[katana]

I heard him sing in person once. I was in my twenties and had never really understood why he was considered such a star. His voice over the radio sounded less melodic and more North Jersey conversational.

Then I heard him sing a few songs live into a mike in front of an actual orchestra. His voice was like an instrument, the dominant instrument, of the orchestra. Not a separate thing but the essential element. I have heard nothing like that from any singer before or since.

[Sans-Culotte]

Yep, Frank always sang live with the orchestras in his recordings. Many singers would add the vocal track to an existing instrumental track, but not Sinatra. To me, he is almost like an opera singer. His breath support as he pushes out the sound is operatic. He didn't merely rely on his vocal cords for sound, but pushed his voice with his diaphragm.

A lot of people don't get that there are several phases to Sinatra's singing career. All are so different thay almost sound like a different person. There's the young crooner who was the idol of bobby-soxers, then the swinging bachelor guy of the 50's in a fedora (the Capitol Years - his best years IMO), then the Rat Pack years of the 60's, followed by his years of touring in a tux from the mid-70's to his death. Most non-Sinatra fans probably think of "New York, New York" when they think of Sinatra. That was basically his last big hit, and done after his voice had lost much of its range and elasticity.