I'm a Fool to Want You Tribute

My tribute to the song, I'm A Fool To Want You by Frank Sinatra (2 min)

Correction: I say Alex Stordahl, should be Axel Stordahl. Forgive please. Thanks.  

Video Script below:

Music Minute - I'm a Fool to Want You

I'm a Fool to Want You is a heavy hearted ballad, composed by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf and Joel Herron,

In 1951, Sinatra cowrote the lyrics months before his marriage to Ava Gardner. Many folks believe he was thinking of Ava as he penned the emotional and melancholy tune, partly due to their tumultuous relationship.

Songwriter Joel Herron sensed Sinatra was obsessed with Ava and distressed over his divorce, leading him to re-write the song lyrics and reveal his personal pain.

In March of 1951 Sinatra recorded the song with the Ray Charles Singers, arranged by Axel Stordahl.

In the 1966 Esquire magazine article, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, Gay Talese wrote:

A friend who was in the studio when Sinatra recorded it recalled: 'Frank was really worked up that night. He did the song in one take, then turned around and walked out of the studio and that was that .

Legendary arranger Nelson Riddle has said, "It was Ava who taught Frank how to sing a torch song. That's how he learned. She was the greatest love of his life and he lost her."

Sinatra went on to record a second version in May of 1957, arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins, released that year on the album Where Are You?, his first stereo recording. Although touching, many feel that his original recording truly yields Sinatra's intensity and heartbreak.

I'm a Fool to want you is a pop and jazz standard that has been recorded by more than 200 other performers, including Billie Holiday's powerful rendition. But equally moving, Sinatra's 1951 interpretation has become his most passionate and profound saloon song.

This is Karen Morris with a Rat Pack Music Minute