In the Wee Small Hours is the ninth studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra, released on April 25, 1955, by Capitol Records. Produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle, the album's songs deal with themes such as introspection, melancholy, lost love, failed relationships, depression and night life; as such, it has been called one of the first concept albums.Annotated liner notes, Pete Welding. In the Wee Small Hours. Capitol Records, 1998 CD release. The cover artwork reflects these themes, portraying Sinatra alone at night on an eerie and deserted city street awash in blue-tinged street lights.
The album was a commercial success, cementing Sinatra's career resurgence after releasing a string of hit singles and two prior albums with Capitol, and winning an Academy Award for his role in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. In the Wee Small Hours peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, where it stayed for 18 weeks, becoming Sinatra's highest-charting album since Songs by Sinatra in 1947. It was issued as two 10-inch LP discs, but also as one 12-inch record LP, making it one of the first of its kind in the pop field. It was also issued as four four-song 45 rpm EP discs sold in cardboard sleeves with the same cover as the LPs. The success of the album helped popularize the 12-inch LP in popular music, and the 10-inch format quickly fell into obsolescence.
Critically acclaimed since its initial release, Rolling Stone ranked it number 100 on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, dropping it to number 101 in the 2012 revision and to number 282 in the 2020 update; it maintained its ranking of 282 in the 2023 update as well. Sinatra would successfully continue recording "concept" albums with later releases such as Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Where Are You? (1957), Only the Lonely (1958) and No One Cares (1959).
Background By the early 1950s, Sinatra saw his career in decline, his teen "bobby soxer" audience having lost interest in him as he entered his late 30s. In 1951, he went so far as to attempt suicide, according to one author. Later that year, a second season of The Frank Sinatra Show was aired on CBS, but failed to receive the same positive reception the first season had, with its host having lost his previous energy. Later, Sinatra was dropped from Columbia.
Against the wishes of his colleagues, on March 14, 1953, vice president of A&R at Capitol Alan Livingston signed Sinatra to a seven-year deal. The deal proved to be a success; later that year in August, Sinatra appeared as Private Angelo Maggio in the film From Here to Eternity. The film was successful and his performance was acclaimed, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. With this new popularity, he recorded two 10-inch LP albums, Songs for Young Lovers and Swing Easy!, which both peaked at number three on the Billboard album chart, with the latter reaching number five on the UK Album Charts. His performance as the lead character in The Man with the Golden Arm earned him nominations for Best Actor at the Academy Awards and the BAFTA awards.
Relationship troubles
By the time he recorded In the Wee Small Hours, Sinatra witnessed the end of several relationships. He and his first wife, Nancy Barbato, separated on Valentine's Day 1950. While still married, he began a relationship with Ava Gardner. After he and Barbato divorced in October 1951, he married Gardner ten days later. But they were both jealous of the other's extramarital affairs. The relationship deteriorated during the recording of Songs for Young Lovers.
Gardner left Sinatra two months after the release of From Here to Eternity, divorcing in 1957. She said, "We don't have the ability to live together like any normal married couple." It is assumed that this album's grouping of "love gone bad" songs, and Sinatra's poignant renderings, were a direct result of Sinatra's failing relationship with Gardner, to the point that these are called "Ava Songs".
Riddle credited Sinatra's loss of Gardner with his ability to sing the type of songs contained in this album. The failure of this relationship did not shatter Sinatra but instead caused him to sing more emotionally. In the midst of these personal disturbances, Sinatra began selecting songs for a new album. He would rehearse each one of them reiteratively at home with Bill Miller, his pianist.
Recording Sinatra's vision for the album distinguished him from many other pop acts of the time, most of whom put out records that were little more than collections of already released singles. He created a firm distinction between songs intended as singles for radio airplay and for jukeboxes, and those songs he intended to package together in an album. Thus, the sessions intended for album releases tended to be more serious, with a focus on artistic experimentation rather than strict commercial success.
In the Wee Small Hours was recorded before stereophonic technology, but the fidelity of this monophonic album feels "warm" to modern ears. The album was recorded in five sessions at KHJ Studios, Hollywood. These sessions took place on February 8, 16, and 17, and April 1 and 4, and would start at 8:00 P.M., continuing till past midnight. The sessions were recorded in Studio C, located downstairs, which was a smaller studio designed to record small ensembles. The first four songs recorded specifically for this album ("Can't We Be Friends", "Dancing on the Ceiling", "Glad to Be Unhappy", "I'll Be Around") were not recorded with any brass or strings, but were sparsely arranged. Although the arrangements were Riddle's, there was no need for a conductor, so pianist Bill Miller managed from his instrument.
Set against his then-current relationship troubles, Sinatra set out to record "angst-ridden" songs involving lost love. Sinatra was very tense during the recording of the album, reportedly breaking down and crying after the master take of "When Your Lover Has Gone". Rita Kirwan of Music magazine witnessed one of the sessions, and her account goes thus:
Nelson Riddle commented on Sinatra's work ethic and its effect on Riddle's arrangements and the studio orchestra:
Sinatra was meticulous about the quality of the sessions for In the Wee Small Hours. Guitarist George Van Eps recalls that Sinatra stopped a session after singing only a few notes because he felt his voice did not have "the right sound" at the time. The session was rescheduled for the following night, and Van Eps felt it "was perfect." Sinatra also carefully sequenced the songs, with input from Miller and Riddle, for the LP he personally referred to as "the Ava album."
Sinatra's voice was maturing at this point, and he had matured musically regarding intonation and vocal shading. He had also become more comfortable with improvising rhythmically within the confines of Riddle's arrangements. Slight technical imperfections by Sinatra have been found in this recording, but the overall emotional effect compensates completely, so that the listener attributes any shortcomings to the sincere human expressions of the singer.
Songs With the exception of the title track, the songs are from the Great American Songbook. "Can't We Be Friends?" opens with a set of chords on minimalist guitar. Sinatra's interpretation runs from placid to profligate. "Dancing on the Ceiling" is among the songs recorded with only a small group. It is a rarity among Riddle arrangements; he rarely created scores for small jazz ensembles.
"Deep in a Dream" is identified by critic Will Friedwald as an example of Sinatra's ability to interpret songs in that the song could easily be delivered as "detached" or "hysterical", but Sinatra finds the perfect balance. The song was considered for inclusion in Trilogy: Past Present Future but did not make the final cut. "Glad to Be Unhappy" was a forgotten song until Sinatra brought it into popular consciousness. In this album it receives small-group jazz treatment.
"I Get Along Without You Very Well" is an "exquisitely ironic" piece written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics based on a poem by Jane Brown Thompson. Although Sinatra's relationship with Gardner ended badly, author James Kaplan suggests this song set the album's mood of "capitulation, not retaliation". "I See Your Face Before Me" was Nelson Riddle's favorite and was the first song he arranged: he created a setting for it while at Ridgefield High School. The arrangement for "I'll Be Around" is a musical pun in that the celesta plays a circular riff. "I'll Never Be the Same" uses a "wind chime" motif, which came from Riddle's appreciation of French impressionist music. He uses this same mini-theme briefly in "It Never Entered My Mind" and in "Gone With the Wind" from the 1958 album Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely. "Ill Wind" features extended jazz solos by Harry Edison and Skeets Herfurt.
The title track came about by happenstance. Composers Bob Hilliard and David Mann were in New York City to visit a publisher. They spotted Sinatra and Riddle and decided to show them their new composition "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." Sinatra liked the song and wanted to use it immediately. Sinatra recorded "It Never Entered My Mind" in 1947 for Columbia. It was part of the Rodgers and Hart Broadway show Higher and Higher. Ironically, this song, which was a long-time resident in Sinatra's repertoire, was cut from the film version, Sinatra's cinematic debut.
Recorded nearly a year before all other selections, "Last Night When We Were Young" was difficult, according to Riddle, because about thirty takes were used. The recording uses a "low-key" coda, emphasizing strings and horns, and a brief guitar solo. Sinatra was involved in the production and felt that the guitar solo needed to be slowed considerably. He held Riddle and the musicians in high esteem, so he talked with guitarist George Van Eps about the change, then discussed it separately with Riddle. Van Eps commented, "Frank was loaded with things like that." The finale is a "cataclysmic climax." Sinatra recorded the song with an arrangement by Gordon Jenkins for the album September of My Years (1965). Last Night was written for the movie Metropolitan (1935) but was cut from the final version, appearing only as an instrumental during the credits. The song includes advanced harmonic progressions and a juxtaposition of chromaticism and octave leaps.
In addition to "Ill Wind", "Mood Indigo" by Duke Ellington is the purest jazz song on the album. A motif developed by Riddle became the descending riff in Sinatra's hit "Witchcraft". Sinatra would include a blues-based selection such as this on each of his "downbeat" albums.
"This Love of Mine" was recorded by Sinatra in 1941 when he was with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra. In this 1955 version Sinatra gives a more mature reading to the lyrics. Riddle brings a rich arrangement to the harmonically simple song, which assists the mood presented in the album. "What Is This Thing Called Love?" is noted by Charles Granata for its "most expressive vocal shading". Sinatra's voice approaches the bass range at times, and the interpretation is noted for the lyrical liberties Sinatra takes with Porter's lyrics. The song was recorded in 21 takes. "When Your Lover Has Gone" had a great effect on Lester Young. Young asked record store clerk Bob Sherrick to "Let me hear something by my man, Frank." In the Wee Small Hours had been recently released, and Sherrick played this song for Young. Young left the record shop muttering to himself that he had to record it himself on his next session.
Artwork