Hi, has anyone heard about the recording Frank did with Frank Mane called "Our Love". I think it's a great piece of music.

Frank made the recording in 1938 as a gift to his mother. The melody is based on Tschaikovsky's symphonic poem "Romeo & Juliet" written in 1871. The adaption was penned by Buddy Bernier, Bob Emmerich and bandleader Larry Clinton.

I believe it was'nt a gift for his mother, he was invited 1 nite at a recording studio by his cousin. And can you believe he recored it the nite before his wedding to Nancy.

Now that I think of it, it could have been for his bride. I've heard other dates for the recording.

P.S. Frank was married to Nancy on February 4, 1939 according to a book I have.

[Pedro]

From Chuck Granata.

...Mane assured him it would be fine, and at the appointed time on March 18, 1939, the band, plus Sinatra, reassembled at Harry Smith's Recording Studio...

Pedro.

There's an older thread containing some more info on "Our Love", check it at

http://www.sinatrafamily.com/forum/s...ane#post128789


For a long time, the recording date was given as 2-3-39 (the eve of Sinatra's marriage to Nancy Barbato), but the correct date in the interim has been shown to be 3-18-39. Thanks Pedro for clipping the passage in question from Granata's book!

Bernhard.

[Chuck Granata]

Hi All,

Frank Mane was an interesting guy. He never tried to "cash in" on his Sinatra connection, preferring instead to share both his stories and the sole acetate of "Our Love" with his friends, neighbors and music students. He taught music privately and in public schools for decades, and was a gentleman to anyone who called on him.

When Will Friedwald and I interviewed him at his home, I photographed the disc and label for "Our Love." Frank Mane explained to us that Frank Sinatra used to hang around the club where Mane and his band practiced. One night, Mane told Sinatra that he was planning a recording session for the following evening, and Sinatra asked if he could tag along. Mane said sure, and when there was extra time left after the band had recorded their instrumentals, Sinatra asked Mane if he could sing a song (and record it) with the band. Mane agreed, and since they hadn't prepared anything, Sinatra sang "Our Love."

Mane was very specific in saying that it was all very spontaneous, and that he did it because Sinatra was loyal, i. e. he was always hanging around with the band. It was a generous thing for him to do at that time, and I am still amazed that Mane's role in allowing Frank Sinatra to make his first in-studio recording was not fully explained until so late in both their lives; Mane did, however, make it clear that Sinatra ALWAYS treated him and his wife royally, inviting them to local concerts in the 1970s and 1980s, and spending time with them backstage and at dinners afterward.

It was nice to be able to tell his story in my book - he certainly deserved the credit, and his role in the Sinatra story is integral.

Chuck Granata

Bernhard & Peter, I'm glad I read this whole thread. I just ordered the Hindsight HCD-263 CD All or Nothing At All. I never knew this CD existed. Thanks for posting the info.

[russkish3]

I have always found it interesting that Frank Sinatra was in a recording session (located, of all places, at the New York World's Fair) on the date of 31 August 1939. The session gave us "All or Nothing at All." And within hours, on the date of 1 September 1939, Nazi troops invaded Poland, marking the official start of World War II. This is yet another example of how even in the beginning Mr. Sinatra was riding the pulse line of the universe, or at least the affairs here on earth.

Thanks, Bernhard, for providing the historical listings that fill in much of the Sinatra back story.

Best regards,

Russell Kishi
Glendale, California

That's quite an interesting historical perspective, Russell!

I checked back with the details for the 8-31-1939 session, and it started late and actually went until well after midnight New York City time... European time being 6 hours ahead, and the Nazis starting the war about 5:45 am German time, it could be assumed that the war started *the very minute* Sinatra was recording the song... because "Here Comes The Night" was recorded first, "All Or Nothing At All" being the second tune in line.

Very particular an observation indeed.

Bernhard.

Russ,

Good historical perspective on Sinatra performance at the '39 World's Fair. The fact that it was recorded at the World's Fair in '39 caught my interest. You learn something every day at this forum. Thanks to the internet, I was able to find this CD.

Too bad FS didn't return 25 years later to the '64 World's Fair at the same spot. That's the World's Fair I attended.

*****Good historical perspective on Sinatra performance at the '39 World's Fair. The fact that it was recorded at the World's Fair in '39 caught my interest.******

Actually, it is doubled.

Sinatra did appear at the World Fair on 8-31-1939, but probably early in the evening. The version of "All Or Nothing At All" captured there done live (and mastered into a band remote) is featured on the Hindsight CD.

But the commercial Columbia studio recording of the song made on the same day, which I was alluding to in my post re the timing, wasn't made at the World Fair.
The session took place late in the evening at a New York City recording studio (World Broadcasting Studios, 55th Avenue). This is the one that probably was done at the same time as WW2 started. Two different takes have been released, both on the Columbia/Legacy CD comprising all of the Sinatra-Harry James studio work.

Bernhard.

[MAP 55]

WOW! , Shine with the Hoboken Four was a great recording.

[Stranger56]

Mark, you're a riot!

I just signed up for this board to ask this very question.
A friend of mine owns a 78 rpm record dated 1935 that say "Audition record" on the label. The date and Frank Sinatra's name are written in pencil. I only heard a piece of the record, but he told me that the record has the same song performed 4 different ways. I was going to ask if 1935 was too early, proving the record a hoax, but I guess he was recording by that time. Does anyone have any suggetions to help us find out the truth behind this record?

Frank's first known studio recording was "Our Love" with Frank Mane in March 1939, and that was a private one-only record that was not released commercially. His first commercial single with Harry James was recorded in July 1939.

Anything earlier than that is an aircheck (off-the-air radio transcription), such as "Shine" from the Major Bowes Amateur Hour program (September 1935) or "Exactly Like You" with a Dixieland band on The Fred Allen Show (May 1937).

So your friend's record is either a hoax, or it is an extemely rare heretofore unknown transcription that should be placed in a bank vault immediately, as it would be worth a small fortune, Derek!

[Added: The word "known" in the first sentence and "small" in the last sentence. Who knows? Your friend may indeed have something of great value that's been unknown to the legions of Sinatra fanatics and scholars who have searched for such items for decades.]

[SYLMML]

Derek...Bob is right it sounds very rare indeed. It was probably used to showcase his voice. I can almost picture it as my late brother had the same 78 audition records with written words on it. Some he went into the studio to record and some he did at home with a machine he built himself, to record on. Good luck to your friend. If I were Nancy... I would love to hear it.

Thanks for your responses. I am going to contact my friend today and try to get some pictures of the record to post. He got the record at a flea market around 10 years ago for $1.00 . Now, he's pushing 80 yrs old and unable to research the record himself, so I told him I'd see what I could do.
The fact that he got the record for $1 interests me because hoaxes are made to make money. I don't think it would be likely to find something like that in a box of records priced at $1 each. I'll also try to get lyrics to post to see if it is familiar to anyone. I do know that the record does play through without skipping, but does have heavy surface noise. Once again, thanks for the help.

<< heavy surface noise >>

Modern day digital techniques can do wonders for restoring the original sound quality. An occasional visitor to this forum, Mr. Charles Granata (who posted earlier in this several years-old thread) is an expert on the subject, who has been involved in the restoration by Sony of Frank Sinatra's Columbia and Victor recordings from the 1940's and later.

Note: Mr. Granata now uses the forum member name "Chuckster." That message above pre-dated the server crash which resulted in many threads being consigned to the "archives." These have now been restored to the main forum, which is causing many interesting topics to once again receive attention.

[Domenico]

I love that song,"SHINE"

Domenic