Frank Sinatra Live Radio Shows a 100th Birthday Gift From Him

A trove of Frank Sinatra's live radio performances have been unearthed from broadcast archives and packaged in a four-CD box set in honor of his upcoming 100th birthday.

"Frank Sinatra: A Voice on Air (1935-1955)," which will be released in November, will include 91 previously unreleased recordings, including his first radio performance "S-H-I-N-E" with the Hoboken Four, in 1935 along with duets with other superstars of the day Nate King Cole, Benny Goodman and Doris Day, said The New York Times.

"In assembling this groundbreaking box set marking the first official release anthologizing Frank Sinatra's seminal radio performances, the producers have mined treasures from their own extensive Sinatra broadcast transcription collections," read a statement from Sony Music's Legacy Recordings.

The performances include Sinatra music from "The Library of Congress, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the Paley Center for Media, the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative archive and The University of Colorado's Glenn Miller Archive. Included are dozens of rare photographs and recording artifacts that help to illustrate the scope of Sinatra's incredible radio career."

Legacy said the package will come with a 60-page book that will include a Sinatra discography, an essay by music archivist Michael Feinstein, personal remembrance by his oldest daughter Nancy Sinatra and an essay by Sinatra historian Charles L. Granata.

"Throughout his nine-decade career, Frank Sinatra performed on more than 1,400 recordings and was awarded 31 gold, nine platinum, three double platinum and one triple platinum album by the Recording Industry Association of America," said Legacy.

Sinatra had 57 albums hit the top 40 on the Billboard 200 charts over his career, and earned nine Grammy Awards, including an album of the year award. He also won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in "From Here to Eternity" in 1954.

The music release is not the only recognition of Sinatra's 100th birthday. According to the Las Vegas Sun earlier, CBS will air a two-hour special in December from the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas honoring Sinatra with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga performing. 


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