''A Man Alone'' (fully titled ''A Man Alone: The Words and Music of McKuen'') is a 1969 studio album by American singer

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, arranged by

Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including '' Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way'' ...

. In a tribute to the poet, all songs on this album were written by

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen ( ; ; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide ...

. "Love's Been Good to Me" reached No. 8 on the British charts, and was also notably recorded by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Track listing

All songs written by

#"A Man Alone" – 3:47 #"Night" (Spoken) – 2:25 #"I've Been to Town" – 3:13 #"From Promise to Promise" (Spoken) – 1:31 #"The Single Man" – 3:01 #"The Beautiful Strangers" – 2:41 #"Lonesome Cities" – 3:18 #"Love's Been Good to Me" – 3:27 #"Empty Is" (Spoken) – 2:46 #"Out Beyond the Window" (Spoken) – 2:45 #"Some Traveling Music" (Spoken) – 2:36 #"A Man Alone (Reprise)" – 1:30

Complete personnel

– Vocals *

– Arranger, Conductor Tracks 1, 6, 8, 12: (March 20, 1969 – Reprise recording session – Western Recorders 8–11 PM) John Cave, James Decker, James McGee, Arthur Maebe (fr-h); Gene Cipriano, Norman Herzberg, Bill Hood, Ronny Lang, Don Lodice, Ted Nash,

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

Nino Tempo Antonino LoTempio (January 6, 1935 – April 10, 2025) was an American musician, singer, and actor. He was a duet partner with his older sister April Stevens as well as the frontman for a 1970s funk band, 5th Ave. Sax. Biography Early life Anto ...

(sax/wwd); Thelma Beach, Arnold Belnick, James Getzoff, William Kurasch, Emo Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Sally Raderman, Mischa Russell, Ralph Schaeffer, Marshall Sosson, Gerald Vinci, Tibor Zelig (vln); Alvin Dinkin, Alex Neiman, Allan Harshman, Paul Robyn (via); Justin DiTullio, Armand Kaproff, Ray Kramer, Jacqueline Lustgarten (vlc); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p);

Al Viola Alfred Viola (June 16, 1919 – February 21, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist who worked with Frank Sinatra for 25 years. He played the mandolin on the soundtrack of the film ''The Godfather''. Biography Viola grew up in an Italian famil ...

(g);

Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937) is an American double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked in jazz and as a session musician in the film industry for more than 60 years, including working on more than 400 movie soundtracks. ...

, Eddie Gilbert (b);

Alvin Stoller Alvin Stoller (October 7, 1925 – October 19, 1992) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's recording of "The Yellow Rose of Texas (song), The Yellow Rose of Texas" and Stan Fr ...

(d);

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

(perc). Tracks 2, 4, 10, 11: (March 21, 1969 – Reprise recording session – Western Recorders 8–11 PM) John Cave,

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 ...

, William Hinshaw, Richard Perissi (fr-h); Gene Cipriano, Norman Herzberg, Bill Hood, Ronny Lang, Don Lodice, Ted Nash, Bud Shank, Nino Tempo (sax/wwd); Thelma Beach, Arnold Belnick, James Getzoff, William Kurasch, Emo Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Sally Raderman, Mischa Russell, Ralph Schaeffer, Marshall Sosson, Gerald Vinci, Tibor Zelig (vln); Alvin Dinkin, Alex Neiman, Allan Harshman, Paul Robyn (via); Justin DiTullio, Armand Kaproff, Edgar Lustgarten, Nino Rosso (vlc); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Al Viola (g); Chuck Berghofer, Eddie Gilbert (b); Alvin Stoller (d);

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the ...

(perc). Tracks 3, 5, 7, 9: (March 19, 1969 – Reprise recording session – Western Recorders 8–11 PM) John Cave, Vincent DeRosa, William Hinshaw, Richard Perissi (fr-h); Gene Cipriano, Chuck Gentry, Norman Herzberg, Ronny Lang, Don Lodice, Ted Nash, Bud Shank, Nino Tempo (sax/wwd); Israel Baker, Thelma Beach, Bonnie Douglas, Jacques Gasselin, Emo Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Sally Raderman, Nathan Ross, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Marshall Sasson, Gerald Vinci (vln); Alvin Dinkin, Alex Neiman, Allan Harshman, Paul Robyn (via); Justin DiTullio, Edgar Lustgarten, Kurt Reher, Nino Rosso (vlc); Kathryn Julye (harp); Bill Miller (p); Al Viola (g); Chuck Berghofer, Eddie Gilbert (b); Irving Cottler (d); Larry Bunker (perc); Nancy Adams,

Tom Bahler Thomas Lee Bahler (also spelled Bähler; ; born June 1, 1943) is an American singer, composer, songwriter, arranger, producer and author. Bahler is most known for his song "She's Out of My Life", which was recorded by Michael Jackson; the song was ...

, Betty Baker, James Bryant, Jan Gassman, Bill Lee, Diana Lee, Susan Tallman, Marie Vernon, Jerry Whitman (voc)

Reception

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 advertis ...

'' called the album "excellent", stating, "The chairman of the board wrings somberness out of McKuen's musical poetry with results that achieve a lyrical beauty of its own. Even when he's just talking to musical background, Sinatra creates a mood that is moving and sincere. The pathos he engenders is perfect fuel for the lyrics."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Alone, A Frank Sinatra albums Albums arranged by Don Costa Reprise Records albums 1969 albums Albums produced by Sonny Burke Albums conducted by Don Costa Works by Rod McKuen