Ol' Blue Eyes Listened to Opera, So Says His Last Wife Barbara

The crooner & opera legend Luciano Pavarotti

"Frank Sinatra could be a difficult man, and it’s to the credit of Barbara Sinatra’s new memoir Lady Blue Eyes that she doesn’t ignore her husband’s temper. But those stories are just part of a larger picture that she paints in the book, from Sinatra’s romantic nature to his passions for music, cooking, and King Charles Spaniels. Barbara Sinatra met her future husband while she was married to Zeppo Marx, one of the original Marx Brothers. Give her this: She has interesting taste in men.

What music did Frank Sinatra listen to? He listened to a lot of opera, and concert music. He never really listened much to popular music. He wasn’t a harsh critic of other singers, unless you asked him a direct question. Of the later vocalists, he liked Tony Bennett. He thought he was great. And Dean Martin was like a brother – he always said that 'Dean thinks funny' – and Sammy Davis. He liked their music, and a lot of their arrangements were similar to his arrangements." [Source]