''Come Fly with Me'' is the fourteenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, released in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. In 2000 it was voted number 616 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the '' Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by '' The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along w ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the '' Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by t ...

''.

Background

Sinatra's first collaboration with arranger/conductor

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' theme ...

, ''Come Fly with Me'' was designed as a musical trip around the world.

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

and

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

wrote the title track at Sinatra's request. May would arrange two other Capitol albums for Sinatra, '' Come Dance with Me!'' (1958) and ''

Come Swing with Me! ''Come Swing with Me!'' is an album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1961. The album is Sinatra's final swing session with Capitol Records, as his next album, ''Point of No Return'', would be composed mainly of torch songs. In 197 ...

'' (1961). In his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

All You Need Is Ears ''All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles'' () is the 1979 memoir of The Beatles' producer George Martin, co-authored by Jeremy Hornsby. The book was republished in 1994. The title is a play-on-words ...

'', producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

wrote of having visited the

Capitol Tower The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, is a 13-story tower building in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Designed by Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket Associates, it is one of the city's landmarks. Construction began soon afte ...

during the recording sessions for the album. According to Martin's book, Sinatra expressed intense dislike for the album cover upon being first shown a mock-up by producer

Voyle Gilmore Voyle Gilmore (June 14, 1912 – December 19, 1979) was an American record producer and arranger. He was best known for his work with Frank Sinatra and The Kingston Trio on Capitol Records. Gilmore also worked with Judy Garland, Dick Dale, D ...

, suggesting it looked like an advertisement for TWA. The album reached #1 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

album chart in its second week, and remained at the top for five weeks. At the inaugural Grammy Awards ''Come Fly with Me'' was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording ...

, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Though recorded simultaneously in true stereo alongside a distinct mono mix, "Come Fly with Me" was released to record stores in 1958 in monaural only, a standard practice by Capitol records at the time. The label finally released the stereo version in 1961.

Track listing

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, conductor Tracks 1, 2, 10, 11, 12: Mannie Klein,

Conrad Gozzo Conrad Joseph Gozzo (February 6, 1922October 8, 1964) was an American trumpet player. He was a member of the NBC Hollywood staff orchestra at the time of his death. Early life Gozzo was born in New Britain, Connecticut on February 6, 1922, ...

, Shorty Sherock, Mickey Mangano (tpt); Ed Kusby, Joe Howard,

Murray McEachern Murray McEachern (August 16, 1915 – April 28, 1982) was a Canadian jazz trombonist and alto saxophonist, perhaps best known for having played trombone for Benny Goodman from 1936 to 1937. McEachern is also remembered for playing both the trombo ...

Si Zentner Simon Hugh Zentner (June 13, 1917 in New York City, United States – January 31, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American trombonist and jazz big-band leader. Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the ...

(tbn); J.H. Washburne (tuba); Harry Klee,

Wilbur Schwartz Wilbur Schwartz (17 March 1918 Newark, New Jersey – 3 August 1990 Los Angeles) was an American clarinetist, alto saxophonist, and dance band arranger who was widely known as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is a Native American, and h ...

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

, Jules Jacob, Fred Falensby (wwd);

Felix Slatkin Felix Slatkin (December 22, 1915 – February 8, 1963) was an American violinist and conductor. Biography Slatkin was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a Jewish family originally named Zlotkin (though it is not certain) from areas of the Russian Emp ...

, Paul Shure, Mischa Russell, Marshall Sosson, Harold Dicterow, Dan Lube, Alex Murray, David Frisina, Lou Raderman, Jacques Gasselin, Ben Gill, Paul Nero (vln); David Sterkin, Paul Robyn, Alvin Dinkin, Alex Neiman (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Edgard Lustgarten, Elizabeth Greenschpoon, Armand Kaproff (vie); Verlye Mills (harp); Bill Miller (p);

Al Hendrickson Alton Reynolds Hendrickson (May 10, 1920 – July 19, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist and occasional vocalist. Biography When he was five years old, Hendrickson's family moved to California, where he grew up. He played early in his career w ...

(g);

Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career M ...

(b); Alvin Stoller (d); Frank Flynn (perc). Tracks 3, 6, 7: Mannie Klein,

, Shorty Sherock,

Pete Candoli Pete Candoli (born Walter Joseph Candoli; June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries. Ca ...

(tpt);

Tommy Pederson Pullman Gerald "Tommy" Pederson (August 15, 1920 – January 16, 1998) was an American trombonist and composer known for his work in jazz, big band, and classical genres. Career Pederson performed and recorded with big bands and artists that ...

, Joe Howard (tbn);

Skeets Herfurt Arthur Relsmond "Skeets" Herfurt (28 May 1911 – 17 April 1992) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Career highlights Herfurt was born in Cincinnati and raised in Denver and played in bands while attending the University of Col ...

, Ted Nash, Jules Jacob, Fred Falensby (wwd); Verlye Mills (harp); Bill Miller (p);

(g);

(b); J.H. Washburne (tuba); Alvin Stoller (d); Frank Flynn (perc). Tracks 4, 5, 8, 9:

, Joe Howard (tbn);

Vincent DeRosa Vincent Ned DeRosa (October 5, 1920 – July 18, 2022) was an American hornist who served as a studio musician for Hollywood soundtracks and other recordings from 1935 until his retirement in 2008. Because his career spanned over 70 years, duri ...

(fr-h); J.H. Washburne (tuba);

, Jules Kinsler, Jules Jacob, Fred Falensby (wwd);

, Paul Shure, Mischa Russell, Marshall Sosson, Harold Dicterow, Dan Lube, Alex Murray, David Frisina, Lou Raderman, Jacques Gasselin, Gerald Vinci, Paul Nero (vln); David Sterkin, Paul Robyn, Alvin Dinkin, Alex Neiman (via); Eleanor Slatkin, Edgar Lustgarten, Ray Kramer, Armand Kaproff (vie); Verlye Mills (harp); Bill Miller (p);

(g);

(b); Alvin Stoller (d).

"On the Road to Mandalay"

"On the Road to Mandalay", based on

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)'' The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's poem "

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fou ...

" was replaced on some versions of the album after the Kipling family objected to Sinatra's interpretation. When the album was released in the United Kingdom, it was replaced by "

It Happened in Monterey "It Happened in Monterey" or "It Happened in Monterrey" is a 1930 song composed by Mabel Wayne, with lyrics by Billy Rose and performed by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. It was written for the 1930 musical film, ''King of Jazz'', and was subsequ ...

" on original mono releases and "

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

" on stereo copies, while the song "

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

" was used in other parts of the British Commonwealth. Sinatra sang the song in Australia, during a concert tour in 1959, and relayed the story of the Kipling family objection to the song and how the Australian release of ''Come Fly with Me'' came to contain "Chicago". "Mandalay" was eventually restored on the 1984 UK re-pressing, and has been included on all subsequent releases.

References

{{Authority control Frank Sinatra albums Capitol Records albums 1958 albums Albums produced by Voyle Gilmore Albums arranged by Billy May Albums conducted by Billy May Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Concept albums