1961 · Album
Come Swing With Me!
Recorded 1961 · Capitol Records · Produced by Dave Cavanaugh
Sinatra Swings Hard, No Apologies
This is Sinatra at full throttle — brash, confident, and having an absolute blast.
By 1961, Frank Sinatra had already made some of the best vocal records of the twentieth century — the Capitol ballad albums, the saloon songs, the concept records that held together like short films. Come Swing with Me! (1961) is a different animal. This is not Sinatra being introspective. This is Sinatra showing off, and he pulls it off because he genuinely had the chops to back up the attitude. Arranged and conducted by Billy May, the album is loud, brassy, and deliberately old-fashioned even for its time — a big band romp that sounds like it wants to fill a Vegas showroom rather than a living room.
May's charts are the real engine here. They lean heavily on punchy brass, fast tempos, and a kind of gleeful noisiness that suits Sinatra when he's in this mood. Tracks like "Day by Day" and "Almost Like Being in Love" move at a clip that forces Sinatra to stay on his toes, and he does. His phrasing is crisp, his timing immaculate. He doesn't oversell a single note, which is exactly the right call when the band is this busy underneath him.
Is this Sinatra's best album? Not even close — if you want that, go find In the Wee Small Hours (1955) or Only the Lonely (1958). But Come Swing with Me! is genuinely fun, and fun is underrated. It's a record that does exactly what the title promises, nothing more and nothing less. If you find big band swing exhausting after forty minutes, this might wear you out. If you love that sound, this is one of the better examples of it Sinatra ever recorded.
Who's playing
Joe Comfortdouble bass
Bill Millerpiano
Tony Rizziguitar
Bobby Gibbonsguitar
Johnny Besttrumpet
Conrad Gozzotrumpet
Joe Gravestrumpet
Maurice Harristrumpet
Manny Kleintrumpet
Vito N. Manganotrumpet
James Salkotrumpet
Shorty Sherocktrumpet
Rubin "Zeke" Zarchytrumpet
Ray Triscaritrumpet
Stu Williamsontrumpet
C. E. Carpentertrombone
James Hendersontrombone
Richard Kenneytrombone
Lew McCrearytrombone
Barrett O'Haratrombone
Jimmy Priddytrombone
Kenneth Trimbletrombone
Frank Rosolinotrombone
Tommy Shepardtrombone
Ken Shroyertrombone
Irv Cottlerdrums
James CraasFrench horn
William CulleyFrench horn
Fred FoxFrench horn
Kathryn Julyeharp
Gale H. RobinsonFrench horn
Phil Stephenstuba
James DeckerFrench horn
Vincent DeRosaFrench horn
Richard PerissiFrench horn
Veryle Brilhartharp
Wally LinderFrench horn
Arthur MaebeFrench horn
Claude SherryFrench horn
