As Sinatra The Musical prepares to arrive at the Aldwych Theatre in June this year, it’s the perfect moment to look beyond the legend and discover some lesser-known facts about the man who changed music forever. Written by Tony Award-winning Joe DiPietro and directed and choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall, the musical charts Sinatra’s rise, fall and extraordinary comeback. Here are ten things you might not know about Frank Sinatra.

1. He was born with significant birth complications
Frank Sinatra’s birth in 1915 was so traumatic that he almost didn’t survive it. Born weighing over 13 pounds, doctors used forceps that injured his cheek, neck and ear, leaving him not breathing at birth. As doctors focused on his mother, it was Sinatra’s grandmother who intervened, holding the newborn under cold water until he began to breathe — a moment that ultimately saved his life.

2. He never learned to read music
Despite becoming one of the most influential singers of all time, Sinatra couldn’t read or write musical notation. He learned songs by listening and relied on phrasing and instinct rather than technical theory — luckily he had such a brilliant natural musicality.

3. His early career was almost derailed by vocal problems
In the early 1950s, Sinatra suffered severe vocal haemorrhaging that temporarily damaged his voice and nearly ended his career — a low point explored in Sinatra The Musical.

4. He was obsessed with phrasing, not power
Sinatra revolutionised popular singing by treating songs as emotional narratives. He studied horn players, especially trombonists, to shape his breathing and legato style.

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