Just In: The Reason Why Frank Sinatra’s 1992 Album Was Not Released

In every sense of the word, Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood veteran. At 93 years of age, the actor, director and former mayor remains active in the film industry. With four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three César Awards, and an AFI Life Achievement Award to his name, he is one of America’s most decorated stars. However, the word veteran also applies to Eastwood for its martial connotations.

Besides his brief military term during the Korean War, Eastwood’s expansive filmography is positively festooned with war movies and action roles. Whether starring in the Dirty Harry movies as the titular police detective or helming the partnered war movies Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, Eastwood has treated his career with the gritty determination of an Army General at every turn.

While tenacity and determination may have propelled Eastwood to success, they’ve also led to moments where his demeanour rubbed coworkers up the wrong way. His adherence to traditional and largely conservative values has garnered criticism, particularly for instances of discriminatory remarks and his consistent portrayal of the US military in a glorified light.

Such associations paint Eastwood under a stubborn grandfather – or great-grandfather – light to some. At 93, he is a relic of a bygone era with his traditional values and stony lack of compromise lucidly reflecting the World War II era in which he grew up.

Consistent with Eastwood’s traditional outlook is his taste in music. One might assume a man born in 1930 to be a fan of jazz-pop, which was all the rage before rock ‘n’ roll’s triumphant takeover. This assumption would be right on the money.

In 2008, Eastwood appeared as a guest on the iTunes’ Celebrity Playlist Podcast’ to play and discuss some of his favourite songs of all time. With classic selections from the likes of Joe Williams, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, Eastwood showed his allegiance to mid-century jazz. Overall, Louis Jordan received the most airtime, with Eastwood selecting four tracks by the legendary saxophonist.

Amid his selections, Eastwood also picked out two favourites by the salient jazz-pop hero Frank Sinatra, identifying him among the cream of his time. “I feel lucky to have been raised in a generation that had King Cole and Frank Sinatra as our two most popular singers of that era,” Eastwood beamed, selecting ‘Summer Wind’ and ‘Come Fly With Me’ as his favourites by the latter.

‘Summer Wind’, initially titled ‘Der Sommerwind’ as a composition credited to German songwriters Heinz Meier and Hans Bradtke, became a huge hit for Sinatra in 1965. He released the English rewrite by Johnny Mercer as a single taken from his hit album Strangers in the Night. Meanwhile, the enduring single ‘Come Fly with Me’ arrived in 1958 on Sinatra’s 14th studio album of the same name.