The Chairman sez: "How's your bird? Hey, as long as you're in town, I suggest you visit the following coolsville local landmarks! Now, scram!"

Visit the Frank-ylizer™
to find the right Sinatra
record for any mood, any occasion...

More than just the best record store in town, Plattersville is home to the choicest Sinatra.  No need to gamble when it comes to choosing from all those Sinatra platters out there. Beat the odds, eliminate the risk: This is the place to find what makes the great discs great. And you can even buy a few if you've got some dough to blow!

Click to see my tribute to the late, great Francis Albert Sinatra (plus a little background)

Well, in part, of course, it's because, as the sign says, "It's Frank's world -- we just live in it." And that's true even though Frank himself doesn't live here anymore. 

Sinatra's pal Dean Martin was absolutely right when he (reputedly) made that observation.  But I built Franksville out here in this little plot of cyberspace not because Frank Sinatra was the King of Cool, the Sultan of Swing, the Chairman of the Board, and The Voice.  And not just  because he was the greatest of all interpreters of the American Popular Song, or an icon of American popular culture.  

Franksville is here because Sinatra was an artist whose work creates a world of its own.  And in celebrating and exploring that work and that world, I've chosen to call it "Franksville."  It's a place with its own laws, its own style, its own back alleys and picturesque side streets.  It's a place you can hang out, wander around, and get lost in.  And that's just what I wanted to do.  (Please see my tribute/obit to The Man and His Music, which serves as a survey and introduction to the historical, biographical, and musical topography of Franksville.)

Most of all, Franksville is about the music -- and, specifically, the records (and CDs) -- that are Sinatra's lasting legacy. They're still here, available to us all, and they haven't aged one bit. 

About that work: Over the next few weeks (and probably months, years...) Franksville will be growing as I explore Sinatra's greatest music in detail, just to remind us all of what he's really famous for -- the "official" masterpieces and the underrated albums, the stellar songs and the mystifying misfires, his unique stylistic gifts and its occasional peculiarities (especially when it comes to changing lyrics), and some of the hidden gems that pop up here and there on his records.

So, please take a look around.  It's my kind of town -- and yours, too, probably. 

Welcome to Franksville.

Jim Emerson
founder of Franksville, summer 1998

Click on the sign above to return to the main road...

For a glimpse of Sinatra's darker side, visit the Franksville
Hall of Shame

Official Death Certificate: Hard to believe, but it's true...