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Frank Sinatra didn’t think The Beatles would crack America

Wed 23 November 2022 12:00, UK

Frank Sinatra was the undisputed king of New York, a musician who had the freedom of the city as far as locals were concerned. Sinatra wholly believed he was tuned into the tastes of New Yorkers, and he was adamant The Beatles wouldn’t make it, but they defiantly proved him wrong.

Sinatra and The Beatles have a rich history. Famously, the crooner gave them his seal of approval when he covered their song, ‘Something’, but the swing sensation wasn’t sold on the group at first. In truth, the feeling was mutual, and George Harrison didn’t initially care when Sinatra chose to put a spring on one of his songs. However, Harrison had a change of heart later.

In Anthology, Harrison confessed: “When I wrote it, in my mind I heard Ray Charles singing it, and he did do it some years later. At the time, I wasn’t particularly thrilled that Frank Sinatra did ‘Something’. I’m more thrilled now than I was then. I wasn’t really into Frank – he was the generation before me.”

Ha added: “I was more interested when Smokey Robinson did it and when James Brown did it. But I’m very pleased now, whoever’s done it. I realise that the sign of a good song is when it has lots of cover versions.”

According to Sinatra, ‘Something’ was “one of the best love songs I believe to be written in 50 or 100 years,” which typifies his love for the song. He made the aforementioned comment during a live show available to watch online, and ‘Something’ became a true-fan favourite during his shows.

However, initially, Sinatra was sceptical about The Beatles and didn’t foresee them replicating their success in Britain across the pond. Before he knew it, Beatlemania was in full swing, and Ol’ Blue Eyes was left with egg on his face. Featured in the book George Harrison on George Harrison, a brutally honest quote from Sinatra reads: “I thought the Beatles would die in New York. I was very surprised by the reception they got. I guess I was wrong.”

Another Beatle who had a run-in with Sinatra is Paul McCartney, who once revealed he wrote a song for the American. However, much to Macca’s surprise, Sinatra rejected the track because he felt it was “taking the mickey out of him”, which may have something to do with the title.

Speaking to Virgin Radio in 2003, McCartney revealed: “I once sent Frank Sinatra a song called ‘Suicide’. I thought it was quite a good one – but apparently, he thought I was taking the mickey out of him, and he rejected it.”

The song mentioned by McCartney later surfaced, and you can listen to it below.