Maps of Music

Watertown (1970)

Where the lyrics of Watertown take you, and where it was really made.

It is the only Sinatra album on which he sang over pre-recorded orchestral tracks, and it is also his only major album release to miss the Billboard 200 top 100.

Key places

Orchestral tracks at Columbia 30th Street (1970)

Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — The album's orchestral tracks were recorded in New York at this studio, also called The Church. Sinatra did not record with the orchestra but attended the music sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Vocals laid over pre-recorded tracks in Hollywood (1970)

Recording site EastWest Studios — Sinatra recorded his vocals over the pre-recorded orchestral tracks at this studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. He never again recorded his vocals without a live orchestra. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Watertown (subtitled A Love Story): studio album by Frank Sinatra
• Released March 1970 on Reprise Records
• Concept album centered on a man from Watertown, New York
• The narrator's wife leaves him and their two sons for the big city
• Produced and co-written by Bob Gaudio, a founding member of the Four Seasons
• Jake Holmes also co-wrote the songs
• The only album on which Sinatra voiced over pre-recorded orchestral tracks

Background

• In 1969, Sinatra's sales were low
• To counter this, he agreed to record a concept album with Gaudio, Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons, and singer-songwriter Jake Holmes
• Sinatra had made concept albums before, such as In the Wee Small Hours in 1955
• Gaudio and Valli brought Sinatra a fully written album about a man raising two young sons in Watertown

Recording

• Orchestral tracks recorded in New York at Columbia 30th Street Studio, also called "The Church"
• Sinatra did not record with the orchestra but attended the music sessions
• Music recorded July 14 to 17 and October 13
• Vocals recorded over the pre-recorded tracks at United Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California
• Vocal sessions held August 25 to 27 and October 31
• Sinatra never again recorded his vocals without a live orchestra

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants.
• Began singing professionally as a teenager with the Hoboken Four, winning Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
• Joined Harry James's band in 1939, then Tommy Dorsey's band, before going solo in 1942.

Career

• Signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and became a major star of the bobby-soxer era.
• Signed with Capitol Records in 1953; collaborated with arranger Nelson Riddle on albums such as In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.
• Founded Reprise Records in 1960, releasing albums including September of My Years and the hit single "My Way".
• Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Estimated to have sold around 150 million records worldwide.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.
• Died May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The album was released to mixed critical reviews and poor sales
• It was Sinatra's only major album release not to chart in the top 100 of the Billboard 200

Reappraisal

• The album has since been reevaluated
• Many consider it to be among Sinatra's finest albums

Records

• Did not reach the top 100 of the Billboard 200
• The song "I Would Be in Love (Anyway)" reached #77 on the Canadian pop charts
• The same song reached #4 on the US Adult Contemporary charts

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Gaudio and Valli brought Sinatra a fully written album, which was unusual because the concept came from outside the singer.
• Sinatra recorded his vocals in California after the orchestral tracks had already been made in New York.
• A 1994 CD bonus track, "Lady Day", tells the story of the wife leaving Watertown for the city.
• Jake Holmes explained the story of each track to Ed O'Brien for the CD liner notes.
• Holmes said the closing song "The Train" leaves the story unfinished, because the wife never heard the album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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