Frank Sinatra

Only Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson can rival Frank Sinatra for biggest-selling solo artist of all time. His jazz-influenced singing remained internationally renowned whatever whims, fashions or innovations were introduced by new generations. In a solo career that included over 70 albums and hundreds of singles, from the late-30s until the mid-90s, Sinatra remained universally loved even as rock, pop and electronic musical styles were invented and widely popularised. As well as his incredibly successful musical career, Sinatra hosted TV and radio shows, and was also an Academy Award-winning actor who appeared in almost 50 films, including Guys and Dolls, The Man with the Golden Arm, High Society, Ocean's Eleven and The Manchurian Candidate. Controversially, he was also known to associate with major mafia figures, and even had a character in The Godfather based on him.

Incredibly, after his initial success through the 1940s as one of the first of the teen-idols, by the end of 1952 Sinatra was without a record deal and was worried that his career might already be over. At 37, he no longer appealed to the 'bobby-sox' girls who had screamed through his concerts and bought all of his singles. In 1953 he starred in From Here to Eternity and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor that revitalised his career. Signing with Capitol Records, Sinatra began releasing albums in two contrasting styles: introspective, emotional ballads on In the Wee Small Hours (1955) and Only the Lonely (1958); and upbeat, swinging numbers on Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956) and Come Fly with Me (1958).

In 1960 he formed his own label - Reprise Records - and enjoyed more huge success. For just three examples, his 1966 album That's Life and 1969's My Way had title songs that were massive worldwide successes, as was his cover of the theme for the film New York, New York. In the early 80s he stopped recording, until making a comeback with his best-selling record Duets in 1993, and Duets II in 1994.

Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998. He was 82