TheVoiceofJersey:FrankSinatra

TargetAge:MiddleSchool/High School

TimePeriod:20thCentury

FeaturedCounty:Hudson

NJ350thTheme:Innovation

Common CoreState StandardsforEnglish LanguageArts:

R.CCR.1-Read closelytodeterminewhat thetextsaysexplicitlyandtomakelogicalinferencesfromit;citespecifictextual evidencewhenwriting orspeakingto supportconclusionsdrawnfromthetext.

SL.CCR.2-Integrateandevaluateinformation presented in diversemedia andformats,including visually,quantitatively,and orally.

SL.CCR.5-Makestrategicuseofdigitalmedia andvisualdisplaysofdatatoexpressinformationandenhanceunderstanding ofpresentations.

NewJersey CoreCurriculumContentStandards:Social Studies: 6.1.12.D.13.d,6.1.12.D.14.f

FOCUS QUESTION:

HowhasmusichelpedshapeNewJersey’sidentity aswellashowthestateappears to therestoftheUnited Statesand theworld?

BACKGROUND:

FrankSinatra is among thetwentieth-century'sgreatestpopular performers.Hedrewon severalinfluences,including Bing Crosby’scrooning,trombonistTommyDorsey’sbreathcontrol,and bluessingerBillieHoliday’srhythmicswing,but isprincipallycreditedwiththe conceptof singing colloquially,or treating lyrics aspersonalstatementsand handling melodieswiththeeaseofa jazzimproviser.

WhilemanyassociateSinatra withPalmSprings andLasVegas,hewasfirstandforemostaJerseyboy.Bornin Hobokenon December12,1915,theonlychild of Italian immigrants,hesang in the gleeclubofDemarestHigh School.Hisbreakcamein 1937,whenheand threeinstrumentalists,billed astheHobokenFour,won the MajorBowesOriginalAmateurHour.HarryJames signed Sinatratosing withhisorchestra, andon July13,1939—twoweeksafterhisdebut atthe HippodromeTheatre inBaltimore—Sinatracuthisfirstrecord,“FromtheBottomofMyHeart.”Ofthe first10songs he

recorded, thebiggestseller,“Allor Nothing at All,”sold just over8,000copiesand ultimatelybecamethe firstof Sinatra’smanymillion-sellers, hitting #2on thebillboardcharts.

WhileSinatra’scareerebbed andflowed during the1940s and1950s,in the1960s he remadehimselfinLas Vegasatthe Sands andlater CaesarsPalace astheleaderof thenotorious“RatPack,”whichincludedSammyDavisJr.,DeanMartin,PeterLawford, andJoeyBishop. Bythemid-1960s,hebegan

experimentingwith youthculture,covering songs byyoungerwriters,and in1968recorded“MyWay,”aFrenchsongtowhichPaulAnkawrotenewEnglishlyrics. A modestU.S.hitat the time—itreached#27on thebillboard charts—itwas anoverwhelming smash in Britain,staying in theTop 50 anunprecedented122weeks,andithasremainedoneofSinatra’sbestlovedhits.

Hisfourth and finalwife,Barbara,towhomhewasmarried for22years untilhisdeath in1998,saidSinatra“lived inalotofplaces,butHoboken andallofNew Jersey werealwaysveryclosetohis heart.”

ACTIVITY:

Havestudentslisten to “NewYork,NewYork,”oneofFrankSinatra’ssignaturesongs(availableonlineat notaboutNew Jersey,it is about acityless than fivemilesawayfromSinatra’shometownofHoboken.Indeed,manyhavesuggestedthe lyrics“theselittletownblues”areaboutHobokenand itsresidents astheylookacrossthe Hudson River.

Afterlistening once,display thesong’slyricson theblackboardor inapowerpointslide(orsimplyphotocopy anddistribute—theyappearbelow).Askstudentsto identifyparticular elementsincluding:

  • Rhyme(wordsthatsoundalike)
  • Imagery(scenesand settingsthatthesingerdescribes)
  • Repetition (wordsorphrases thatappearmorethanonceforemphasis)
  • Tone(changes inthemusicthatmake itsound lighterand brighter, ordarkerandmoreserious)
  • Pacing (placeswherethemusicspeedsupor downand whatemotion such changessuggest)

Thenplaythe song a second timeand askstudentsto listen forspecificexamplesofthoseideasandidentifythem in thetext.This can bedone asa classor youmaychooseto dividestudentsintogroupsof fiveand haveone personin each group assignedto listen foreachof thefiveelementsdescribedabove. Then askstudentsor groupstosharetheirideas withthe class.

“NewYork,NewYork”

Startspreadin' thenews,I'mleavin' todayI want tobe a partofit

NewYork,NewYork

Thesevagabondshoes, arelonging to strayRightthrough theveryheart ofit

NewYork,NewYork

Forthefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

FOLLOW-UP:

FrankSinatra is just oneofmanyNewJerseyartistswhohaveshapedtheworldof popularmusic.WilliamJames“Count”Basie, a nativeofRed Bank,becamea highlysuccessfuljazz pianist andinnovator.SarahVaughan,QueenLatifah,and JonBonJovi areamong thosewhohavefollowed in hisfootsteps,bringing theirownversionsoftheJerseysound to audiencesalloverthe world.Butperhapsthe secondmostfamousNewJersey musician afterSinatra is BruceSpringsteen.In 1995, ata birthdaytributeSpringsteen called Sinatra“thepatron saintofNewJersey”andsaid“sincehis risefrom thestreetsof Hoboken, Frankhasbasicallyowned theplace.Buthehasbeen graciousenough toloanme asmall pieceof itbythe beach.” Springsteenhasmuchin commonwith Sinatra;bothhave won AcademyAwards,both areknownbytheirnicknames—Ol’BluesEyesand TheBoss,respectively—and both arerenowned fortheirliveshows.

Springsteen calls hiswriting “emotionallyautobiographical”and through his songs,listeners canseeandheardetailsoflifeon theJersey Shore in the1970s.Hewasborn in Freehold, NJ andlived in AsburyPark.Hesingsaboutthe drivingcircuitsand theswamps,thebeaches andthe boardwalks,the Turnpikeand theMeadowlands,aboutliving in NewJerseyandleaving NewJersey.Visitors to thecornerofTenthAvenueand EStreetinBelmarcanseethe inspiration forboththesong “TenthAvenueFreeze-Out”and forthe nameof hisband, andontheboardwalk in AsburyParktheywouldfindMadamMarie’sfortunetelling boothfeaturedinhis song “4thof July,AsburyPark.”

Attached areexcerptsfromsixSpringsteensongsthatfeaturespecific detailsabout the state.

The EStreetShuffle(1973)

FourthofJuly,AsburyPark (1973)

OpenAll Night(1982)

StateTrooper(1982)

AtlanticCity(1982)

Wrecking Ball(2012)

Springsteensuggested inaRolling Stonearticlethat he“wantedthe listenertohearthecharactersthink,togetinsidetheirheads,soyou could hear andfeeltheirthoughts,theirchoices…. Iwantedthe

musictofeellike awakingdreamandthe record to movelikepoetry.”His songshave adistinctsenseofplace, characters,andplot. Print thelyrics,dividestudentsintogroups,andaskthem toanalyzetheirsong. If possible,allowthemtouse a devicetohearthesong.Havethemconsider:

1.Who arethecharacters inthesong? Fromwhatpointofviewis thestorybeing told?

2.Whatisthe setting?Arespecific placesand detailshighlighted?

3.Can listenerstracethestorybeing told?Isthere a beginning,middle, andend?Isthereaclimax?

4.Whatisthe toneofthesong? Whatspecificwordscreatethattone?

5.What dothesestorieshaveto sayaboutNewJersey?

6.Being residentsofthe state, can you relateto thesestoriesaboutNewJersey?

WANTTOLEARNMORE?

PlacesYouCanVisit

HobokenHistoricalMuseum: offers a“SinatraWalking Tour: map)

TwinPalmsFrankSinatraHistoricEstate,PalmSprings,CA:

“BruceSpringsteenRockedHere”- NJ.comarticletracing theJerseylandmarksofthe Boss.

TheBruceSpringsteenCollection atMonmouthUniversity

More ClassroomActivities

“FrankSinatraWorksheets,”fromeslprintables.com,acollection ofmaterialsforusing FrankSinatralyrics to teachEnglish as aSecondLanguage:

“FromAsburyParktothePromisedLand—TheLife and Musicof BruceSpringsteen”:an educator’sresourcedevelopedbytheNationalConstitution Center.

VH1Storytellers-BruceSpringsteen. Linktotheeducatorresources.

For MoreInformation

JeanneFuchs and RuthPrigozy(eds.),FrankSinatra:TheMan,theMyth,theLegend(Rochester:Universityof Rochester,2007).

StanislaoG.Pugliese,FrankSinatra:History,Identity,and Italian American Culture(NewYork:PalgraveMacMillan,2004).

FrankSinatra:A Documentary (4hours),HBOProductions,2013.

Sinatra:TheTrueStoryofthe Man and theLegend(5 hours),WarnerHomeVideo,2008.SitesforsongsaboutNewJersey:

"The E StreetShuffle,"1973

SparksflyonEStreetwhentheboy-prophetswalkit,handsomeand hot

All the littlegirls' soulsgrowweakwhen theman-child givesthema doubleshotTheschoolboypopspullout all thestopsona Friday night

Theteenagetramps in skin-tightpantsdo theE Streetdanceand everything'salrightLittlekidsdownthereeitherdancin' or hooked up in ascuffle

Dressed in snakeskin suits packed withDetroitmuscleThey'redoin' theE Street Shuffle

Forthefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

“Fourth ofJuly,AsburyPark(Sandy),”1973

Sandythefireworksarehailin' overLittle Eden tonightForcin' a lightintoallthosestoned-outfacesleftstranded onthisFourth ofJuly

Down in townthe circuit'sfull with switchbladeloverssofastsoshinysosharp

And thewizardsplaydownonPinball Wayon theboardwalkwaypastdarkAnd theboysfromthecasinodancewiththeir shirtsopen

likeLatin loversalong theshore

For thefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

"Open AllNight,"1982

I had thecarburetorcleaned andchecked with herlineblown outshe'shummin'like aturbojetProppedherup in thebackyard onconcreteblocksfora newclutchplateand anewsetof shocksTookherdowntothecarwash checktheplugs andpoints

I'mgoin'out tonightI'mgonna rockthatjoint

Forthefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

"StateTrooper," 1982

NewJersey Turnpikeridin'onawetnight'neath therefinery'sglow,outwherethegreatblackriversflow

License,registration, I ain'tgot none,but Igota clear conscience'Bout thethingsthatI done

Misterstatetrooperpleasedon'tstopme...

For thefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

"Atlantic City,"1982

Well,theyblewupthe Chicken Man in Philly lastnightAnd theyblewup hishouse,too

Down ontheboardwalkthey'rereadyfora fightGonnaseewhat them racketboyscan do

Forthefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

"WreckingBall,"2012

I was raisedoutof steelhere in theswampsof Jersey,somemisty years ago

Through themud and thebeer, andthe blood andthecheers, I'veseenchampionscomeandgoSo ifyou gotthe gutsmister, yeahif you'vegot theballs

If youthinkit'syourtime,thensteptothe line, and bringon yourwrecking ball

Forthefullsong lyricspleasevisit:

CREDIT INFORMATION:

p. 1:FrankSinatra,Courtesy ofHobokenHistoricalMuseum.

It Happened Here:NewJersey is a programof theNewJersey Historical Commission made possible by a grant fromtheNewJersey Council for theHumanities,astate partner oftheNational Endowmentfor theHumanities. Anyviews,findings,conclusions, or recommendations expressed inthe programdo not necessarilyrepresentthoseof the National Endowmentfor theHumanities ortheNew Jersey CouncilfortheHumanities.To access more teachingresources created forthisprogramvisit