Three, four, five weeks later, I had a phone call and they said, ‘Listen to this,’ and played the record over the phone to me. Don saw the worth of it – Frank stayed cool, but I knew he liked it. I made a demo with a session singer, called him I said that I thought I had something pretty sensational. The song became a composite of my life and his, but mostly his.

I met Frank where he was filming Tony Rome, and he said he was retiring. I knew the French publisher and they gave me the song, and I thought I would reconstruct the feel of the song. Canadian singer Paul Anka added the English words, turning it into the classic we now know.Ĭlick to load video Paul Anka’s contribution to the songĪccording to Anka, “I had a house in France, which was where I heard the Claude François record, and I liked the melody, but not the words so much. The song was, however, originally composed as “Comme d’Habitude” (“As Usual”), written by Jacques Revaux and Gilles Thibault along with Egyptian-born French singer Claude François. At around 3 pm, 40 musicians, conducted Sinatra’s long-standing pianist Bill Miller, began working on what would become an anthem for Frank – and whole generations to follow. Sinatra recorded the song on December 30, 1968, at Western Recorders, in what was a rare event for The Chairman: an afternoon recording session. It’s a timeless anthem that, even in a digital world where songs can be streamed endlessly at the touch of a button, will never be superseded, no matter the prevailing trends. That’s almost twice as long as its nearest rival, which you might be surprised to know is “Amazing Grace” by Judy Collins. Frank Sinatra‘s recording of ”My Way” has spent longer on the UK singles chart than any other song – an amazing 124 weeks.

You were the one thing in my way song