Overview

As an American singer, conductor, composer, and actor, Frank Sinatra, Jr. (1944–2016) had a long and successful music career and was recognized for his many contributions to American popular song. Yet, his own star has often been overshadowed by his world-famous father. The first book ever published about Frank Sinatra, Jr., Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr. details how this complex and often misunderstood artist dealt with professional struggles, personal demons, and endless comparisons with his father to emerge as a thriving performer who finally made peace with the name ""Sinatra."" Let Me Be Frank chronicles Frank Sinatra, Jr’s life and music career including the lifetime loyalty of his friends and bandsmen, and his notorious womanizing. It also, of course, details the challenging relationship with his father, including an incident with his father that may have changed Frank, Jr., forever. He ran from comparisons to his father and lost work due to his refusal to sing his father’s songs. The book also details Frank, Jr.’s kidnapping in 1963 when he was nineteen. Included are over forty interviews with Frank, Jr.’s friends, family, and colleagues. It also features a compelling narrative from Andrea Kauffman, Frank, Jr.’s personal manager and close friend of thirty-one years, and an in-depth musical analysis of four decades of Frank, Jr.’s recordings and stage shows. Let Me Be Frank finally sets the record straight about a brilliant man and a brilliant performer who never truly got the credit he deserved.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bruce H. Klauber ,  Andrea Kauffman
Publisher:   University Press of Mississippi
Imprint:   University Press of Mississippi
ISBN:  

9781496858658

ISBN 10:   1496858654
Pages:   264
Publication Date:   31 October 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Contents Preface Introduction by Bruce H. Klauber Introduction by Andrea Kauffman My Father by Michael Francis Sinatra The Early Years His Place in the Sun The Start at Disneyland Teen Idol in the Making Getting Sentimental: The Dorsey Years The Kidnapping The Aftermath The Swinging 1960s Meet Me in Las Vegas Wild about Harry Film and Television Miscellany On the Road Again I’ll Never Smile Again The Start of Something Big The Call to Conduct Opening Night Father and Son Meet Mary Hart The Children’s Hour They’re Lookin’ for Me, but They’re Gonna Get You Still Spreading the News As I Remember It Gershwin’s America The Final Curtain At the Nineteenth Hole with Barbara Sinatra The Vampire The Sopranos This Is a Musician Singing Radiance That Face High Hopes: The Kennedys Revisited On Broadway The Worst Nightmare The Last Dance The Victim All Things Must Change: A Question of Repertoire Sinatra Sings Sinatra Cen Cel: The One Hundredth Birthday Because I’m Not Done Yet Put Your Dreams Away Missed The Funeral That Wasn’t Acknowledgments Selected Bibliography Index

Reviews

Let Me Be Frank is the first biography of the enigmatic Frank Sinatra, Jr., a singer who lived most of his life in the immense shadow of his legendary father. The authors, Bruce Klauber and Andrea Kauffman, created this work as a labor of love for a man they knew well. Their research is extensive, drawn from over forty in-depth interviews, including one with Michael Sinatra, the singer's son. Kauffman was Frank Jr.'s manager for over thirty years, and she chronicles his evolution from someone who insisted on going his own way to someone who embraced his father's legacy after his death in 1998.--Anthony DiFlorio, entertainment archivist and WRDV-FM host

""Let Me Be Frank is the first biography of the enigmatic Frank Sinatra, Jr., a singer who lived most of his life in the immense shadow of his legendary father. The authors, Bruce Klauber and Andrea Kauffman, created this work as a labor of love for a man they knew well. Their research is extensive, drawn from over forty in-depth interviews, including one with Michael Sinatra, the singer’s son. Kauffman was Frank Jr.’s manager for over thirty years, and she chronicles his evolution from someone who insisted on going his own way to someone who embraced his father’s legacy after his death in 1998."" - Anthony DiFlorio, entertainment archivist and WRDV-FM host

Author Information

Bruce H. Klauber is biographer of jazz legends Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich in books and Warner Brothers films. As a music journalist, he has contributed to dozens of national and regional periodicals. He was honored by Combs College of Music and Drexel University for his contributions to music journalism and jazz performance. Andrea Kauffman is an entertainment industry manager, concert producer, and agent, responsible for bringing dozens of jazz legends—including Mel Tormé, Bobby Scott, Frank D’Rone, George Shearing, and Morgana King—to Atlantic City hotels and casinos. She was the personal manager of Frank Sinatra, Jr. from 1985 until his death in 2016.

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