Frank Sinatra: Nothing but the Best

"'Now a newer, happier, emancipated Sinatra ... untrammeled, unfettered, unconfined' is how the early ads described Frank Sinatra on Reprise. In late 1960, Sinatra realized his dream of recording for his own label. He had formed Reprise after deciding not to re-sign with Capitol Records and a tentative deal to purchase MGM's Verve label unraveled. 'I wasn't happy during that period with Capitol,' Sinatra explained. 'I had said I wanted to quit Capitol ... even if it meant not recording at all for two years until the contract ran out. But they let me go on the condition I cut four more albums for them to wind up the deal. I wanted to form my own record company and run it along my own ideas.' At the time Sinatra's idea and business model for Reprise was innovative: he became one of the first in the recording industry to pioneer the concept of having artists own and control their masters. Composer/arranger Neal Hefti was one of the first executives hired at the new label. Hefti would work with many of the early artists signed to Reprise, including Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. But some of Hefti's most memorable work at Reprise would be with the label's founder" (CD notes by Charles Pignone).

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