ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

‘That’s Life’: Frank Sinatra’s Ode To Resilience

Released on November 18, 1966, ‘That’s Life’ blew away the charts even during the height of the rock era.

Published on

Frank Sinatra That's-Life
Cover: Courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises

In the autumn of 1966, Frank Sinatra was at Western Recorders, where he began work on a new album with producer Jimmy Bowen, made up of ten tracks arranged by Ernie freeman. On October 18, with an orchestra conducted by Donnie Lanier, Frank recorded what became that album’s title track – That’s Life.

Listen to That’s Life right now

When it was released as a single, it made the Billboard Hot 100 on November 19 – the highest new entry of the week, entering at No. 75. Eight places below it was another new entry, Nancy Sinatra’s “ Sugar Town.” By Christmas Eve 1966, Frank was at No. 4 on the charts, with Nancy two places behind; the following week Nancy climbed to No. 5. (A version of “That’s Life,” arranged by Nelson Riddle, featured on the CBS TV special, A Man And His Music Part II, which aired on December 7, no doubt helping to propel the song up the singles charts.)

According to Life magazine, the song was “an absolute corker” – an appraisal that certainly applies to the album itself. The LP made the very last Billboard album chart of 1966, and eventually hit No. 6 on the American charts, where it stayed for well over a year.

Frank Sinatra - That's Life | Sinatra A Man And His Music Part II

Click to load video

Russ Regan had found the title song for Frank. “I was a recording artist at Capitol for a little while in 1959 – as a singer – but I didn’t have anything to do with Frank Sinatra,” he recalled. “I did work at Warner/Reprise for about a year, and I worked at Loma Records, which was an R&B Warner arm with a lot of artists. While I was there, one of the writers, Kelly Gordon, brought the song to me, and wanted to record it himself. I said right away that it wasn’t a song for him, and that it was a Frank Sinatra song, so I took it to Mo Ostin. He agreed and passed it through to Frank, and within two days Frank said he wanted to do it.”

The power that a big hit single has to sell an album cannot be underestimated. Thanks partly to the single’s success, Sinatra’s That’s Life LP sold well over a million copies when it was first released – and became the last Frank Sinatra album to make the Top 10 of the US album charts for a quarter of a century.

Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life can be bought here.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. masood ahmed chughtai

    November 25, 2015 at 6:02 am

    I liked his, lonely table in college 1963, since then somehow the other in soul I have remained lonely, I regard & love frank sinatra for the wonderful, music he gave this unthakfull world.

  2. Nelson

    November 20, 2017 at 12:40 pm

    Sin lugar a dudas la mejor voz de lengua Inglesa

  3. Carlos.

    December 25, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    Genio.

  4. Carlos.

    December 25, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    Inigualable.

  5. Inez Mulley

    December 26, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    absolutely loved his singing, the feeling he put into his songs made one think he was singing just for you. His diction was perfect in every song he sang – I will always be a fan and have been since I was in my very early teens and am now in my mid eighties

  6. Sebas

    October 18, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    As Jim Morrison once said “That Sinatra…no one can touch him!”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Billy Idol - Rebel Yell LP
Rebel Yell (40th Expanded Edition) (Marbled Limited Edition) 2LP
ORDER NOW
Def Leppard - Pyromania 2LP
Def Leppard
Pyromania 2LP
ORDER NOW
The Who - Live At Shea Stadium 1982 3LP
The Who
Live At Shea Stadium 1982 3LP
ORDER NOW
Keane - Hopes And Fears 20th Limited Edition 2LP
Keane
Hopes And Fears 20th Limited Edition 2LP
ORDER NOW
Abba - Waterloo 50th Anniversary
Abba - Waterloo 50th Anniversary (Limited Edition 3 x 7" Box Set)
ORDER NOW
Bob Marley - Songs Of Freedom Limited Edition 6LP Box Set
Bob Marley - Songs Of Freedom Limited Edition 6LP Box Set
ORDER NOW
uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top