Frank Sinatra at 100: The Voice is still here

Frank Sinatra was truly a one of a kind figure in the history of the entertainment business. There are other artists who could sing and act, but none of them could do it as well as the Chairman of the Board.

Sinatra was born on Dec. 12, 1950 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Even though he died in 1998, his work still resonates thanks to countless re-releases of his music and the films he starred in. His Oscar-winning performance in From Here To Eternity remains one of the most unforgettable supporting performances in film, and he was nominated for another Oscar for The Man with the Golden Arm.

Ol’ Blue Eyes was credited with acting in over 60 films. The fact that his music still pops up on soundtracks might be the clearest indication that his influence will never disappear. If you look on IMDb, you’ll find his music appears on So You Think You Can Dance, Mad Men, Dancing with the Stars, Nurse Jackie, Think Like A Man Too, The Other Woman and Begin Again. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” even pops up in the video game Batman: Arkham Knight.

The Sultan of Swoon (he had enough nicknames that you can write a whole book about him without using one twice) came from an era where artists didn’t write their own songs. Instead, they made songs their own to define themselves from others. For Sinatra, his smooth vocals made him one of the top recording artists during World War II.

Sinatra’s career is also filled with comebacks. He even had one in the years before his death with 1993’s Duets. Sure, that was criticized for not having Sinatra and his song partners in the same rooms, but even those played an influential role. Suddenly, everyone recorded a duet album.

With his centennial this year, the Sinatra estate has been releasing even more albums and books. There have been television specials and Sinatra-branded events. Sinatra even appears in commercials for Jack Daniels. And CNBC points out that there’s even an app called “Frank Sinatra 100.”

Clearly, Sinatra is living on and not just because our grandparents or parents share memories of hearing him sing on record, in theaters or on television. His impact on music can’t be avoided and it’s hard to imagine how anyone in the U.S. could survive a year without hearing one of his songs. And if you have somehow made it through 2015 without hearing one of his songs, let’s fix that now.