Political life of Frank Sinatra 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King, Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. He often spoke from the stage on desegregation and repeatedly played benefits on behalf of King and his movement. According to his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical "Show Boat" that is sung by an African-American stevedore. His
All the Way (Frank Sinatra song) All the Way (Frank Sinatra song) "All the Way" is a 1950s pop song made famous by Frank Sinatra and covered since by many musicians. Frank Sinatra's version was published in 1957 by Maraville Music Corporation. The music was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was introduced in the film "The Joker Is Wild." Sinatra also had the best-selling recorded version of the song. Aside from this song, he also sang "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" for the movie. It wound up as the flipside of "All the Way" when Capitol Records released the song as