Frank Sinatra was hailed as “the first modern pop superstar” but he also found favor with jazz enthusiasts who valued his enduring sense of “swing.” 🎶⁣ ⁣ Sinatra launched his singing career in his native New Jersey. In 1939, he scored a breakthrough and was recruited to be a vocalist with Harry James’s big band.⁣ ⁣ His solo career flourished for several years before suffering a steep decline. An Oscar-winning role in the film "From Here to Eternity" (1953) helped revive his fortunes, as did a contract with Capitol Records. ⁣ ⁣ No longer a young crooner, Sinatra now expressed a hipness and worldly sophistication in his singing that was perfectly in tune with the times.⁣ ⁣ 📸 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Willoughby © Bob Willoughby