SF-1201 Sinatra: Voice of the 20th Century
Before Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Beyonce and Michael Jackson came Frank Sinatra: America's first pop superstar. When he died in 1998 at age 82, his obituary in The New York Times noted that "Sinatra stood as a singular mirror of the American psyche." Students will explore the 20th century through Sinatra's life and six-decade career; his parent's emigration from Italy; his rise as a singer who reinterpreted the Great American Songbook into timeless classics; his films that reflected life in the wartime 40s, the Baby Booming 50s and Mad Men 60s but also addressed the then-taboo topics of drug addiction, government insurrection and homosexuality; his voice for racial and religious tolerance; and his association with presidents, industry giants, pro athletes and organized crime figures. Students will listen, watch, write, read, research, share and understand why Sinatra remains popular today.