The Voice of Frank Sinatra
| The Voice of Frank Sinatra | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Frank Sinatra | ||||
| Released | March 4, 1946 | |||
| Recorded | July 30, 1945 Hollywood December 7, 1945 New York City |
|||
| Genre | Classic pop | |||
| Length | 24:01 | |||
| Label |
Columbia C-112 (78 rpm) Columbia CL-6001 (33 rpm) Legacy CK62100 |
|||
| Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
The 1948 reissue as the first LP record developed by Columbia Records
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The Voice of Frank Sinatra is the first studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released on Columbia Records, catalogue C-112, March 4, 1946. It was first issued as a set of four 78 rpm records totaling eight songs, the individual discs having been previously released as singles, consisting of catalog #s 36762, 36919, 36921, and 37089. The album went to #1 on the fledgling Billboard chart. It stayed at the top for seven weeks in 1946, spending a total of eighteen weeks on the charts. The album chart consisted of just a Top Five until August 1948. The cover depicted to the right is that of the original 78 rpm release cover, also used on the compact disc reissue.
The tracks were arranged and conducted by Axel Stordahl and his orchestra, on both dates consisting of a string quartet and four-piece rhythm section, augmented by flutist John Mayhew in July, and, ironically given the part he would play with Sinatra at Columbia in the early 1950s, oboist Mitch Miller in December. Sinatra would record most of these songs again at later stages in his career.
Certain critics have claimed The Voice to be the first concept album. Beginning in 1939, however, singer Lee Wiley started releasing albums of 78s dedicated to the songs of a single writer, Cole Porter for example, a precursor to the Songbooks sets formulated by Norman Granz and Ella Fitzgerald in 1956. These may loosely be termed concept albums, although Sinatra with The Voice inaugurated his practice of having a common mood, theme, or instrumentation tying the songs together on a specific release.
...
Wikipedia