The Beatles proved Frank Sinatra spectacularly wrong in 1964: “I was very surprised”
As someone who could reasonably lay claim to being one of the first true pop stars, you’d think that Frank Sinatra would have a pretty good eye for picking out what had the potential to join him in the elite ranks of stardom.
A large number of his contemporaries in the 1940s and early ‘50s were of a similar ilk, with the likes of fellow Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr and and Dean Martin operating in a similar field. However, as soon as the advent of rock and roll became the dominant force in the charts, there was far more that needed to be observed in terms of trends, and the style that had helped Sinatra and company reach the heights that they did may have found itself going out of fashion.
Despite being known for his big band style with crooning vocals, he wasn’t completely oblivious to the rise in popularity of other acts in these rapidly appearing scenes, even if they were happening in a different manner than how he’d managed to establish himself.
However, given how much of a commotion he had generated previously, he probably ought to have been able to recognise that what the new blood in the ‘60s had was no different to his own success, which is why his inaccurate estimation of how The Beatles would fare on their first trip to the States was so shocking.
When The Beatles first arrived in America in 1964, they’d come from the UK, where they had almost established themselves as the hottest ticket in popular culture in an alarmingly short space of time. The frenzied crowds they were instantly met with in America, who had evidently heard of their success through the grapevine, ought to have indicated that they were about to make the same impression overseas, but Sinatra didn’t seem convinced by their ability to conquer a much larger country that was so far from home.
It could have landed completely differently, of course, but Sinatra’s assessment of the band he thought was destined to fail ended up being extremely misguided, so much so that it caught the attention of The Beatles themselves, who found it amusing that someone as popular as Sinatra would have such prominent doubts about their credentials.
In 1964, while the band were still in the midst of their travels across the US, where they’d been going down a storm, George Harrison penned an essay for British news outlet, the Daily Express, where he discussed their experiences on the road, and rather cheekily, he ended it with a footnote from Sinatra, who was willing to accept how wrong he’d been in his estimation of the band.
“I thought The Beatles would die in New York,” the note read. “I was very surprised by the reception they got. I guess I was wrong.”
We all make mistakes, but for someone of Sinatra’s status, it’s surprising he didn’t have higher hopes for a band who were evidently destined for world domination from the moment they stepped off the plane and set foot on American soil.
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