Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr. - Hardcover

by Bruce H. Klauber (Author), Andrea Kauffman (Author)

As an American singer, conductor, composer, and actor, Frank Sinatra, Jr. (1944-2016), had a long and successful music career and was recognized for his many contributions to American popular song. Yet, his own star has often been overshadowed by his world-famous father. The first book ever published about Frank Sinatra, Jr., Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr., details how this complex and often misunderstood artist dealt with professional struggles, personal demons, and endless comparisons with his father to emerge as a thriving performer who finally made peace with the name "Sinatra."

Let Me Be Frank chronicles Frank Sinatra, Jr.'s life and music career, including the lifetime loyalty of his friends and bandsmen, and his notorious womanizing. It also, of course, details the challenging relationship with his father, including an incident with his father that may have changed Frank Jr. forever. He ran from comparisons to his father and lost work due to his refusal to sing his father's songs. The book also details Frank Jr.'s kidnapping in 1963 when he was nineteen.

Included are over forty interviews with Frank Jr.'s friends, family, and colleagues. It also features a compelling narrative from Andrea Kauffman, Frank Jr.'s personal manager and close friend of thirty-one years, and an in-depth musical analysis of four decades of Frank Jr.'s recordings and stage shows. Let Me Be Frank finally sets the record straight about a brilliant man and a brilliant performer who never truly got the credit he deserved.

Author Biography

Bruce H. Klauber is biographer of jazz legends Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich in books and Warner Bros. films. As a music journalist, he has contributed to dozens of national and regional periodicals. He was honored by Combs College of Music and Drexel University for his contributions to music journalism and jazz performance. Andrea Kauffman is an entertainment industry manager, concert producer, and agent, responsible for bringing dozens of jazz legends--including Mel Tormé, Bobby Scott, Frank D'Rone, George Shearing, and Morgana King--to Atlantic City hotels and casinos. She was the personal manager of Frank Sinatra, Jr. from 1985 until his death in 2016.