Maps of Music

Perfectly Frank (1992)

Where the lyrics of Perfectly Frank take you, and where it was really made.

Tony Bennett recorded this album as a tribute to his longtime friend Frank Sinatra, and it went gold in the United States during his late-career comeback.

Key places

Recording at Clinton Recording (1992)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The source lists Clinton Recording as a recording location for this album. The point is placed at the city centre of New York City, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Westlake Studios (1992)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — The source lists Westlake Studios in Los Angeles as a recording location for this album. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Perfectly Frank: studio album by Tony Bennett, released in 1992
• Recorded as a tribute to his longtime friend Frank Sinatra
• 24 tracks, each credited to songwriters such as Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne, Cole Porter, and the Gershwins
• Opens with Time After Time, by Cahn and Styne
• Includes Night and Day by Cole Porter and A Foggy Day by George and Ira Gershwin
• Credited musicians: Tony Bennett on vocals, Ralph Sharon on piano, Paul Langosch on double bass, Joe LaBarbera on drums

Background

• Released during Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success
• Sinatra was Bennett's longtime friend, and the album was made as a tribute to him
• Reissued in 2006 with the same contents, in conjunction with Bennett's 80th birthday

Recording

• Recording locations listed in the source: Clinton Recording in New York City and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles
• The source does not give the exact recording dates

Cover

• The source does not describe the cover artwork

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
• Grew up in poverty after his father, a grocer, became unable to work and died when Tony was ten.
• Sang for money from age 13 as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants in Queens.
• Attended New York's School of Industrial Art but dropped out at 16 to help support his family.

Military service

• Drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1944 and fought as an infantryman in the final stages of World War II.
• Stayed in Germany with the occupying force and sang with an Army Special Services band under the name Joe Bari.

Career

• Studied bel canto at the American Theatre Wing on the GI Bill; Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope helped launch him, and Hope shortened his name to Tony Bennett.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1950; first number-one hit "Because of You" in 1951.
• Shifted toward jazz singing in the late 1950s; "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (1962) became his signature song.
• Declined commercially during the rock era and struggled with addiction and debt until a comeback in the late 1980s, managed by his son Danny.
• The 1994 MTV Unplugged album won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Later career

• Collaborated with Lady Gaga from Cheek to Cheek (2014) through Love for Sale (2021).
• Won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
• Received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2005 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• Co-founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens with Susan Crow.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released in 1992 as a tribute to Frank Sinatra by Tony Bennett
• The album debuted on the Billboard 200 in the issue dated October 3, 1992
• It stayed on the album chart for 26 weeks
• Its peak position on the Billboard 200 was number 102

Reappraisal

• The album was part of Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success
• It was reissued in 2006 with the same contents, under the title Perfectly Frank: An American Classic Celebrates 80
• The 2006 reissue was tied to Bennett's 80th birthday
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in a box set titled The Complete Collection

Records

• Billboard 200 debut: issue dated October 3, 1992
• Peak position on the Billboard 200: number 102
• Time on the album chart: 26 weeks
• Gold record status in the United States
• Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, 1993

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 2006 reissue kept the same contents and was titled Perfectly Frank: An American Classic Celebrates 80.
• On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution placed the CD in the box set The Complete Collection.
• The Italian Wikipedia entry introduces the album as a tribute to Frank Sinatra.
• The album was made in the same period as Bennett's late-career comeback.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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