangers in the Night (1966) and My Way (1969).
Later in his career, Sinatra became an elder statesman on the music
scene, and was known by the nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes." In 1985, he was
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. He
had a number-one selling hit with Duets (1993), a collection of 13
standards pairing him with singers such as Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan and
Bono of U2.
Sinatra is widely regarded by singers, musicians, critics and fans as
the single most important and influential performer of the American popular
song. In a career studded with accolades, he won several Grammys, received
the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1971 and was recognized at the
Kennedy Center Honors in 1983. Sinatra gave generously to many charities
and was noted for his philanthropy. He died May 14, 1998, at age 82.
See Also
