Frank Sinatra's Contribution to Elevating Las Vegas to its Current Essay

Frank Sinatra's Contribution to Elevating Las Vegas to its Current Status - Essay Example His professional career as musician spans over 60 years throughout which he has displayed a â€Å"remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals despite often countervailing trends† (Sinatra). However, his biggest contributions came in the state of Nevada, the city of Las Vegas. When Vegas was not the glamorous metropolis in the desert it is today, early casinos such as the Sahara and The Desert Inn relied on the star power of their headlining performers to bring guests into their door. However, mainly it is Frank Sinatra’s fabulous and captivating songs hits such as â€Å"Summer Wind† and â€Å"My Way,† with his irrefutable talent and ability to mesmerize an audience, which has led to Las Vegas’ enviable rise to fame. The legend was brought up in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he attended Demarest High School. After his graduation, he enrolled for journalism classes and later became a cub sports reporter. His mother, with her do mineering and stubborn nature, encouraged him to sing in a band. Subsequently, after a while, she got him a job, which would broadcast his talents through the WNEW station. He married Nancy Barbato in 1939 and had three children with her. During the time, he met the Frank Mane band by whom he signed a one year contract of performing together. This was the beginning of his career and he made his first recording with this band, performing the song â€Å"Our Love.† Once the contract was over, Frank coupled up with Henry James’s band in his bid to make himself a name in the music industry. With his hard work and enthusiasm, he recorded ten songs along with this band under the labels- Brunswick and Columbia. Then he received overtures from Tommy Dorsey to become a member of his band Frank realized that perhaps this was the break that he was looking for and he accepted the offer happily. Fortunately for him, this venture got him into the movie â€Å"Las Vegas Nights.† Besides, as another stroke of good luck, he was also able to top the charts for twelve weeks with the song â€Å"I’ll never smile again.† The Billboard and Downbeat magazines, which were dominant authorities in music ratings, featured him with high ranks among the singers of that period. He was really rising to fame, achieving so much in such short time. Within a span of just three years, 23 of his songs were among the top ten on Billboard. He then left the Dorsey band and started solo music. By this time he had acquired thousands of fans, known as ‘Bobby Soxers.’ When he made an appearance in the Paramount theatre, everyone got so wild that the crowd was literally uncontrollable. Next in Sinatra’s agenda came his debut at the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden, when he was under the contract of Columbia Records. It is relevant to note here that when a person attain certain level of a celebrity status, the town or city he hails from or lives in, also becomes a center of attraction for the masses as well as media. Thus, Sinatra’s fame also began to make Las Vegas a place of attraction. Celebrities like Gregory Peck has endorsed that Sinatra and his band need to be credited for the everlasting â€Å"sense of free-floating fun and frolic that captured the imagination of the world† (Weatherford par. 4). On the other hand, Lt Gov Lorrain Hung claims that â€Å"