Join Will Friedwald at the RMA as he discusses his book "Sinatra! The Song is You.."

Frank Sinatra was the greatest entertainer of his age, invigorating American popular song with innovative phrasing and a mastery of drama and emotion. Unlike many biographers who dwell on the singer’s personal life, marriages, alleged mob ties, etc., Will Friedwald focuses on the music—how it was created, how it innovated, how it changed so dramatically from decade to decade, from his days with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey in the 1940s, to the swinging 1950s, to the “My Way” of the 1970s. Drawing upon interviews with hundreds of Sinatra’s collaborators as well as with "The Voice" himself, Friedwald, in his book “Sinatra! The Song Is You,” chronicles, critiques, and celebrates the singer’s five-decade career, illustrating with video examples from his vast library. He examines and evaluates classic and less familiar songs with the same astute, witty perceptions that earned him acclaim for his other books about jazz and pop singing. 

Will Friedwald writes about music and popular culture for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Sun, The New York Stage Review, Vanity Fair, Playboy magazine and other publications. He is also the host of the radio show “Sing! Sing! Sing!” on San Diego KSDS on Saturday mornings. He is the author of ten books including the award-winning A Biographical Guide To The Great Jazz And Pop Singers, Stardust Melodies, Tony Bennett: The Good Life, Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies, and Jazz Singing. He has written over 600 liner notes for compact discs, received eleven Grammy nominations, and appears frequently on television and in documentaries. He last appeared on the RMA speaker’s program in 2022 recounting the life and music of Nat “King” Cole, the subject of another of his acclaimed biographies.“