The U.S. Postal Service will issue a Frank Sinatra commemorative stamp next spring, it was announced yesterday.

Sinatra´s three children — Nancy, Frank, Jr. and Tina Sinatra. — will preview the stamp image during a special ceremony in Beverly Hills, CA, on Sinatra´s birthday, Wed., Dec. 12.

“Frank Sinatra was an extraordinary entertainer whose life and work left an indelible impression on American culture,” said [Postmaster General John] Potter. “His recordings, concert performances and film work place him among America´s top artists, and his legendary gift for transforming popular song into art is a rare feat that few have been able to replicate. The Postal Service is proud to honor his achievements.”

“On behalf of our family, we are honored that the United States Postal Service has recognized our Dad’s achievements with a stamp,’ said Tina Sinatra, speaking on behalf of her siblings, Nancy and Frank Sinatra, Jr. “Of all the awards he has received, this one would have been very special to him.”

A 10-ft. image of the stamp will be unveiled at the Beverly Hilton´s Wilshire room at 10 a.m. PT, Dec. 12.

Not to make too much of a statement in a press release by the Postmaster General, but I really appreciate the nature of the tribute above, centered as it is around Sinatra’s “legendary gift for transforming popular song into art,” acknowledged as “a rare feat that few have been able to replicate.” I like it not only for what it says, but also because it keeps away from notions and titles related to super-sized celebrity, which unfortunately have tended to dominate how Sinatra is described, and focuses instead — and rightly — on the singer’s art.

Sinatra took his work extremely seriously, and I think he would be happy to see that it’s the quality of his music that is driving the attention ten years after his death, as it doubtless will continue to do way into the future.

I’ll use the occasion as an excuse to post the clip below of Bob Dylan performing at Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday tribute and charity benefit show in 1995. The beautifully arranged performance, of a song that seems written for the occasion but was actually written over thirty years before by a twenty-three year-old, is without question one of my all-time favorites.

Click here to go directly to YouTube or play below.

Oh a false clock tries to tick out my time
To disgrace, distract, and bother me.
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face,
And the dust of rumors covers me.
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick,
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick.

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