Sinatra
The Chairman
Published on 26. October 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
992 pages
978-0-7515-4744-3 (ISBN)
Description
Just in time for the Chairman's centennial, the endlessly absorbing sequel to James Kaplan's bestselling Frank: The Voice
Finally the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed 'The Entertainer of the Century,' deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) powerful actor, business mogul, tireless lover and associate of the powerful and infamous.
In 2010's Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan, in rich, distinctive, compulsively-readable prose, told the story of Frank Sinatra's meteoric rise to fame, subsequent failures, and reinvention as a star of the stage and screen. The story of 'Ol' Blue Eyes; continues with Sinatra: The Chairman, picking up the day after Frank claimed his Academy Award in 1954 and had reestablished himself as the top recording artist in music.
Frank's life post-Oscar was incredibly dense: in between recording albums and singles, he often shot four or five movies a year; did TV show and nightclub appearances; started his own label, Reprise; and juggled his considerable commercial ventures (movie production, the restaurant business, even prizefighter management) alongside his famous and sometimes notorious social activities and commitments.
Finally the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed 'The Entertainer of the Century,' deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) powerful actor, business mogul, tireless lover and associate of the powerful and infamous.
In 2010's Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan, in rich, distinctive, compulsively-readable prose, told the story of Frank Sinatra's meteoric rise to fame, subsequent failures, and reinvention as a star of the stage and screen. The story of 'Ol' Blue Eyes; continues with Sinatra: The Chairman, picking up the day after Frank claimed his Academy Award in 1954 and had reestablished himself as the top recording artist in music.
Frank's life post-Oscar was incredibly dense: in between recording albums and singles, he often shot four or five movies a year; did TV show and nightclub appearances; started his own label, Reprise; and juggled his considerable commercial ventures (movie production, the restaurant business, even prizefighter management) alongside his famous and sometimes notorious social activities and commitments.
Reviews / Votes
Kaplan writes with an addictive wiliness, vigour and feeling that suit his subject . . . to a tee - Daily TelegraphAuthoritative and enjoyable . . . important too - Sunday Times
A wealth of entertaining detail about the singer's career, gnawing personal insecurity, lavish sexual indulgence, and obsessive musical virtuosity - The Observer
Evokes a sense of period with crackling energy - Sunday Express
Very few writers can write coherently about what makes music work. Fewer still can tell what makes it profound. Kaplan can - The Age
At last, Sinatra has the biography he deserves - The Irish Times
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Illustrations
Integrated: 30, Int B/W Photos
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 123 mm
Thickness: 48 mm
Weight
660 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7515-4744-3 (9780751547443)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
James Kaplan is a novelist and nonfiction writer whose essays, reviews and profiles have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire and New York. He co-authored John McEnroe's autobiography, Serious, a number-one New York Times bestseller and co-authored the bestselling Dean and Me with Jerry Lewis. He lives in Westchester, New York, with his wife and three sons.