Maps of Music

Cycles (1968)

Where the lyrics of Cycles take you, and where it was really made.

The front cover printed a song that never made the record: 'Wait by the Fire' was dropped and replaced by 'My Way of Life' after the cover had already been printed.

Key places

Recording in New York City (1968)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Recording for Cycles ran from July 24 to November 14, 1968, in New York City and Hollywood. This point marks the city, not a specific studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Hollywood, Los Angeles (1968)

Recording site Hollywood (Los Angeles) — Sessions for Cycles were held in Los Angeles, primarily in November 1968. This point marks the Hollywood area of the city, not a specific studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Cycles: studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra
• Released in 1968, just before Christmas
• Title song written by Gayle Caldwell
• Ten tracks in the track listing
• Material leans toward folk-rock

Background

• Released ten months after Francis A. & Edward K.
• That ten-month gap was the longest in Sinatra's Reprise years without commercial recordings, apart from his contributions to The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Covers include Judy Collins' hit "Both Sides Now" (written by Joni Mitchell)
• Also covers Glen Campbell hits "Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Jimmy Webb)

Recording

• Recorded over four sessions in Los Angeles, primarily in November 1968
• Recording period listed as July 24 to November 14, 1968, in New York City and Hollywood
• One session included 25 guests, among them George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, and Tiny Tim

Cover

• The front cover lists "Wait by the Fire" by Al Gorgoni and Chip Taylor
• Sinatra scrapped that song after the cover had already been printed
• "My Way of Life" was substituted on the record

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants.
• Began singing professionally as a teenager with the Hoboken Four, winning Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
• Joined Harry James's band in 1939, then Tommy Dorsey's band, before going solo in 1942.

Career

• Signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and became a major star of the bobby-soxer era.
• Signed with Capitol Records in 1953; collaborated with arranger Nelson Riddle on albums such as In the Wee Small Hours and Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.
• Founded Reprise Records in 1960, releasing albums including September of My Years and the hit single "My Way".
• Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity (1953).
• Estimated to have sold around 150 million records worldwide.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.
• Died May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Title song reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
• Title song reached #2 on the Easy Listening chart
• The album peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 chart
• Released just before Christmas in 1968
• Track selection favors folk-rock material, including covers of Judy Collins and Glen Campbell hits

Records

• Billboard 200: #18
• Hot 100 (title song): #23
• Easy Listening (title song): #2
• Title song written by Gayle Caldwell
• "Both Sides, Now" written by Joni Mitchell; "Gentle on My Mind" written by John Hartford; "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" written by Jimmy Webb
• "My Way of Life" written by Bert Kaempfert, Herb Rehbein, and Carl Sigman
• Album followed a ten-month break in Sinatra's commercial recording, the longest in his Reprise years

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The song "My Way of Life" was featured in the mid-credits scene of the Moon Knight episode "Gods and Monsters" in 2022
• The front cover already showed "Wait by the Fire", which was swapped out after printing
• One recording session had 25 guests, including George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, and Tiny Tim
• The title song was the album's single, while the album itself charted at #18 on the Billboard 200

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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