Frank Sinatra-Tommy Dorsey Appreciation Thread

Of all the Sinatra music threads that I see on this forum, I don't think I have ever seen a thread
in celebration of Frank's work with TD. I have to say that I love all of Sinatra's work. As we all know
there are 4 main sections recording wise to Sinatra's career, they are:
1. The Big Band Years 1939 - 1942
2. The Columbia Years 1943-1952
3. The Capitol Years 1953-1962 and 1993-1994
4. The Reprise Years 1960- 1988
I listen to all of them, and own all recordings from all era's.
There is, to me, something very pure about the young Sinatra voice that I love.
So if you care to join me in discussing favorite recordings, air checks, performances from the
Dorsey era, let's get started. The first song I would like to single out is "Shake Down The Stars "
Sinatra's 3rd recording with TD, recorded Feb 26, 1940, Sinatra's 2nd record date with the Band
has a, to me, tricky rhythmic thrust that the young Sinatra beautifully it is one of my favorite TD-FS
recordings.

 

Magnificent combination. The big band years in particular a favorite. Frank was in fine voice back in the day. Anywhere I can hear more online?

 

I have a box set in my collection. It's musically/historically interesting enough but I prefer Sinatra's later manly voice as I'm not so fond of boy (band) voices. I rather listen to "In the Wee Small Hours" or "New York New York".

 

Matt I agree with you, I originally came to know of Sinatra because of my love for the Big Band Era.
As a teenager I used to listen to a radio show called "The Big Broadcast" it was on WFUV 90.7 here in N.Y.
and I first heard TD/FS, along with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Count Basie and, even then of all the vocalist's
from that era Sinatra stood out, to me.

 

Great thread kennyluc1 ! As a newbie to Sinatra I won't be adding much to the conversation but I look forward
to following it and learning!

 

For those who haven't heard it, the entire 1994 BMG 5-CD box set may be streamed online as provided officially by Sony Music:

YouTube —> Tommy Dorsey + Frank Sinatra: "The Song Is You"

Disc 1 —> The Complete Studio Masters, Vol. 1 (1940)
Disc 2 —> The Complete Studio Masters, Vol. 2 (1940-41)
Disc 3 —> The Complete Studio Masters, Vol. 3 (1941-42)
Disc 4 —> The Complete Studio Masters, Vol. 4 (1942, plus alt. takes)
Disc 5 —> On the Air 1940-1942​

And for improved sound, there's this 2005 2-CD set with the most essential recordings:

YouTube —> The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra



And to complete the Big Band Years, before Sinatra joined Dorsey:

YouTube —> Harry James and His Orchestra featuring Frank Sinatra: The Complete Recordings 1939

 

This set has soooo much better fidelity than the worn-out Columbia area masters. I was amazed at how great this set sounded compared to the Columbia era box set when I first listened to this back in the 1990's....

 

Been a while since I played it. Maybe one to rediscover. It happens in this forum.

 

I've heard some of those recordings from the box set, and the fidelity they were able to extract from those discs is truly amazing.

 

No slight intended to the incredible work done by Mr. Granata on the 12 CD Columbia set (original blue wooden box issue). I believe that the masters that Mr. Granata had to use for that set were in much worse shape (since they had been used quite a bit more due to Frank's top-of-the-charts popularity during the Columbia era) than the ones available to RCA for the Tommy Dorsey set. It's just that the RCA box set amazed me for the fidelity that they could glean from those early 1940's masters. Polka Dots and Moonbeams etc etc...

 

The Essential collection also had the advantage of advances in technology ... anyhow, I'll be spending a few days with it soon.

 

I have been listening to my FS-TD collection for a few day's now. There are so many
great air checks of songs that FS never recorded. For example: Prairie Nights from the CD
Young Blue Eyes; Birth Of A Crooner 2004 Bluebird82876
What a fantastic interpretation by Frank.

 

As a late-comer to Sinatra. it took me a while to get into the early Columbia sides, but I took to the Dorsey era almost immediately.

Stordahl's Columbia arrangements can seem a bit saccharine and dated to modern ears. The Dorsey stuff just seems more playful and off-the-cuff.

One of my favorites:

 

Does anyone know when the complete Sinatra / Dorsey Legacy set is coming out?

 

So the whole Frank Sinatra/Tommy Dorsey time period is rather confusing, collecting wise! With that said, and I'm talking specifically vinyl here, after doing some research, would anyone agree that the only albums necessary to have to collect his entire Dorsey library (on vinyl) are:

The Dorsey/Sinatra Sessions Vol. 1-3:






And Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra Featuring Frank Sinatra (which appears to hold some songs not on the Sessions albums above) :




There is another Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra Featuring Frank Sinatra album out there on vinyl with a different photo, but it's the exact same album. And I just found a Frankie & Tommy (RCA Victor) album today, but it turns out all of those songs are already on the Sessions albums. Am I missing any?

 

Excluding alternates takes (of which there are several), the three 2-LP volumes in the Sessions series from 1982 (pictured above), contain ALL of the studio tracks Sinatra recorded with the Dorsey band from 1940–42, in chronological order. They do NOT include the four tracks he recorded in January '42 under his own name with ork conducted by Axel Stordahl. You will find those, plus additional Sinatra/Dorsey radio material, in this 1983 LP:

The Tommy Dorsey/Frank Sinatra Radio Years, 1940–42
And The Historic Stordahl Session, January 19, 1942
​

If you must have vinyl, those are all you need. However, all of these recordings (plus alt. takes) are contained in better SQ in the 5-CD box set, The Song Is You, described earlier in this thread.

The extra songs you see in that (unofficial) Coronet album are not Sinatra vocals.

There were MANY other RCA Victor LP compilations besides Frankie & Tommy. See for example this page at the SFF Discography:

Frank Sinatra Album Covers - The Dream »​

 

- So those are just Tommy Dorsey instrumental tracks, then? Interesting!

 

To be more precise, I should have said "STUDIO vocals." Half of the tracks are vocals from radio transcriptions; the other half are instrumentals.

For more information, SFF thread: frank and tommy dorsey question »

 

The Dorsey-Sinatra Vinyl set from the 80's was, I believe, the first attempt by RCA (USA) to issue the complete
Dorsey-Sinatra recording history. I recall good sound as I don't own the set anymore.

 

There was also a special promotional 78 given to radio stations or record stores to promote
the set.

 

For NEW vinyl, this recent 6-LP set reportedly has nice sound, and it includes the four Stordahl tracks. This a vinyl reissue of an excellent 3-CD set with modern (1998) transfers and mastering:

Frank Sinatra - The Popular Frank Sinatra Vol. 1-3 - Amazon.com Music »
Frank Sinatra | The Popular Frank Sinatra Vol. 1-3 | Blue Colored Vinyl – popmarket »

 

Presumably the 2005 Legacy 2CD set has better mastering than that 1998 set, Bob? If only that one was more comprehensive or complete! Any idea if an updated version of the old RCA 5CD box will be reissued soon with improved mastering?

 

Yes, the 2005 Essential FS with TD has the best mastering to date. Last year, Chuck Granata reported that a complete set with the remaining masters was in the works for a 2016 release. Still no news on that...