The Beatles Track Frank Sinatra Called One of the Best Love Songs Ever Written

The Beatles and Frank Sinatra both stand as giants of their time, but they dominated the charts in very different eras.

Sinatra was born in 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants. He had a difficult childhood right from the start—a forceps delivery left him with scarring and eardrum damage, and his slight frame during adolescence and adult life made him the target of many jokes. Nevertheless, he overcame these obstacles to become a best-selling artist, recording numerous enduring albums.

Sinatra got his start as a jazz crooner with bandleader Harry James. In 1946, he released his debut solo album, but it was his records recorded with arranger Nelson Riddle that really catapulted the “Chairman of the Board” to superstardom.

Between Rock and a Hard Place

Sinatra sang with carefully sculpted emotion over immaculate and sophisticated arrangements. Perhaps it should be no surprise then that he was initially scornful of the new music called rock ’n’ roll. In fact, in 1957, the singer described rock as: “the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear.”

In 1960, however, Sinatra's opinion began to change. He hosted Elvis Presley on his television show, even singing a duet onstage. Upon Presley's death, Sinatra said: "There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend."

The Mop-Top Invasion

A few years after Sinatra first hosted Presley, a new phenomenon hit the USA—the British Invasion. Presley may have successfully converted the public and the establishment to his side, but suddenly here were The Beatles—four brash young men sporting unruly haircuts and shaking up the charts.

Once again, Sinatra was initially unimpressed. In promotional material for his 1965 album, A Man and His Music, the singer wrote: “If you happen to be tired of kid singers wearing mops of hair thick enough to hide a crate of melons…it should be refreshing.”

High Praise for Harrison

Just as with Elvis, however, Sinatra overcame his first impressions and even went so far as to call one Beatles' composition "the greatest love song of the past 50 years."

The song in question was “Something.” It appeared on the Fab Four's 1969 album, Abbey Road. George Harrison penned the track—a beautiful and moving ballad which Sinatra rightly recognized for its emotional intensity and captivating melody. So much admiration did Sinatra have for the song that he even recorded a version himself.

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