Raymond Dominic Sinatra (November 1, 1904 – November 1980) was an Italian-born American conductor, best known as the music director of

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

Life

Ray Sinatra was born in

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

, Sicily, Italy, in 1904. He was a second cousin of

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 ...

. He received an extensive musical education under many artists. He became a conductor, bandleader and arranger. In 1935 he was working in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as a radio band leader. In 1936 he was conductor of Lucky Strike's ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

''. Frank Sinatra contacted Ray in the spring of 1937 while he was working in the NBC house orchestra, asked whether they were related, and mentioned that he wanted to become a singer. Ray checked and found they were cousins, and helped find a stint for Frank on an NBC radio show. Frank wanted to change his name to "Frankie Trent". Ray dissuaded him, saying "Are you kiddin'? 'Sinatra's the most beautiful name in the world – it's so musical." Ray became well known as a conductor. Early in Frank Sinatra's career, when he was leading the instrumental jazz combo ''The Four Sharps'', he was asked by

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...

whether he was related to Ray Sinatra. Not long after, Ray was being asked if he was related to Frank. Ray Sinatra Orchestra

Ray Sinatra conducted popular music competently, although he tended to use over-elaborate arrangements, and his orchestra sometimes sounded more like a big band. He was a modest success in the swing era. He worked well with Mario Lanza in two recording sessions at

Republic Studios Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

in Hollywood, including a famous version of ''

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

''. Ray Sinatra conducted Mario Lanza's 1950 ''

Be My Love "Be My Love" is a song written by Sammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodszky. Published in 1950, it was written for Mario Lanza, who sang it with Kathryn Grayson in the 1950 movie '' The Toast of New Orleans''. The song was nominated for the Aca ...

'', the singer's first single to sell a million copies. Sinatra would conduct many of Lanza's future non-operatic recording and radio show songs. Ray Sinatra was bandleader for Lanza on an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

radio show in 1951 that pushed Lanza's expected earnings up to $750,000 for the year. In 1954, Sinatra led the orchestra for the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' at

Sands Hotel and Casino The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the seve ...

, Las Vegas, with choreographer Bob Gilbert. For many years he was bandleader at the

Tropicana Las Vegas The Tropicana Las Vegas was a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It operated from 1957 to 2024. In its final years, the property included a casino and 1,467 rooms. The complex occupied at the southeast corner of the Tro ...

. His son Richard (1935-1979) became a character actor who appeared in both television and film during the 1960s.

Selected recordings

*Mario Lanza With Ray Sinatra And His Orchestra – ''Granada / Lolita'' 2 versions RCA Victor Red Seal 1949 *Mario Lanza With Ray Sinatra And His Orchestra – ''Siboney / Valencia'' (7", Single) RCA Victor *Mario Lanza Con Orquesta Dirigida Por Ray Sinatra – ''La Caricia De Tu Mano'' (7", EP) RCA 1957 *Mario Lanza Con Orquesta Dirigida Por Ray Sinatra – ''Granada'' (7", EP) RCA 1958 *Mario Lanza, Jeff Alexander Choir, Ray Sinatra – ''O Come All Ye Faithful'' (7", EP) His Master's Voice

Notes

Sources

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External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinatra, Ray 1904 births 1980 deaths American male conductors (music) People from Agrigento Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Musicians from the Province of Agrigento