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''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was released in April 1955 on Capitol Records, produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. All the songs on the album deal with specific themes such as loneliness, introspection, lost love, failed relationships, depression and night-life; as a result, ''In the Wee Small Hours'' has been called one of the first concept albums. The cover artwork reflects these themes, portraying Sinatra on an eerie and deserted street awash in blue-tinged street lights.〔Annotated liner notes, Pete Welding. ''In the Wee Small Hours''. Capitol Records, 1998 CD release.〕 He had been developing this idea since 1946 with his first album release, ''The Voice''; he would successfully continue this "concept" formula with later albums such as ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' and ''Only the Lonely''. ''In the Wee Small Hours'' was issued as two 10-inch LP discs, and also as one 12-inch record LP, making it one of the first of its kind. It was also issued as four four–song 45-rpm EP discs sold in cardboard sleeves with the same cover as the LPs, not in paper covers like 45-rpm singles. The album was a commercial success, reaching number 2 on the US charts where it stayed for 18 weeks, being Sinatra's highest charting album since his 1947 release ''Songs by Sinatra''. As of 2002 it has been certified Gold by the RIAA, selling over 500,000 units.〔http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database ITWSH riaa certification〕 The album was also a critical success, and is listed as the third most acclaimed album of the 50s.〔http://acclaimedmusic.net/ + http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A1785.htm〕 In 2012, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it the 101st greatest album of all time.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=500 Greatest Albums: In the Wee Small Hours - Frank Sinatra | Rolling Stone Music | Lists )〕 ==Background== By the early 1950s, the singer saw his career in decline, his teen "bobby soxer" audience having lost interest in him as he entered his late 30s. In 1951, he went so far as to attempt suicide according to one author.〔Kaplan, James (2010). Frank the Voice. Doubleday.〕 Later that year, a second season of ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' was aired on CBS, but failed to receive the same positive reception the first season had, with its host having lost his previous energy. Later, in 1952, Sinatra was dropped from Columbia Records. Against the wishes of his colleagues, on March 14, 1953 then-Vice President of A&R at Capitol Records, Alan Livingston, signed Sinatra to a seven-year deal on his label. The deal proved to be a success; later that year in August, Sinatra appeared as Private Angelo Maggio in the film ''From Here to Eternity''. The film was highly successful and his performance was highly acclaimed, winning him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor〔http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1335062190222〕 and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. With this new-found popularity he recorded two albums in 1954, ''Songs for Young Lovers'' and ''Swing Easy!'', which both peaked at number 3 on the US charts, and the latter number 5 on the UK Album Charts. Sinatra made another acclaimed performance in February as the lead character, Frankie Machine, in the film ''The Man with the Golden Arm'', which won him nominations for the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Actor and Actor in Lead Role respectively. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「In the Wee Small Hours」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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