[chajin]

When I was getting my DMA in the mid 70s, fellow grad students and I would sit around debating esoteric musicological questions, but one day we got into a discussion as to who was the best male singer of the 20th century. All the usual classical candidates were offered, Caruso, Fischer-Dieskau, Pavarotti, Domingo. Then I spoke heresy: I said that for all their talent and training, I was convinced that the best male singer of the 20th century was Frank Sinatra, especially during the Nelson Riddle era of the 1950s. He could never sing the male equivalent of bel canto, but his vocal control, which came to him naturally when he finally stopped trying to sound like a young version of Bing Crosby, puts all other vocalists to shame, and 40+ years later, I am still convinced of this.

[DeFault User]

You would think that a guy who smoked and drank as much as Sinatra did would have lost his vocal talent early on. But I suspect that the circular breathing technique that he learned from Tommy Dorsey helped tremendously. I’ll bet that Sinatra could hold a note longer than Pavarotti or Domingo ;o)

Being able to take a breath while singing a note sounds impossible but is not.

[crabpott]

Long time ago my trumpet playing father told me Sinatra learned his vocal style breathing techniques from Tommy Dorsey. The great trombone player and band leader.
Dad never revered to Sinatra as a singer but as a “song stylist”
And that too.

[zeugma]

He could never sing the male equivalent of bel canto, but his vocal control, which came to him naturally when he finally stopped trying to sound like a young version of Bing Crosby, puts all other vocalists to shame, and 40+ years later, I am still convinced of this.

Agreed. I have a bit of Sinatra in my musical rotation. While much of his work was bubble-gum, there were some rare steaks in there as well, that are pretty much unmatched.