A Blue-Eyed Century

Mark Steyn, a man who is a little too frequently too harsh in his politics for a lot of people (including, from time to time, me), but who among modern writers has few peers in recapping the popular music of the mid-20th century, is writing up a hundred of Frank Sinatra's songs in the centenary year since Sinatra's birth.

This week he takes on the history of "Nice 'N' Easy," the title track of a 1960 Sinatra release. It's a great story of the song and its writers, how it almost didn't make the cut for Frank but then did, and how he kept up his relationship with the songwriters until his very last days. Steyn leaves out the barbs that sometimes disfigure his political writing. He's almost always funny but when the funny is also mean it's not necessarily a pleasant read.

Links to all of the other songs discussed so far are at the end of the piece, which could make for quite a little bit of time exploring the art of one of the country's most iconic singers and performers.