These recordings comprise the first phase of Sinatra's solo career, after his apprenticeship in the
swing bands of
Harry James and
Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra having signed with Columbia on June 1,
1943. At that time, the
Petrillo recording ban was on, and the first two tracks of the box reflect this situation,
a cappella recordings of Frank with a backing vocal group. A second recording ban took place in
1948, and Sinatra again recorded with vocals only on the track "
Nature Boy." The rest of the recordings featured instrumental backing with few exceptions
arranged by Axel Stordahl, Sinatra's mainstay during the Columbia period. The bulk of the selections on this package date from the 1940s, with only the disc four covering the declining years of his career while on the label in the 1950s. Beginning with disc four track five, Columbia simultaneously released these records as
45 rpm singles, the new format having been introduced by its rival
RCA Records in
1949. Disc one tracks 19 through 21, and disc two tracks four through six, were issued as part of
Sinatra's very first album, a package of four records entitled
The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which peaked at #1 on the fledgling
album chart. Disc four tracks six through nine were also included on the Columbia
ten-inch album Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, catalogue CL-6143. Disc two track 22, "
Sweet Lorraine," features Sinatra with the 1946
Metronome All-Stars:
Charlie Shavers,
Lawrence Brown,
Johnny Hodges,
Coleman Hawkins,
Harry Carney,
Nat King Cole, Bob Ahern,
Eddie Safranski, and
Buddy Rich. Disc three- track 2, "
My Romance," is a
duet with
Dinah Shore, and disc three -track 23, "
Let's Take An Old-Fashioned Walk," is a duet with
Doris Day. ==Select personnel==