Album Review: Frank Sinatra Lost and Found: The Radio Years (2015)

Album cover of Frank Sinatra Lost and Found: The Radio Years, 2015.

Frank Sinatra with an NBC microphone, 1940's.

Frank Sinatra hosted several radio shows during the 1940’s, and he recorded many songs on these shows that he never recorded for Columbia, his record label at the time. Fortunately for Sinatraphiles, many of those radio shows were recorded and have since been released, either officially or unofficially. Frank Sinatra Lost and Found: The Radio Years features 23 previously unreleased Sinatra radio performances. This CD was issued in 2015, and it’s only sold through the Smithsonian. If you’re a fan of Sinatra’s Columbia recordings, it’s a must-have. I wrote a lengthy overview of Sinatra’s Columbia period, 1943-1952, here.

The performances on Lost and Found: The Radio Years were recorded between 1942 and 1949, and they find Sinatra in excellent voice throughout. The Sinatra of the 1940’s possessed a warm baritone voice that had a strikingly pure tone. The intimacy of Sinatra’s vocal delivery was a key to his appeal—by some magical trick, it felt as though he was singing directly to the listener. Millions of young women across the country felt this way, and when you consider that this beautiful voice came out of a young man with piercing blue eyes, a winning smile, and a generous amount of dark, wavy hair—yes, he actually did have hair in those days—it’s no wonder that he became such a heartthrob. 

Those millions of young women were absolutely right to adore Sinatra, as his singing style marked a definite break with the male crooners who had come before him. Although Sinatra was influenced by Bing Crosby, he didn’t sound like Crosby, and didn’t try to. Sinatra didn’t sound like anyone. His approach to phrasing was also very different from other singers—Sinatra was trying to make his phrases as long as possible, in order to sustain the proper mood and feeling of a song. Although Sinatra didn’t even have a high school diploma, he was an autodidact who brought forth a highly developed psychological astuteness to the songs he sang. Sinatra carefully considered every phrase of the lyrics that he sang, and this brought an emotional depth to his interpretations of songs that other singers simply didn’t have. 

Lost and Found: The Radio Years previews some songs that would eventually become some of Sinatra’s most famous—“I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Just One of Those Things,” and “I Won’t Dance.” While these early versions are lovely, and very interesting to hear, they don’t have the same swing that Sinatra’s more famous recordings of them from the 1950’s do. Sinatra was looser in the 1950’s, unafraid to experiment with the rhythm and timing of his vocals. The 1940’s versions are also lacking the excellent Nelson Riddle arrangements that these tunes sported when Sinatra re-recorded them in the 1950’s. Although it was actually George Siravo who did the arrangement for the 1953 version of “I Get a Kick Out of You.” (You can read all about that on my review of Songs for Young Lovers and Swing Easy.) There’s a fun moment on the version of “I Get a Kick Out of You” on Lost and Found when the girls scream in protest as Sinatra sings the lyric, “you obviously don’t adore me.”  

Other highlights of the disc include two transportation-themed songs both introduced by Judy Garland—“The Trolley Song” from Meet Me in St. Louis, and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” from The Harvey Girls. This was the only time Sinatra recorded these songs, and they’re enjoyable rarities to have. It’s also fun to hear the audience reaction to Sinatra on “I’ll Get By,” where you can hear the girls scream for him. Frank even mocks their reaction by squealing himself, which of course makes the girls squeal louder. “Ballerina” is a superb example of Sinatra bringing his excellent interpretative powers to a typical pop song and creating something that stirs an emotional response in the listener. There’s also a lovely version of “I Found a New Baby” with the Nat King Cole Trio. Unfortunately, Cole is only playing piano and doesn’t sing with Sinatra, but it’s still a nice moment to have. Cole accompanies Sinatra superbly, and then double-times his solo before slowing back down when Frank re-enters at the end. Frank also sings two songs more closely associated with his Rat Pack buddy Dean Martin, “Powder Your Face with Sunshine (Smile, Smile, Smile)” Dino’s first Top Ten hit from 1949, and “You’ll Always Be the One I Love,” the B-side of Martin’s 1964 version of “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.” 

Lost and Found: The Radio Years is yet more proof of the remarkable depth of Frank Sinatra’s recorded legacy. More than seventy years after these radio shows were recorded, they add to our knowledge and appreciation of Sinatra’s art.