''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' is the tenth studio album by American singer

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, and his fourth for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. It was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956 on LP and January 1987 on CD. It was the first album ever to top the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

Production

This album was arranged by Nelson Riddle, and took a different tack after '' In the Wee Small Hours'' (1955), recording existing pop standards in a hipper, jazzier fashion, revealing an overall exuberance in the vein of '' Songs for Young Lovers'' and '' Swing Easy!''. An additional track, " Memories of You", was recorded during the sessions but ultimately left off the album. As a slow

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, it was deemed inappropriate on an album of "swinging" uptempo numbers since the album already included the ballad "We'll Be Together Again". While Sinatra would re-record the song with Axel Stordahl in 1961 for the album ''

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'', the 1956 recording with Riddle would remain unreleased until its inclusion on '' The Longines Symphonette'' album ''Sinatra Like Never Before'' (SYS-5637), released in September 1973 as a bonus LP in the 10-album boxed set ''Sinatra, The Works''. The 1956 recording eventually reached a wider audience when released on '' The Capitol Years'' compilation in 1990. The original cover had Sinatra facing away from the young couple, but in 1957 Capitol altered the cover with a new image of Sinatra facing the couple. Most CD releases have retained the new cover, though

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uses the original.

Legacy

In 2000, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and ranked number 306 on ''

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'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

in 2003, and 308 in 2012 revised list. Sinatra aficionados often rank it his best or second best album (to '' In the Wee Small Hours'') and many music critics consider it one of the greatest albums of its era. In 2000 it was voted number 100 in Colin Larkin's '' All Time Top 1000 Albums''. The LP was the first number one album in the UK. It was knocked off the top after two weeks by '' Carousel'' (the 1956 movie's soundtrack). In 2025, '' Uncut'' ranked it at number 18 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1950s". Contributor Nick Hasted wrote that Sinatra countered

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

"with some hip teenage exuberance from the spirited end of the songbook", elaborating:

Releases

''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' was released in March 5, 1956 on LP and January 1987 on CD. In February 2014, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a hybrid disc (SACD + CD) of the album. The original 1956 front cover art was re-used for this issue.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1956 albums Frank Sinatra albums Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle Albums produced by Voyle Gilmore Albums conducted by Nelson Riddle Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Capitol Records albums Swing albums