Strangers in the Night is a 1966 studio album by Frank Sinatra. It marked Sinatra's return to number one on the pop album charts in the mid-1960s, and consolidated the comeback he initiated in 1965. Combining pop hits with show tunes and standards, the album bridges classic jazz-oriented big band with contemporary pop. It became Sinatra's fifth and final album to reach number one on the US Pop Albums Chart. Additionally, the single "Strangers in the Night" reached number one on the pop single charts, while "Summer Wind" has become one of Sinatra best-known songs, making numerous film and television appearances in the years since its release.
| Strangers in the Night | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 30, 1966 (LP) October 6, 1986 (CD) | |||
| Recorded | April 11 – May 16, 1966, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop, vocal jazz | |||
| Length | 27:10 | |||
| Label | Reprise F 1017 | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Bowen | |||
| Frank Sinatra chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Strangers in the Night | ||||
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| Strangers in the Night: Deluxe Edition | |
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| Studio album by | |
| Released | January 26, 2010 |
| Recorded | April 11 – May 16, 1966, Hollywood April 18, 1985, Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genre | Traditional pop, vocal jazz |
| Length | 35:21 |
| Label | Concord Records |
| Producer | Nelson Riddle, Sonny Burke |
At the Grammy Awards of 1967 Sinatra garnered two Grammys for his efforts on this album, including the Record of the Year for the title track, as well as Best Male Vocal Performance for the same song. (He also won a further Grammy that same year, the Album of the Year for A Man and His Music). Ernie Freeman's arrangement of the title track won him the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist, and Eddie Brackett and Lee Herschberg's engineering earned them the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
This is the final album Sinatra performed with long-time arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.
Strangers in the Night has been certified platinum for one million copies sold in the US. Aside from his Christmas output, it remains Sinatra's only solo studio album to achieve this certification to date.
On 26 January 2010 the album was reissued as a "Deluxe Edition" which included three bonus tracks (two recorded tracks of "Strangers in the Night" and "All or Nothing at All" performed at the Budokan Hall from 1985, and an alternate take of "Yes Sir, That's My Baby"). In this 2010 version the audio channels are inverted.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (1966 original) |    link |
| Record Mirror | [1] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (2010 reissue) | link |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strangers in the Night" (From the Universal Picture "A Man Could Get Killed") | Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder (arranged by Ernie Freeman) | 2:35 |
| 2. | "Summer Wind" | Heinz Meier, Hans Bradtke, Johnny Mercer (arranged by Nelson Riddle) | 2:53 |
| 3. | "All or Nothing at All" | Arthur Altman, Jack Lawrence (arranged by Riddle) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Call Me" | Tony Hatch (arranged by Riddle) | 3:07 |
| 5. | "You're Driving Me Crazy!" | Walter Donaldson (arranged by Riddle) | 2:15 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" | Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane (arranged by Riddle) | 3:17 |
| 7. | "My Baby Just Cares for Me" | Donaldson, Gus Kahn (arranged by Riddle) | 2:30 |
| 8. | "Downtown" | Hatch (arranged by Riddle) | 2:14 |
| 9. | "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" | Donaldson, Kahn (arranged by Riddle) | 2:08 |
| 10. | "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart (arranged by Riddle) | 2:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Strangers in the Night" (Live at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 1985) | Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder (arranged by Ernie Freeman) | 2:14 |
| 12. | "All or Nothing at All" (Live at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 1985)) | Arthur Altman, Jack Lawrence (arranged by Nelson Riddle) | 3:40 |
| 13. | "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (Alternate take) | Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn (arranged by Riddle) | 2:17 |
Charts
edit| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italian Albums (HitParadeItalia)[2] | 1 |
| Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) | 1 |
Complete personnel
edit- Frank Sinatra – vocals
- The Nelson Riddle Orchestra
- Artie Kane – Hammond B3 organ
- Bill Miller – Piano (all tracks)
- Michel Rubini – Piano (1)
- Chuck Berghofer – Bass (1)
- Ralph Pena – Bass (2–10)
- Al Viola – Guitar (2–10)
- Al Casey, Bill Pitman, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco – Guitar (1)
- Hal Blaine – Drums (1)
- Irving Cottler – Drums (2–10)
Track 1:
11-April-1966 (Monday) - Hollywood. United Recording (from 6 to 8 P.M.).
Vincent DeRosa, Henry Sigismonti, Gale Robinson, Richard Perissi (fr-h); Bill Green, Andreas Kostelas (fl); Sidney Sharp, Lennie Malarsky, William Kurasch, Ralph Schaeffer, Israel Baker, Arnold Belnick, Jerome Reisler, Robert SusheL John De Voogdt, Bernard Kundell, Tibor Zelig, Gerald Vinci, William Weiss, James Getzoff, Harry Bluestone, Victor Amo (vln); Harry Hyams, Joseph Di Fiore, Darrel Terwilliger, Alex Neiman (via); Joseph Saxon, Jesse Ehrlich, Emmet Sargeant, Armand Kaproff (vie); Bill Miller, Michel Rubini (p); Al Casey, Bill Pitman, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco (g); Chuck Berghofer (b); Hal Blaine (d); Eddie Brackett Jr., Emil Richards (perc). Ernie Freeman (arr).
Tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 8:
16-May-1966 (Monday) - Hollywood.
Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Cappy Lewis, Ray Triscari (tpt); Dick Noel, Tommy Pederson, Tom Shepard (tbn); George Roberts (b-tbn); Chuck Gentry, Bill Green, Justin Gordon, Harry Klee, Abe Most (sax/wwd); Victor Arno, Israel Baker, Alex Beller, Herman Clebanoff, James Getzoff, Anatol Kaminsky, Ralph Schaeffer, Paul Shure, Victor Bay (vln); Barbara Simons, Paul Robyn (via); Justin DiTullio, Elizabeth Greenschpoon, Armand Kaproff (vie); Bill Miller (p); Artie Kane (organ); Al Viola (g); Ralph Pena (b); Irving Cottler (d); Victor Feldman (perc).
Tracks 5, 7, 9, 10:
11-May-1966 (Wednesday) - Hollywood. Western Recorders (from 8 to 11 P.M.).
Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Cappy Lewis, Ray Triscari (tpt); Dick Noel, Tommy Pederson, Tom Shepard (tbn); George Roberts (b-tbn); Chuck Gentry, Bill Green, Justin Gordon, Harry Klee, Ronny Lang (sax/wwd); Victor Amo, Israel Baker, Alex Beller, Herman Clebanoff, James Getzoff, Anatol Kaminsky, Ralph Schaeffer, Paul Shure, Gerald Vinci (vln); Stanley Harris, Paul Robyn (vla); Justin DiTullio, Elizabeth Greenschpoon, Armand Kaproff (vie); Bill Miller (p); Artie Kane (organ); Al Viola (g); Ralph Pena (b); Irving Cottler (d); Emil Richards (perc).
Certifications, sales and awards
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | — | 40,000[4] |
| United States (RIAA)[5] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
- Grammy Awards
| Year | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "Strangers in the Night" | Record of the Year | Won[6] |
| Best Male Vocal Performance | Won[6] | ||
| Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals | Won[6] | ||
| Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Won[6] |
References
edit- ^ Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (2 July 1966). "Frank Sinatra: Strangers In The Night" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 277. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "HitParadeItalia - Top Album N.51 del 17 Dicembre 1966" (in Italian). HitParadeItalia.
- ^ Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography. ISBN 978-0274963768.
- ^ Marquard, Jurg (July 1, 1967). "Switzerland". Billboard. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "American album certifications – Frank Sinatra – Strangers in the night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Grammy Awards 1967".