Posted on 12/31/2025 4:27:47 PM PST by nickcarraway
Recorded at a time when Frank Sinatra considered retiring, ‘My Way’ has become a timeless anthem for the generations that followed.
Frank Sinatra‘s recording of “My Way” has spent longer on the UK singles chart than any other song – an amazing 124 weeks. That’s almost twice as long as its nearest rival, which you might be surprised to know is “Amazing Grace” by Judy Collins. It’s a timeless anthem that, even in a digital world where songs can be streamed endlessly at the touch of a button, will never be superseded, no matter the prevailing trends.
Sinatra recorded the song on December 30, 1968, at Western Recorders, in what was a rare event for The Chairman: an afternoon recording session. At around 3 pm, 40 musicians, conducted Sinatra’s long-standing pianist Bill Miller, began working on what would become an anthem for Frank – and whole generations to follow. The song was, however, originally composed as “Comme d’Habitude” (“As Usual”), written by Jacques Revaux and Gilles Thibault along with Egyptian-born French singer Claude François. Canadian singer Paul Anka added the English words, turning it into the classic we now know.
Anka’s attempt to write an English lyric for “Comme d’Habitude” was not the first. A few months before Anka, David Bowie had a crack calling it “Even A Fool Learns To Love,” but his demo (containing the lyrics “There was a time, the laughing time/I took my heart to every party/They’d point my way/How are you today?”) was rejected.
An anthem
Sinatra’s version of “My Way” entered the Billboard chart in the last week of March 1969 at No. 69; it was the highest new entry of the week. Six weeks later, it reached its peak of No. 27, where it stalled – surprisingly, given the song’s subsequent status as an anthem. ‘My Way’ made No. 5 in the UK, which accounts for the fact that the LP of the same name did significantly better in Britain in the summer of 1969.
Besides now being a karaoke classic, “My Way” has been recorded by a whole mass of artists. Brook Benton took it into the US charts in 1970, and, seven years later, the song made it to No. 22 in an Elvis Presley version that was The King’s first posthumous single. In Britain the following year, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious took it to No. 7; almost twenty years after that, Shane McGowan, the lead singer of Irish band The Pogues, took it into the Top 30.
None of these versions top Sinatra’s, but they underscore how “My Way” continues to speak to people from every walk of life.
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Bowies version turned into Life on Mars.
Funny that you should mention it. Because the song came up at my last IRS audit.
IRS agent:
Why didn’t you report all your 2024 income?
Me:
I planned each charted course.
Each careful step along the byway.
And more, much more than this.
I did it my way.
The IRS agent wasn’t amused. I guess he just didn’t appreciate good music.
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
Tell my wife I love her very much
Better to do it His way.
Star Trek - My Way - Series - Frank Sinatra
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/st/video/Star-Trek-My-Way-Series-Frank-Sinatra.htm
Star Trek - Movies - I Did It My Way - Frank Sinatr
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/st/video/Star-Trek-Movies-I-Did-It-My-Way-Frank-Sinatra.htm
Lord of the Rings - Theoden King - Amazing Grace - Judy Collins
https://youtu.be/XukJStWvfz8
Paul Anka is a genius and an awesome poet and song writer. He wrote his first song ‘Diana’ at age 16 which pretty much makes him a child prodigy and he came up with the theme music to the tonight show... How many times have you heard that? And every time the play that and ‘I did it my way’... He makes money. The French dude who came up with the tune to ‘My way’ must have made a ton of money too.
Love that version... Paul Anka... I’d love to see his monthly royalty cheques from all the songs he’s written... It would probably be enough to feed many families for an entire year.
He wrote the last song Buddy Holly recorded... “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”... Just think how much he made off that tune alone after Holly’s death.
Sinatra used to say to audiences "Here's Bill Miller, ladies and gentlemen. He spends a lot of time in clubs at night with me. Hardly goes out in the daytime. Other people get sunburn. Bill gets moonburn."
LOL
Aftermath——
not the words of one who kneels
The record shows
I took the blows
along with interest and penalties.
As the year draws to a close tonight, this is a good time to thank you for your many music threads. They are a treasure to this forum.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
-FB
Nancy Sinatra said her dad did not like the song; he thought it was pretentious.
On a side note, one of the best albums ever that I first found on vinyl years ago, was Sinatra’s ‘September of My Years’
Every song on that album is excellent. The best ones are the songs that most have never heard.
I like it. I have problems with some Christian friends though. Gotta do it God’s way I guess.
While Sinatra’s version of “My Way” is iconic, it is far from his best work. Sinatra was well past his prime when he recorded it, and for those who are only familiar with Sinatra through that recording and/or his recording of “New York, New York”, they can be forgiven for asking themselves, “What’s the big deal”?
You have to go back to his earlier recordings from the 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s to get a sense of why Sinatra was so influential and admired. Having said that, his recording of “My Way” was clearly heart-felt and is perhaps particularly poignant because of rather than despite his fading vocal abilities.
I actually got to hear Frank Sinatra sing live—and to sing along with him. In 1980, he appeared at a star-studded campaign rally for Ronald Reagan on the occasion of his birthday. When he mounted the podium, Sinatra led us all in singing “Happy Birthday” to Reagan. That’s an experience I will never forget.
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