The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning

In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning is the title of Frank Sinatra's 1955 concept album as well as of its opening song.  THC has featured Sinatra before and prefers his ballads to anything else and this album is all ballads.

The album became his biggest hit since 1947.  In the late 40s, Sinatra's career hit the skids as his popularity dipped, movies flopped and his ability to sing was impaired by problems with his vocal chords.  By 1952 he had lost his contract with Columbia Records.  The next year Sinatra's acting career revived when he got a major role in From Here To Eternity (how he got the role is still subject to a lot of speculation; see, for instance, The Godfather) for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  He also learned to sing in a different style, with less sweetness and more baritone than in his younger years.  His voice was not as good as it used to be but he became a much better singer.

In 1954 he released two successful albums, Songs For Young Lovers and Swing Easy!, but it was the April 1955 release of In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, with impeccable arrangements by Nelson Riddle that completely revitalized his singing career and reputation.  The somberness and sadness of the collection of songs was influenced by the 1954 breakup of Sinatra's tumultuous marriage with Ava Gardner.

Here's the title cut, with its achingly anguished vocal, written by David Mann and Bob Hilliard.