What Happened to Frank Sinatra’s Music Catalog? The Answer May Shock You

27th May 1949: A formal portrait of American crooner and actor Frank Sinatra (1915 - 1998) — Keystone/Getty Images

Frank Sinatra‘s legacy wasn’t just about his unmistakable voice, but also the way he approached music. He had a deep appreciation for arrangements, working closely with some of the most respected arrangers of the 20th century, including Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Quincy Jones, Johnny Mandel, Robert Farnon, and Neal Hefti. Turns out there were over 1,200 boxes of arrangements and songs, many of which had never been heard by the public. Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame now owns those boxes and has done something very special with them.

Those discoveries have become the foundation of a new MacFarlane album, out now, titled Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements. The project, released on Verve/Republic, was recorded at Skywalker Sound with a 70-piece orchestra under British conductor John Wilson.

THE ORVILLE, Seth MacFarlane in 'The Road Not Taken', season finale, (Season 2, ep. 214, airs April 25, 2019).

Kevin Estrada/Fox/Everett Collection

MacFarlane explained to Variety, “What’s special about what these [arrangers] did, and what’s unique about Sinatra’s role in this is that, with the possible exception of Nat King Cole, there really wasn’t any other vocalist of that era who seemed to understand the importance of an arrangement to the degree that Sinatra did. He really had a love for the charts — he understood how they could elevate a vocal. What’s really telling is when you pull the vocal out and you’re just hearing the charts, what you’re hearing is a degree of artistry that is unmatched in popular music before or since. These charts alone, independent of the vocal part, were really high musical art.”

So, how did he come to acquire the music? MacFarlane said, “Frank Jr. used to do Family Guy periodically and became a good friend to the show. And when he passed away, stewardship of the library went to [Frank’s daughter] Tina Sinatra. I developed a friendship with her, and she remains a very close friend to this day. And she allowed us to go through the library, which at the time was about 1,200 boxes.”

Tina added, “Seth’s interest and knowledge of my father’s music is boundless. With arrangements by the masters, Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Don Costa, we can only wonder why these songs went unproduced. Thanks to Seth, we can now enjoy these lost Sinatra arrangements.”

Have you listened to any of the songs? What do you think of them?