Duets

Phil Ramone, Sinatra's manager Eliot Weisman and the Capitol executive Don Rubin discussed the idea at his Palm Springs house in 1992. Sinatra specified that his duet partners must not be in the studio while he sang. The orchestra rehearsed at Capitol Studio A with classic Nelson Riddle arrangements, and a small stage was set up for Sinatra with the pianist Bill Miller beside him. Hank Cattaneo later suggested recording with the wireless microphones Sinatra used in live performances. Nine songs were recorded in five hours, starting with Come Fly with Me. The partners recorded remotely and sent their parts to Capitol over ISDN lines. Bono sang his part of I've Got You Under My Skin in Dublin, and Aretha Franklin recorded What Now My Love in Detroit.

Duets debuted at number two on the Billboard albums chart and number five in the UK, and sold over three million copies in the US, making it his only triple-platinum album. Reviews were mixed, with critics objecting to the artificial way the duets were assembled. LeRoy Neiman painted the cover. Duets II followed in 1994.

Sinatra suggested Ella Fitzgerald as a partner, but she was not well enough to take part. Charles Koppelman, the head of EMI Records Group North America, pushed the project forward. Sinatra begged off singing on the first day because he disliked the isolated vocal booth, and about $350,000 had been spent by then. Patrick Williams was musical director and conductor, and the arrangements were the originals, such as Nelson Riddle's 1956 chart for I've Got You Under My Skin and Don Costa's 1979 chart for New York, New York. A duet of My Way with Luciano Pavarotti was not recorded in time for the original release. It first appeared on the Sinatra 80 album and was then added to later pressings of Duets as a bonus track. Hank Cattaneo produced and recorded it at Pavarotti's summer villa in Pesaro. I've Got a Crush on You was nominated for a Grammy for best instrumental arrangement accompanying vocals. CBS aired a television special, Sinatra: Duets, in November 1994.