7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7

masterpieces, September of My Years (1965) and the partner-

ship with Brazilian songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim,

Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967), rank

among Sinatra’s greatest albums. He also had success with

the hit singles “Strangers in the Night” (1966), “That’s Life”

(1967), and “My Way” (1969).

The Mature Years

Sinatra announced his retirement in 1971, but by 1973 he

was recording once again. In his last two decades as a

recording artist, he released only seven albums of new

material. His well-regarded albums of later years include

volume one of the ambitious three-disc Trilogy (1980), the

ballad collection She Shot Me Down (1981), and L.A. Is My

Lady (1984), which featured an all-star orchestra. He

returned to the recording studio after nearly a decade’s

absence to record Duets (1993) and Duets II (1994), which

paired Sinatra with several contemporary popular singers.

The Duets albums sold millions of copies and were Sinatra’s

final recordings.

In addition to his curtailed recording activity, Sinatra

virtually retired from films during his later years. He con-

centrated instead on live performance and gave hundreds

of international concerts from the late 1970s, with his final

public performance in 1995. Although he suffered from

failing memory and various physical infirmities during

his last few years, he remained a compelling showman to

the end.

Edith Piaf

(b. Dec. 19, 1915, Paris, France—d. Oct. 11, 1963, Paris)

E

dith Giovanna Gassion—known professionally as

Edith Piaf—was a French singer and actress whose