Maps of Music

Point of No Return (1962)

Where the lyrics of Point of No Return take you, and where it was really made.

This album is Sinatra's last set of original Capitol recordings, cut in a rushed two-day session, before he left for his own Reprise label.

Key places

Hurried two-day session at Capitol Studios (1961)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded in a hurried two-day session in September 1961 at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood, to fulfill Sinatra's contract with Capitol. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Point of No Return: the twenty-fifth studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra
• Released March 1962 by Capitol Records
• Contains Sinatra's final original recordings for Capitol before he moved to Reprise Records
• Recorded in a hurried two-day session in September 1961 to fulfill his contract

Background

• Sinatra had already begun recording with Reprise as early as 1960
• By the time of these sessions he had released Ring-A-Ding-Ding, I Remember Tommy, and Sinatra Swings
• He moved to Reprise to gain more artistic freedom with his recordings
• He later returned to Capitol to record Duets (1993) and Duets II (1994)

Recording

• Reunited with Axel Stordahl, the arranger and conductor who helped Sinatra rise to stardom with Columbia Records in the 1940s
• Sinatra rushed through the sessions to fulfill his obligation to Capitol, which upset Stordahl
• Stordahl had also arranged Sinatra's first Capitol session in 1953, giving the Capitol era a sense of closure
• Personnel: Stordahl (arrangement, conductor), Heinie Beau as "ghost arranger", Conrad Gozzo on lead trumpet
• Bonus tracks: the rest of Sinatra's work with Stordahl on Capitol, recorded at the first Capitol session in April 1953 and produced by Voyle Gilmore

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants.
• Began singing professionally as a teenager with the Hoboken Four, winning Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
• Joined Harry James's band in 1939, then Tommy Dorsey's band, before going solo in 1942.

Career

• Signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and became a major star of the bobby-soxer era.
• Signed with Capitol Records in 1953; collaborated with arranger Nelson Riddle on albums such as In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.
• Founded Reprise Records in 1960, releasing albums including September of My Years and the hit single "My Way".
• Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Estimated to have sold around 150 million records worldwide.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.
• Died May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released March 1962 by Capitol Records, the label Sinatra had recorded for since 1953
• The title reflects that the album holds Sinatra's final original Capitol recordings
• Released as Sinatra was moving to his own Reprise Records label to gain more artistic freedom
• Sinatra had already recorded with Reprise from 1960 and released three albums before these sessions
• The sessions took place in a hurried two-day stretch in September 1961 to meet the Capitol contract
• The album was a special occasion that reunited Sinatra with Axel Stordahl
• Stordahl was upset by how quickly Sinatra rushed through the sessions
• Stordahl's presence gave the Capitol era a sense of closure
• Sinatra later returned to Capitol for Duets (1993) and Duets II (1994)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Sinatra recorded a different version of "I'll Be Seeing You" only months apart in the same year as these sessions, on I Remember Tommy for Reprise.
• Stordahl had helped Sinatra rise to stardom with Columbia Records in the 1940s.
• Heinie Beau is credited as "ghost arranger" on the album.
• Conrad Gozzo played lead trumpet.
• The bonus tracks come from Sinatra's first Capitol session in April 1953, produced by Voyle Gilmore.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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