Native name	235px''Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw''
Conventional long name	Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Common name	Burma
Image coat	State seal of Myanmar.svg
Symbol type	State seal
Map caption	Location of Burma (green) and within ASEAN (dark grey)
Capital	Naypyidaw
National anthem	''Kaba Ma Kyei''
Official languages	Burmese
Languages type	Official scripts
Languages	Burmese script
Regional languages	Jingpho, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan
Demonym	Burmese/Myanma
Military capital	Naypyidaw (2)
Business capital	Yangon
Largest city	Yangon (Rangoon)
Government type	Unitary Presidential republic
Leader title1	President
Leader name1	Thein Sein
Leader title2	Vice President
Leader name2	Tin Aung Myint OoSai Mauk Kham
Sovereignty type	Formation
Established event1	Pagan Dynasty
Established date1	23 December 849
Established event2	Toungoo Dynasty
Established date2	16 October 1510
Established event3	Konbaung Dynasty
Established date3	21 March 1752
Established event4	Independence
Established date4	4 January 1948 (from United Kingdom)
Established event5	coup d'état
Established date5	2 March 1962
Legislature	Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Upper house	Amyotha Hluttaw
Lower house	Pyithu Hluttaw
Area rank	40th
Area magnitude	1 E11
Area km2	676,578
Area sq mi	261,227
Percent water	3.06
Population estimate	58,840,000
Population estimate year	2010
Population estimate rank	24th
Population census	33,234,000 (3)
Population census year	1983
Population density km2	73.9
Population density sq mi	191.5
Population density rank	119th
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp	$76.473 billion
Gdp ppp per capita	$1,250
Gdp nominal	$42.953 billion
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal per capita	$702
Hdi year	2010
Hdi	0.451
Hdi rank	132nd
Hdi category	low
Fsi	97.0 0.5
Fsi year	2007
Fsi rank	14th
Fsi category	Alert
Currency	kyat (K)
Currency code	MMK
Official exchange rate	6 Kyat
Exchange rate	1350 Kyat
Time zone	MST
Utc offset	+6:30
Drives on	right
Cctld	.mm
Calling code	95
Footnote1	Some governments recognise Rangoon as the national capital. }}

Burma (), officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (; , ''Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw'', ), is a country in Southeast Asia. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, with the Andaman Sea defining its southern periphery. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of forms an uninterrupted coastline. At 676,578 km² (261,227 sq mi), Burma is the 40th largest country in the world, the second largest country in Southeast Asia, and 24th most populous country with over 58.8 million people.

Burma is home to some of the major civilizations of Southeast Asia including Pyu and Mon. In 9th century, the Burmans of the Nanzhao Kingdom, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and established the Pagan Empire in 1057. The Burmese language and culture slowly came to intertwine with Pyu and Mon norms. During this period, Pagan Kings adopted Buddhism as the predominant religion of the country. After Pagan's fall in 1287, several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the Toungoo Dynasty reunified the country, and founded the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a brief period. In the 18th century, the Konbaung Dynasty restored the kingdom, and went to war with all its neighbors. The kingdom fought three wars with the British and was eventually annexed into British Raj.

The British rule brought several enduring social, economic, cultural and administrative changes that completely transformed the once-feudal society. Since independence in 1948, the country has been in one of the longest running civil wars among the country's myriad ethnic groups that remains unresolved. From 1962 to 2011, the country was under military rule and in the process has become one of the least developed nations in the world. The military junta finally dissolved in 2011 following a general election in 2010 and the subsequent inauguration of Burma's civilian government.

Burma is a resource rich country. However, since the reformations of 1962, the Burmese economy has become one of the least developed in the world. Burma’s GDP stands at $42.953 billion and grows at an average rate of 2.9% annually – the lowest rate of economic growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Among others, the EU, United States and Canada, have imposed economic sanctions on Burma. Burma's health care system is one of the worst in the world: World Health Organization ranked Burma at 190th, the worst performing of all countries.

The United Nations and several other organizations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country, including child labour, human trafficking and a lack of freedom of speech.

Etymology

"Burma" is derived from the Burmese word "Bamar" (ဗမာ|30px), which in turn is the colloquial form of Myanmar (မြန်မာ|30px) (or Mranma in old Burmese), both of which historically referred to the majority Burmans (or the Bamar). Depending on the register used the pronunciation would be "Bama" (), or "Myamah" (). The name "Burma" has been in use in English since the time of British colonial rule.

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many colonial-era names, including the name of the country to "Myanmar". This prompted one scholar to coin the term "Myanmarification" to refer to the top-down programme of political and cultural reform in the context of which the renaming was done. The renaming remains a contested issue.

While most of the name changes are closer to their actual Burmese pronunciations, many opposition groups and countries continue to oppose their use in English because they recognise neither the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country or towns in English. Various non-Burman ethnic groups choose not to recognise the name because the term Myanmar has historically been used as a label for the majority ethnic group, the Bamar, rather than for the country.

Various world entities have chosen to accept or reject the name change. The United Nations, of which Burma (under the name Myanmar) is a member, endorsed the name change five days after its announcement by the junta. However, governments of many countries including Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States still refer to the country as "Burma", with varying levels of recognition of the validity of the name change itself.

Others, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the governments of Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Brazil and the People's Republic of China recognise "Myanmar" as the official name.

Media usage is also mixed. In spite of the usage by the United States government, some American news outlets including ''The New York Times'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', The ''International Herald Tribune'' and ''CNN'', and international news agencies the ''Associated Press'', ''Reuters'' and ''Agence France-Presse'' have adopted the name "Myanmar". The name "Burma" is still widely used by other news outlets, including ''Voice of America'', ''The Washington Post'', the ''BBC'', ''ITN'', most British newspapers, ''The Times of India'' and ''Time''. Other sources often use combined terms such as "Burma, also known as Myanmar." Some media outlets that use "Myanmar" refer to "Burma" as the nation's "colonial name."

Uncertainty among English speakers about how to pronounce "Myanmar" gives rise to pronunciations such as , , and . The BBC recommends . The common pronunciation in Burmese is .

On 21 October 2010 some media reported that the government changed the official name to ''Republic of the Union of Myanmar'', which was established as part of the 2008 Constitution. But this information was not confirmed by any Burmese government sources nor any other credible sources till 30 March 2011 – the new name ''Republic of the Union of Myanmar'' is in effect as of inauguration of new government. Prior to this, the country was known formally as the ''Union of Myanmar'' since 1989. This had itself replaced the previous designation of the ''Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma'' used in the 1974 Constitution, which in turn had replaced the 1947 Constitution adopted following independence, which had referred simply to the ''Union of Burma''.

Geography

Burma, which has a total area of , is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, and the 40th-largest in the world. It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E.

It is bordered to the northwest by Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh of India to the northwest. Its north and northeast border straddles the Tibet and Yunnan regions of China for a Sino-Burman border total of . It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Burma has of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.

In the north, the Hengduan Shan mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of , is the highest point in Burma. Three mountain ranges, namely the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, and the Shan Plateau exist within Burma, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas. The mountain chains divide Burma's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers. The Irrawaddy River, Burma's longest river, nearly long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains. The majority of Burma's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.

Climate

Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately , while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone, which is located in central Burma, is less than . Northern regions of the country are the coolest, with average temperatures of . Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of .

Wildlife

The country's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Burma, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and michelia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land. Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat. The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Burma (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.

Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers and leopards, occur sparsely in Burma. In upper Burma, there are rhinoceros, wild buffalo, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes and tapirs. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, peafowl, pheasants, crows, herons, and paddybirds. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources. For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas in Burma.

History

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence suggests that civilisation in the region which now forms Burma is quite old. The oldest archaeological find was of cave paintings and a Holocene assemblage in a hunter-gatherer cave site in Padah Lin in Shan State.

The Mon people are thought to be the earliest group to migrate into the lower Irrawaddy valley, and by the mid-10th century BC were dominant in southern Burma.

The Tibeto-Burman speaking Pyu arrived later in the 1st century BC, and established several city states – of which Sri Ksetra was the most powerful – in central Irrawaddy valley. The Mon and Pyu kingdoms were an active overland trade route between India and China. The Pyu kingdoms entered a period of rapid decline in early 9th century AD when the powerful kingdom of Nanzhao (in present-day Yunnan) invaded the Irrawaddy valley several times.

Bagan (1044–1287)

Tibeto-Burman speaking Burmans, or the Bamar, began migrating to the Irrawaddy valley from present-day Yunnan's Nanzhao kingdom starting in 7th century AD. Filling the power gap left by the Pyu, the Burmans established a small kingdom centred in Bagan in 849. But it was not until the reign of King Anawrahta (1044–1077) that Bagan's influence expanded throughout much of present-day Burma.

After Anawrahta's capture of the Mon capital of Thaton in 1057, the Burmans adopted Theravada Buddhism from the Mons. The Burmese script was created, based on the Mon script, during the reign of King Kyanzittha (1084–1112). Prosperous from trade, Bagan kings built many magnificent temples and pagodas throughout the country – many of which can still be seen today.

Bagan's power slowly waned in the 13th century. Kublai Khan's Mongol forces invaded northern Burma starting in 1277, and sacked Bagan city itself in 1287. Bagan's over two century reign of Irrawaddy valley and its periphery was over.

Small kingdoms (1287–1531)

The Mongols could not stay for long in the searing Irrawaddy valley. But the Tai-Shan people from Yunnan who came down with the Mongols fanned out to the Irrawaddy valley, Shan states, Laos, Siam and Assam, and became powerful players in Southeast Asia.

The Bagan empire was irreparably broken up into several small kingdoms:

The Burman kingdom of Ava or Innwa (1364–1555), the successor state to three smaller kingdoms founded by Burmanised Shan kings, controlling Upper Burma (without the Shan states)

The Mon kingdom of Hanthawady Pegu or Bago (1287–1540), founded by a Mon-ised Shan King Wareru (1287–1306), controlling Lower Burma (without Taninthayi).

The Rakhine kingdom of Mrauk U (1434–1784), in the west.

Several Shan states in the Shan hills in the east and the Kachin Hills in the north while the north-western frontier of present Chin hills still disconnected yet.

This period was characterised by constant warfare between Ava and Bago, and to a lesser extent, Ava and the Shans. Ava briefly controlled Rakhine (1379–1430) and came close to defeating Bago a few times, but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Nevertheless, Burmese culture entered a golden age. Hanthawady Bago prospered. Bago's Queen Shin Saw Bu (1453–1472) raised the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda to its present height.

By the late-15th century, constant warfare had left Ava greatly weakened. Its peripheral areas became either independent or autonomous. In 1486, King Minkyinyo (1486–1531) of Taungoo broke away from Ava and established a small independent kingdom. In 1527, ''Mohnyin'' (Shan: Mong Yang) Shans finally captured Ava, upsetting the delicate power balance that had existed for nearly two centuries. The Shans would rule Upper Burma until 1555.

Taungoo (1531–1752)

Reinforced by fleeing Burmans from Ava, the minor Burman Kingdom of Taungoo under its young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti (1531–1551) defeated the more powerful Mon kingdom at Bago, reunifying all of Lower Burma by 1540. Tabinshwehti's successor King Bayinnaung (1551–1581) would go on to conquer Manipur (1556), Shan states (1557), Chiang Mai (1557), Ayutthaya (1564, 1569) and Lan Xang (1574), bringing most of western South East Asia under his rule. Preparing to invade Rakhine State, a maritime power controlling the entire coastline west of Rakhine Yoma, up to Chittagong province in Bengal.

Bayinnaung's massive empire unravelled soon after his death in 1581. Ayutthaya Siamese had driven out the Burmese by 1593 and went on to take Tanintharyi. In 1599, Rakhine forces aided by Portuguese mercenaries sacked the kingdom's capital Bago. Chief Portuguese mercenary Filipe de Brito e Nicote (Burmese: ''Nga Zinga'') promptly rebelled against his Rakhine masters and established Portuguese rule in Thanlyin (Syriam), then the most important seaport in Burma. The country was in chaos.

The Burmese under King Anaukpetlun (1605–1628) regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1611. Anaukpetlun reestablished a smaller reconstituted kingdom based in Ava covering Upper Burma, Lower Burma and Shan states (but without Rakhine or Taninthayi). After the reign of King Thalun (1629–1648), who rebuilt the war-torn country, the kingdom experienced a slow and steady decline for the next 100 years. The Mons successfully rebelled starting in 1740 with French help and Siamese encouragement, broke away Lower Burma by 1747, and finally put an end to the House of Taungoo in 1752 when they took Ava.

Konbaung (1752–1885)

King Alaungpaya (1752–1760), established the Konbaung Dynasty in Shwebo in 1752. He founded Yangon in 1755. By his death in 1760, Alaungpaya had reunified the country. In 1767, King Hsinbyushin (1763–1777) sacked Ayutthya. The Qing Dynasty of China invaded four times from 1765 to 1769 without success. The Chinese invasions allowed the new Siamese kingdom based in Bangkok to repel the Burmese out of Siam by the late 1770s.

King Bodawpaya (1782–1819) failed repeatedly to reconquer Siam in 1780s and 1790s. Bodawpaya did manage to capture the western kingdom of Rakhine State, which had been largely independent since the fall of Bagan, in 1784. Bodawpaya also formally annexed Manipur, a rebellion-prone protectorate, in 1813.

King Bagyidaw's (1819–1837) general Maha Bandula put down a rebellion in Manipur in 1819 and captured then independent kingdom of Assam in 1819 (again in 1821). The new conquests brought the Burmese adjacent to the British India. The British defeated the Burmese in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). Burma had to cede Assam, Manipur, Rakhine State (Arakan) and Tanintharyi (Tenessarim).

In 1852, the British attacked a much weakened Burma during a Burmese palace power struggle. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War, which lasted 3 months, the British had captured the remaining coastal provinces: Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Bago, naming the territories as Lower Burma.

King Mindon (1853–1878) founded Mandalay in 1859 and made it his capital. He skilfully navigated the growing threats posed by the competing interests of Britain and France. In the process, Mindon had to renounce Kayah (Karenni) states in 1875. His successor, King Thibaw (1878–1885), was largely ineffectual. In 1885, the British, alarmed by the French conquest of neighbouring Laos, occupied Upper Burma. The Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885) lasted a mere one month insofar as capturing the capital Mandalay was concerned. The Burmese royal family was exiled to Ratnagiri, India. British forces spent at least another four years pacifying the country: not only in the Burmese heartland but also in the Shan, Chin and Kachin hill areas. By some accounts, minor insurrections did not end until 1896.

Colonial era (1886–1948)

The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. "The dawn of 1886 saw the addition of still further territory to that vast expanse which owns the sovereignty of the Queen. The King of Burmah having persistently violated treaties, war was declared against him, and the Burmese capital of Mandalay was entered by the British forces, under General Prendergast, on November 28th, 1885". Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then and now used for political prisoners. Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon on occasion all the way until the 1930s.

Much of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions, for example, what the British termed the Shoe Question: the colonisers' refusal to remove their shoes upon entering Buddhist temples or other holy places. In October 1919, Eindawya Pagoda in Mandalay was the scene of violence when tempers flared after scandalised Buddhist monks attempted to physically expel a group of shoe-wearing British visitors. The leader of the monks was later sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder. Such incidents inspired the Burmese resistance to use Buddhism as a rallying point for their cause. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement, and many died while protesting. One monk-turned-martyr was U Wisara, who died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest a rule that forbade him from wearing his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.

During the colonial period, intermarriage between European male settlers and Burmese women, as well as between Anglo-Indians (who arrived with the British) and Burmese caused the birth of the Anglo-Burmese community. This influential community was to dominate the country during colonial rule and through the mid-1960s. On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered territory, independent of the Indian administration, and elected Ba Maw as the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma from 1937 to February 1939. Ba Maw became an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. Many issues continued to divide the population, and laid the groundwork for the insurgencies to come after independence, later in 1948. In the 1940s, the Thirty Comrades, commanded by Aung San, founded the Burma Independence Army. The Thirty Comrades received training in Japan. During World War II, Burma became a major front-line in the Southeast Asian Theatre. The British administration collapsed ahead of the advancing Japanese troops, jails and asylums were opened and Rangoon was deserted except for the many Anglo-Burmese and Indians who remained at their posts. A stream of some 300,000 refugees fled across the jungles into India; known as 'The Trek', all but 30,000 of those 300,000 arrived in India. During the Japanese occupation of Burma, Ba Maw was asked by the Japanese to head a provisional civilian administration to manage day-to-day administrative activities subordinate to the Japanese military administration. This Burmese Executive Administration was established on August 1, 1942. Initially the Japanese-led Burma Campaign succeeded and the British were expelled from most of Burma, but the British counter-attacked using primarily troops of the British Indian Army. By July 1945, the British had retaken the country.

Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese, some Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, also served in the British Burma Army. In 1943, the Chin Levies and Kachin Levies were formed in the border districts of Burma still under British administration. The Burma Rifles fought as part of the Chindits under General Orde Wingate from 1943 to 1945. Later in the war, the Americans created American-Kachin Rangers who also fought against the Japanese. Many others fought with the British Special Operations Executive. The Burma Independence Army under the command of Aung San and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942–1944, but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945.

British soldiers waged a guerrilla war against Japanese forces in Burma. Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the jungle in 1943. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.

In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.

Democratic republic (1948–1962)

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the ''Union of Burma'', with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, it did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities, and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.

The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.

In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organisation and would serve as UN Secretary-General for ten years. Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi, who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Rule by military junta (1962–2011)

Ne Win years

Democratic rule ended in 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup d'état. He ruled for nearly 26 years and pursued policies under the rubric of the Burmese Way to Socialism. Between 1962 and 1974, Burma was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general, and almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalized or brought under government control (even the Boy Scouts). In an effort to consolidate power, Ne Win and many other top generals resigned from the military and took civilian posts and, from 1974, instituted elections in a one-party system.

Between 1974 and 1988, Burma was effectively ruled by Ne Win through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which from 1964 until 1988 was the sole political party. During this period, Burma became one of the world's most impoverished countries. The Burmese Way to Socialism combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning with the governmental implementation of superstitious beliefs. Criticism was scathing, such as an article published in a February 1974 issue of ''Newsweek'' magazine describing the Burmese Way to Socialism as 'an amalgam of Buddhist and Marxist illogic'.

Almost from the beginning, there were sporadic protests against the military rule, many of which were organised by students, and these were almost always violently suppressed by the government. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students. In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976 and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.

Ne Win's rise to power in 1962 and his relentless persecution of "resident aliens" (immigrant groups not recognised as citizens of the ''Union of Burma'') led to an exodus/expulsion of some 300,000 Burmese Indians. They migrated to escape racial discrimination and wholesale nationalisation of private enterprise a few years later in 1964. The Anglo-Burmese at this time either fled the country or changed their names and blended in with the broader Burmese society.

A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled Burma and many refugees inundated neighbouring Bangladesh including 200,000 in 1978 as a result of the King Dragon operation in Arakan.

Uprising of 1988 and the SPDC

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989. SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years. The National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats(i.e., 80% of the seats), but the election results were annulled by SLORC, which refused to step down. Led by Than Shwe since 1992, the military regime has made cease-fire agreements with most ethnic guerilla groups. In 1992, SLORC unveiled plans to create a new constitution through the National Convention, which began 9 January 1993. In 1997, the State Law and Order Restoration Council was renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

On 23 June 1997, Burma was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The National Convention continues to convene and adjourn. Many major political parties, particularly the NLD, have been absent or excluded, and little progress has been made. On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings". The ''CIA World Factbook'', however, still considers the capital to be Rangoon.

In November 2006, the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced it will be seeking at the International Criminal Court "to prosecute members of the ruling Myanmar junta for crimes against humanity" over the continuous forced labour of its citizens by the military. According to the ILO, an estimated 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Burma.

2007 Burmese anti-government protest

The 2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a campaign of civil resistance. The main immediate cause of the protests was an event in mid-August: the unannounced decision of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to remove fuel subsidies which caused the price of diesel and petrol to suddenly rise as much as double, and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week. The protest demonstrations were at first dealt with quickly and harshly by the junta, with dozens of protesters arrested and detained. Starting 18 September, the protests were led by thousands of Buddhist monks, and those protests were allowed to proceed until a renewed government crackdown on September 26. During the crack-down, there were rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. Some news reports referred to the protests as the Saffron Revolution. During the 2007 anti-government protests a significant role was played by Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition to the Burmese military government. Aung San Suu Kyi was under periods of house arrest from 1989–2010. In September 2007, hundreds of monks paid respects to her at the gate of her home, which was the first time in four years that people were able to see her in public. She was then given a second public appearance on 29 September, when she was allowed to leave house arrest briefly and meet with a UN envoy trying to persuade the junta to ease its crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising, to which the Burmese government reluctantly agreed.

World governments remain divided on how to deal with the military junta. Calls for further sanctions by Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and France are opposed by neighbouring countries; in particular, China has stated its belief that "sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue". There is some disagreement over whether sanctions are the most effective approach to dealing with the junta, such as from a Cato Institute study and from prominent Burmese such as Thant Myint-U (a former senior UN official and Cambridge historian), who have opined that sanctions may have caused more harm than good to the Burmese people.

Dissolution of SPDC and constitutional referendum (2008–present)

On 7 February 2008, SPDC announced that a referendum for the Constitution would be held and Elections by 2010. The Burmese constitutional referendum, 2008 was held on 10 May and promised a "discipline-flourishing democracy" for the country in the future. On 13 August 2010, Junta announced the election date for 2010 would be 7 November. A new flag was adopted and the official name of the country changed to "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", replacing the old "Union of Myanmar" from 1989. Observers described the election day of 2010 as mostly peaceful, though there were alleged irregularities in polling stations. There was an official turnout of 77%. On November 9, 2010, Burma's ruling junta stated that the Union Solidarity and Development Party won 80% of the votes. This claim is widely disputed by pro-democracy opposition groups, asserting that the military regime engaged in rampant fraud to achieve its result. International communities concerned over Burma that skirmishes, due to discontent with the elections, could erupt into civil war. (see 2010-11 Burma border clashes). On 3 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the country when winds of up to 215 km/h (135 mph) touched land in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division. It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history. Reports estimated that more than 200,000 people were dead or missing, and damage totaled to 10 billion dollars (USD). The World Food Programme reported, "Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out." The United Nations projects that as many as 1 million were left homeless; and the World Health Organization "has received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area." Yet in the critical days following this disaster, Burma's isolationist regime hindered recovery efforts by delaying the entry of United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. The government's action was described by the United Nations as "unprecedented."

In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Burma. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese, Va, and Kachin. From 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.

List of historical capitals

Government and politics

The constitution of Burma, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a presidential republic with a bicameral legislature, with a portion of legislatures appointed by the military and others elected in general elections. The current head of state being Thein Sein, who was inaugurated as President on 30 March 2011.

The legislature, called the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, is bicameral and made up of two houses: The 224-seat upper house Amyotha Hluttaw ( House of Nationalities) and the 440-seat lower house Pyithu Hluttaw ( House of Representatives). The upper house consists of 224 member of which 168 are directly elected and 56 are appointed by the Burmese Armed Forces while the lower house consists of 440 members of which 330 are directly elected and 110 are appointed by the armed forces. The major political parties are the National Democratic Force and the two backed by the military: the National Unity Party, and the Union Solidarity and Development Party. The National League for Democracy, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, was declared illegal before the 2010 elections for failing to register for the elections.

Burma's army-drafted constitution was approved in a referendum in May 2008. The results, 92.4% of the 22 million voters with an official turnout of 99%, are considered suspect by many international observers and by the National league of democracy with reports of widespread fraud, ballot stuffing, and voter intimidation.

The elections of 2010 resulted in a victory for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party and various foreign observers questioned the fairness of the elections. One criticism of the election was that only government sanctioned political parties were allowed to contest in it and the popular National League for Democracy was declared illegal and is still barred from political activities. However, immediately following the elections, the government ended the house arrest of the democracy advocate and leader of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi. and her ability to move freely around the country is considered an important test of the military's movement toward more openness.

Burma has a high level of corruption, and ranks 176th out of 180 countries worldwide on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Human rights

Human rights in Burma are a long-standing concern for the international community and human rights organisations. There is consensus that the military regime in Burma is one of the world's most repressive and abusive regimes.

Several human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science have reported on human rights abuses by the military government. They have claimed that there is no independent judiciary in Burma. The military government restricts Internet access through software-based censorship that limits the material citizens can access on-line. Forced labour, human trafficking, and child labour are common. The military is also notorious for rampant use of sexual violence as an instrument of control, including allegations of systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves as porters for the military. A strong women's pro-democracy movement has formed in exile, largely along the Thai border and in Chiang Mai. There is a growing international movement to defend women's human rights issues.

The ''Freedom in the World 2004'' report by Freedom House notes that "The junta rules by decree, controls the judiciary, suppresses all basic rights, and commits human rights abuses with impunity. Military officers hold all cabinet positions, and active or retired officers hold all top posts in all ministries. Official corruption is reportedly rampant both at the higher and local levels."

Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for questioning or worse. There is no freedom of speech, assembly or association."

Evidence has been gathered suggesting that the Burmese regime has marked certain ethnic minorities such as the Karen for extermination or 'Burmisation'. This, however, has received little attention from the international community since it has been more subtle and indirect than the mass killings in places like Rwanda.

In April 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified financial and other restrictions that the military government places on international humanitarian assistance. The GAO report, entitled "Assistance Programs Constrained in Burma", outlined the specific efforts of the government to hinder the humanitarian work of international organisations, including restrictions on the free movement of international staff within the country. The report notes that the regime has tightened its control over assistance work since former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was purged in October 2004. The military junta passed guidelines in February 2006, which formalised these restrictive policies. According to the report, the guidelines require that programs run by humanitarian groups "enhance and safeguard the national interest" and that international organisations coordinate with state agents and select their Burmese staff from government-prepared lists of individuals. United Nations officials have declared these restrictions unacceptable.

Burma's government spends the least percentage of its GDP on health care of any country in the world, and international donor organisations give less to Burma, per capita, than any other country except India. According to the report named "Preventable Fate", published by Doctors without Borders, 25,000 Burmese AIDS patients died in 2007, deaths that could largely have been prevented by Anti Retroviral Therapy drugs and proper treatment.

Administrative divisions (regions and states)

The country is divided into seven states () and seven regions (), formerly called divisions. The announcement on the renaming of division to regions was made on 20 August 2010. Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions which are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

Below are the number of districts, townships, cities/towns, wards, village Groups and villages in each divisions and states of Burma as of 31 December 2001:

! No.	Country subdivision>State/Region	! Districts	! Townships	! Cities/Towns	Ward (country subdivision)>Wards	! Village groups	! Villages
1	Kachin State	3	18	20	116	606	2630
2	Kayah State	2	7	7	29	79	624
3	Kayin State	3	7	10	46	376	2092
4	Chin State	2	9	9	29	475	1355
5	Sagaing Region	8	37	37	171	1769	6095
6	Tanintharyi Region	3	10	10	63	265	1255
7	Bago Region	4	28	33	246	1424	6498
8	Magway Region	5	25	26	160	1543	4774
9	Mandalay Region	7	31	29	259	1611	5472
10	Mon State	2	10	11	69	381	1199
11	Rakhine State	4	17	17	120	1041	3871
12	Yangon Region	4	45	20	685	634	2119
13	Shan State	11	54	54	336	1626	15513
14	Ayeyarwady Region	6	26	29	219	1912	11651
	Total	63	324	312	2548	13742	65148

Foreign relations and military

The country's foreign relations, particularly with Western nations, have been strained. The United States has placed a ban on new investments by U.S. firms, an import ban, and an arms embargo on the Union of Myanmar, as well as frozen military assets in the United States because of the military regime's ongoing human rights abuses, the ongoing detention of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, and refusal to honour the election results of the 1990 People's Assembly election. Similarly, the European Union has placed sanctions on Burma, including an arms embargo, cessation of trade preferences, and suspension of all aid with the exception of humanitarian aid. U.S. and European government sanctions against the military government, coupled with boycotts and other direct pressure on corporations by supporters of the democracy movement, have resulted in the withdrawal from the country of most U.S. and many European companies. However, several Western companies remain due to loopholes in the sanctions.

Despite Western isolation, Asian corporations have generally remained willing to continue investing in the country and to initiate new investments, particularly in natural resource extraction. The country has close relations with neighbouring India and China with several Indian and Chinese companies operating in the country. There remains active debate as to the extent to which the American-led sanctions have had adverse effects on the civilian population or on the military rulers. Burma has also received extensive military aid from India and China in the past. According to some estimates, Burma has received more than US$200 million in military aid from India. Under India's Look East policy, fields of cooperation between India and Burma include remote sensing, oil and gas exploration, information technology, hydro power and construction of ports and buildings. In 2008, India suspended military aid to Burma over the issue of human rights abuses by the ruling junta, although it has preserved extensive commercial ties which provide the regime with much needed revenue.

The country's armed forces are known as the Tatmadaw, which numbers 488,000. The Tatmadaw comprises the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The country ranked twelfth in the world for its number of active troops in service. The military is very influential in the country, with top cabinet and ministry posts held by military officers. Official figures for military spending are not available. Estimates vary widely because of uncertain exchange rates, but military spending is very high. The country imports most of its weapons from Russia, Ukraine, China and India.

The country is building a research nuclear reactor near May Myo (Pyin Oo Lwin) with help from Russia. It is one of the signatories of the nuclear non-proliferation pact since 1992 and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1957. The military junta had informed the IAEA in September 2000 of its intention to construct the reactor. The research reactor outbuilding frame was built by ELE steel industries limited of Yangon and water from Anisakhan/BE water fall will be used for the reactor cavity cooling system.

ASEAN will not defend the country in any international forum following the military regime's refusal to restore democracy. In April 2007, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Malaysia and other ASEAN members had decided not to defend Burma if the country's issue was raised for discussion at any international conference. "Now Myanmar has to defend itself if it is bombarded in any international forum", he said when winding up a debate at committee stage for the Foreign Ministry. He was replying to queries from opposition leader Lim Kit Siang on the next course of action to be taken by Malaysia and ASEAN with the military junta. Lim had said Malaysia must play a proactive role in pursuing regional initiatives to bring about a change in Burma and support efforts to bring the situation in Burma to the UN Security Council's attention. In November 2008, Burma's political situation with neighbouring Bangladesh became tense as they began searching for natural gas in a disputed block of the Bay of Bengal.

Until 2005, the United Nations General Assembly annually adopted a detailed resolution about the situation in Burma by consensus. But in 2006 a divided United Nations General Assembly voted through a resolution that strongly called upon the government of Burma to end its systematic violations of human rights. In January 2007, Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution before the United Nations Security Council calling on the government of Burma to respect human rights and begin a democratic transition. South Africa also voted against the resolution.

In 2010 as part of the Wikileaks leaked cables, Burma was suspected of using North Korean construction teams to build a fortified Surface-to-Air Missile facility.

Economy

The country is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, suffering from decades of stagnation, mismanagement and isolation. The lack of an educated workforce skilled in modern technology contributes to the growing problems of the economy. The country lacks adequate infrastructure. Goods travel primarily across the Thai border, where most illegal drugs are exported and along the Irrawaddy River. Railways are old and rudimentary, with few repairs since their construction in the late 19th century. Highways are normally unpaved, except in the major cities. Energy shortages are common throughout the country including in Yangon.

Under British administration, Burma was the second-wealthiest country in South-East Asia. It had been the world's largest exporter of rice. Burma also had a wealth of natural and labour resources. It produced 75% of the world's teak and had a highly literate population. The country was believed to be on the fast track to development.

During World War II, the British destroyed the major oil wells and mines for tungsten, tin, lead and silver to keep them from the Japanese. Burma was bombed extensively by both sides. After a parliamentary government was formed in 1948, Prime Minister U Nu embarked upon a policy of nationalization and the state was declared the owner of all land. The government also tried to implement a poorly thought out Eight-Year plan. By the 1950s, rice exports had fallen by two thirds and mineral exports by over 96% (as compared to the pre-World War II period). Plans were partly financed by printing money, which led to inflation. The 1962 coup d'état was followed by an economic scheme called the Burmese Way to Socialism, a plan to nationalise all industries, with the exception of agriculture. The catastrophic program turned Burma into one of the world's most impoverished countries. Burma's admittance to Least Developed Country status by the UN in 1987 highlighted its economic bankruptcy.

The national currency is Kyat. Burma has a dual exchange rate system similar to Cuba. The market rate was around two hundred times below the government-set rate in 2006. Inflation averaged 30.1% between 2005 and 2007. Inflation is a serious problem for the economy. In recent years, both China and India have attempted to strengthen ties with the government for economic benefit. Many nations, including the United States and Canada, and the European Union, have imposed investment and trade sanctions on Burma. The United States has banned all imports from Burma. Foreign investment comes primarily from People's Republic of China, Singapore, South Korea, India, and Thailand.

Agriculture

The major agricultural product is rice which covers about 60% of the country's total cultivated land area. Rice accounts for 97% of total food grain production by weight. Through collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute 52 modern rice varieties were released in the country between 1966 and 1997, helping increase national rice production to 14 million tons in 1987 and to 19 million tons in 1996. By 1988, modern varieties were planted on half of the country's ricelands, including 98 percent of the irrigated areas. In 2008 rice production was estimated at 50 million tons.

Burma is also the world's second largest producer of opium, accounting for 8% of entire world production and is a major source of illegal drugs, including amphetamines. Opium bans implemented since 2002 after international pressure have left ex-poppy farmers without sustainable sources of income in the Kokang and Wa regions. They depend on casual labour for income.

Natural resources

Burma produces precious stones such as sapphires, pearls and jade. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world's rubies come from the country, whose red stones are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of the country's gems. Burma's "''Valley of Rubies''", the mountainous Mogok area, north of Mandalay, is noted for its rare pigeon's blood rubies and blue sapphires. Many U.S. and European jewellery companies, including Bulgari, Tiffany, and Cartier, refuse to import these stones based on reports of deplorable working conditions in the mines. Human Rights Watch has encouraged a complete ban on the purchase of Burmese gems based on these reports and because nearly all profits go to the ruling junta, as the majority of mining activity in the country is government-run. The government of Burma controls the gem trade by direct ownership or by joint ventures with private owners of mines.

Other industries include agricultural goods, textiles, wood products, construction materials, gems, metals, oil and natural gas.

Tourism

Since 1992, the government has encouraged tourism in the country. However, fewer than 750,000 tourists enter the country annually. Burma's Minister of Hotels and Tourism Maj-Gen Saw Lwin has stated that the government receives a significant percentage of the income of private sector tourism services. Much of the country is completely off-limits to tourists, and the military very tightly controls interactions between foreigners and the people of Burma, particularly the border regions. They are not to discuss politics with foreigners, under penalty of imprisonment, and in 2001, the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board issued an order for local officials to protect tourists and limit "unnecessary contact" between foreigners and ordinary Burmese people.

Demographics

Burma has a population of about 56 million. Population figures are rough estimates because the last partial census, conducted by the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs under the control of the military junta, was taken in 1983. No trustworthy nationwide census has been taken in Burma since 1931. There are over 600,000 registered migrant workers from Burma in Thailand, and millions more work illegally. Burmese migrant workers account for 80% of Thailand's migrant workers. Burma has a population density of , one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. Refugee camps exist along Indian, Bangladeshi and Thai borders while several thousand are in Malaysia. Conservative estimates state that there are over 295,800 refugees from Burma, with the majority being Rohingya, Kayin, and Karenni and are principally located along the Thai-Burma border. There are nine permanent refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, most of which were established in the mid-1980s. The refugee camps are under the care of the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC). In FY 2009, the U.S. resettled 18,275 refugees from Burma.

Ethnic groups

{{bar box |title=Ethnic Composition in Burma (rough estimate) |titlebar=#ddd |width=30% |left1=ethnic group |right1=percent |float=left |bars= }}

Burma is home to four major language families: Sino-Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, Austro-Asiatic, and Indo-European. Sino-Tibetan languages are most widely spoken. They include Burmese, Karen, Kachin, Chin, and Chinese. The primary Tai–Kadai language is Shan. Mon, Palaung, and Wa are the major Austroasiatic languages spoken in Burma. The two major Indo-European languages are Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, and English.

According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Burma's official literacy rate as of 2000 was 89.9%. Historically, Burma has had high literacy rates. To qualify for least developed country status by the UN in order to receive debt relief, Burma lowered its official literacy rate from 78.6% to 18.7% in 1987.

Burma is ethnically diverse. The government recognises 135 distinct ethnic groups. While it is extremely difficult to verify this statement, there are at least 108 different ethnolinguistic groups in Burma, consisting mainly of distinct Tibeto-Burman peoples, but with sizeable populations of Daic, Hmong–Mien, and Austroasiatic (Mon–Khmer) peoples. The Bamar form an estimated 68% of the population. 10% of the population are Shan. The Kayin make up 7% of the population. The Rakhine people constitute 4% of the population. Overseas Chinese form approximately 3% of the population. Burma's ethnic minority groups prefer the term "ethnic nationality" over "ethnic minority" as the term "minority" furthers their sense of insecurity in the face of what is often described as "Burmanisation"--the proliferation and domination of the dominant Bamar culture over minority cultures.

Mon, who form 2% of the population, are ethno-linguistically related to the Khmer. Overseas Indians comprise 2%. The remainder are Kachin, Chin, Anglo-Indians and other ethnic minorities. Included in this group are the Anglo-Burmese. Once forming a large and influential community, the Anglo-Burmese left the country in steady streams from 1958 onwards, principally to Australia and the U.K.. Today, it is estimated that only 52,000 Anglo-Burmese remain in the country. There are 110,000 Burmese refugees in Thai border camps.

89% of the country's population are Buddhist, according to a report on ABC World News Tonight in May 2008 and the Buddha Dharma Education Association.

Culture

A diverse range of indigenous cultures exist in Burma, the majority culture is primarily Buddhist and Bamar. Bamar culture has been influenced by the cultures of neighbouring countries. This is manifested in its language, cuisine, music, dance and theatre. The arts, particularly literature, have historically been influenced by the local form of Theravada Buddhism. Considered the national epic of Burma, the ''Yama Zatdaw'', an adaptation of India's ''Ramayana'', has been influenced greatly by Thai, Mon, and Indian versions of the play. Buddhism is practised along with nat worship which involves elaborate rituals to propitiate one from a pantheon of 37 nats.

In a traditional village, the monastery is the centre of cultural life. Monks are venerated and supported by the lay people. A novitiation ceremony called shinbyu is the most important coming of age events for a boy when he enters the monastery for a short period of time. All boys of Buddhist family need to be a novice (beginner for Buddhism) before the age of twenty and to be a monk after the age of twenty. It is compulsory for all boys of Buddhism. The duration can be as little as one week. Girls have ear-piercing ceremonies (File:Nathwin.gif) at the same time. Burmese culture is most evident in villages where local festivals are held throughout the year, the most important being the pagoda festival. Many villages have a guardian nat, and superstition and taboos are commonplace. British colonial rule also introduced Western elements of culture to Burma. Burma's educational system is modelled after that of the United Kingdom. Colonial architectural influences are most evident in major cities such as Yangon. Many ethnic minorities, particularly the Karen in the southeast, and the Kachin and Chin (people) who populate the north and north-east, practice Christianity. According to CIA World Factbook, the Burman population is 68%, and the Ethnic groups comprise of 32%. However, the exiled leaders and organisations claims that Ethnic population is 40% which is implicitly contrasted with CIA report (official U.S report).

Language

Burmese, the mother tongue of the Bamar and official language of Burma, is related to Tibetan and to the Chinese languages. It is written in a script consisting of circular and semi-circular letters, which were adapted from the Mon script, which in turn was developed from a southern Indian script in the 8th century. The earliest known inscriptions in the Burmese script date from the 11th century. It is also used to write Pali, the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism, as well as several ethnic minority languages, including Shan, several Karen dialects, and Kayah (Karenni), with the addition of specialised characters and diacritics for each language. The Burmese language incorporates widespread usage of honorifics and is age-oriented. Burmese society has traditionally stressed the importance of education. In villages, secular schooling often takes place in monasteries. Secondary and tertiary education take place at government schools.

Religion

{{bar box |title=Religion in Burma |titlebar=#ddd |width=30% |left1=religion |right1=percent |float=left |bars= }}

Many religions are practised in Burma. Religious edifices and orders have been in existence for many years. Festivals can be held on a grand scale. The Christian and Muslim populations do, however, face religious persecution and it is hard, if not impossible, for non-Buddhists to join the army or get government jobs, the main route to success in the country. Such persecution and targeting of civilians is particularly notable in Eastern Burma, where over 3000 villages have been destroyed in the past ten years. More than 200,000 Rohingya Muslims have settled in Bangladesh, to escape persecution, over the past 20 years.

89% of the population embraces Buddhism (mostly Theravada). Other religions are practiced largely without obstruction, with the notable exception of some ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya people, who have continued to have their citizenship status denied and therefore do not have access to education, and Christians in Chin State. 4 percent of the population practices Christianity; 4 percent, Islam; 1 percent, traditional animistic beliefs; and 2 percent follow other religions, including Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, East Asian religions and the Bahá'í Faith. However, according to a U.S. State Department's 2010 international religious freedom report, official statistics are alleged to underestimate the non-Buddhist population. Independent researchers put the Muslim population at 6 to 10% of the population,. A tiny Jewish community in Rangoon had a synagogue but no resident rabbi to conduct services.

Units of measure

Burma is one of three countries that still predominantly uses a non-metric system of measure, according to the CIA Factbook. The common units of measure are unique to Burma but the government web pages use both imperial units and metric units.

Education

The educational system of Burma is operated by the government Ministry of Education. Universities and professional institutes from upper Burma and lower Burma are run by two separate entities, the Department of Higher Education of Upper Burma and the Department of Higher Education of Lower Burma. Headquarters are based in Yangon and Mandalay respectively. The education system is based on the United Kingdom's system, due to nearly a century of British and Christian presences in Burma. Nearly all schools are government-operated, but there has been a recent increase in privately funded English language schools. Schooling is compulsory until the end of elementary school, probably about 9 years old, while the compulsory schooling age is 15 or 16 at international level.

There are 101 universities, 12 institutes, 9 degree colleges and 24 colleges in Burma, a total of 146 higher education institutions. There are 10 Technical Training Schools, 23 nursing training schools, 1 sport academy and 20 midwifery schools.

There are 2047 Basic Education High Schools, 2605 Basic Education Middle Schools, 29944 Basic Education Primary Schools and 5952 Post Primary Schools. 1692 multimedia classrooms exist within this system.

There are four international schools which are acknowledged by WASC and College Board – The International School Yangon (ISY), Crane International School Yangon (CISM), Yangon International School (YIS) and International School of Myanmar (ISM) in Yangon.

Media

Due to Burma's political climate, there are not many media companies in relation to the country's population, although a certain number exists. Some are privately owned, but all programming must meet with the approval of the censorship board.

Burma is the primary subject of a 2007 graphic novel titled ''Chroniques Birmanes'' by Québécois author and animator, Guy Delisle. The graphic novel was translated into English under the title ''Burma Chronicles'' in 2008. In 2009, a documentary about Burmese videojournalists called ''Burma VJ'' was released. This film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Academy Awards.

See also

Notes

External links

; Government

myanmar.gov.mm

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

; General information

Burma Related-News

Burma from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Online Burma/Myanmar Library: Classified and annotated links to more than 17,000 full-text documents on Burma/Myanmar

Burmese/Myanmar Myanma Search Engine Web site

Official Burmese Language Wikipedia Web site

Interactive timeline of turning points in Burmese history

Category:Countries of the Indian Ocean Category:Former British colonies Category:Former socialist republics Category:Least developed countries Category:Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Category:Military dictatorship Category:Republics Category:Southeast Asian countries Category:States and territories established in 1948 Category:Member states of the United Nations

ace:Myanmar af:Mianmar als:Myanmar ar:بورما an:Myanmar frp:Birmanie as:ম্যানমাৰ ast:Myanmar az:Myanma bn:মায়ানমার zh-min-nan:Myanma map-bms:Myanmar be:М'янма be-x-old:М’янма bcl:Myanmar bo:བྷར་མ། bs:Mijanmar br:Myanmar bg:Мианмар ca:Myanmar cv:Мьянма ceb:Birmanya cs:Myanmar cy:Myanmar da:Burma de:Myanmar dv:ބަރުމާ dz:མེ་མར་ et:Birma el:Μιανμάρ es:Birmania eo:Birmo ext:Myanmar eu:Myanmar fa:میانمار hif:Myanmar fo:Burma fr:Birmanie fy:Birma ga:Maenmar gv:Myanmar gag:Myanmar gd:Mianmar gl:Myanmar - ဴမန္မာ gan:緬甸 gu:બર્મા got:𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌼𐌰𐍂/Mjanmar hak:Mién-thien xal:Мьянмудин Ниицән ko:미얀마 haw:Puruma hy:Մյանմա hi:बर्मा hsb:Burma hr:Mjanmar io:Myanmar ilo:Myanmar bpy:মায়ানমার id:Myanmar ia:Birmania ie:Myanmar os:Мьянмæ is:Mjanmar it:Birmania he:מיאנמר jv:Myanmar pam:Myanmar ka:მიანმარი ks:म्‍यन्मार csb:Myanmar kk:Мианма kw:Byrmani rw:Mayanimari ky:Мьянма sw:Myanmar kv:Мьянма ht:Bimani ku:Myanmar la:Birmania lv:Mjanma lb:Myanmar lt:Mianmaras lij:Myanmar li:Burma lmo:Myanmar hu:Mianmar mk:Мјанмар mg:Myanmara ml:മ്യാന്മാർ mr:म्यानमार mzn:میونمار ms:Myanmar mn:Мьянмар my:မြန်မာပြည် nah:Mianma na:Burma nl:Myanmar ne:म्यानमार new:म्यानमार ja:ミャンマー nap:Birmania no:Burma nn:Myanmar nov:Myanmar oc:Birmania uz:Birma pnb:میانمر pap:Myanmar ps:ماينامار(برما) km:មីយ៉ាន់ម៉ា pms:Myanmar nds:Myanmar pl:Birma pt:Myanmar crh:Myanmar ro:Birmania qu:Myanmar ru:Мьянма sah:Мьянмар se:Myanmar sa:म्यन्मार sc:Birmania sco:Burma sq:Birmania scn:Myanmar si:බුරුමය (රට) simple:Myanmar ss:IMayanima sk:Mjanmarsko sl:Mjanmar szl:Birma so:Burma ckb:میانمار sr:Мјанмар sh:Mianmar su:Myanmar fi:Myanmar sv:Burma tl:Burma ta:மியான்மார் tt:Мьянма te:మయన్మార్ tet:Birmánia th:ประเทศพม่า tg:Мянма tr:Myanmar tk:Mýanma udm:Мьянма bug:Myanmar uk:М'янма ur:میانمار ug:بىرما za:Mienjdien vec:Birmania vi:Myanma vo:Mianmarän fiu-vro:Birma war:Myanmar wo:Miyanmaar wuu:缅甸 yo:Myanmar zh-yue:緬甸 diq:Myanmar zea:Myanmar bat-smg:Mianmars zh:缅甸

name	Wiz Khalifa
alt	Wiz Khalifa holding a microphone
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
alias
born	September 08, 1987Minot, North Dakota, United States
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Singer
years active	2005–present
label	Rostrum, Warner Bros., Atlantic
associated acts	Tinie Tempah, Snoop Dogg,Rick Ross, Curren$y, Big Sean, Fashawn, Mac Miller
website	wizkhalifa.com
notable instruments	}}

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', in November 2009. He released the mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well-known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, ''Rolling Papers'', was released on March 29, 2011.

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, to a mother and a father serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis. Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen. Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got his stage name tattooed on his 17th birthday. He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.

Career

2005-08: Early mixtapes and ''Show and Prove''

Khalifa released his first mixtape, ''Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania'', in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled ''Show and Prove'' in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: ''Grow Season'', hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and ''Prince of the City 2'', released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, ''Feed the Animals'', over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes ''Star Power'' in September 2008, and ''Flight School'' in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, ''First Flight''. Khalifa stated to the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves". Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.

2009-10: ''Deal or No Deal''

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape ''How Fly'', a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape ''Burn After Rolling'' on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', on November 24, 2009.

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.

2010: Signing with Atlantic Records

Citing music industry insiders, ''New York'' magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape ''Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women '' by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape ''More About Nothing''. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue. On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, ''How Fly''.

2010-11: Mainstream success and ''Rolling Papers''

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single was peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colours of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, ''24 Hour Karate School''. Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.

On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States.

On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.

Khalifa collaborated with the prolific British rapper Tinie Tempah whom Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and is to be produced by Stargate. The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.

Personal life

Thomaz is dating Amber Rose, the former girlfriend of Thomaz's fellow hip-hop star Kanye West. He is also personal friends with rapper Yelawolf, and fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Show and Prove'' (2006)

''Deal or No Deal'' (2009)

''Rolling Papers'' (2011)

References

External links

Wiz Khalifa at MTV

Category:1987 births Category:Military brats Category:African American rappers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Minot, North Dakota Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania

bs:Wiz Khalifa ca:Wiz khalifa cs:Wiz Khalifa da:Wiz Khalifa de:Wiz Khalifa es:Wiz Khalifa fa:ویز خلیفا fr:Wiz Khalifa hr:Wiz Khalifa it:Wiz Khalifa he:ויז קאליפה nl:Wiz Khalifa ja:ウィズ・カリファ no:Wiz Khalifa pl:Wiz Khalifa pt:Wiz Khalifa ro:Wiz Khalifa ru:Wiz Khalifa simple:Wiz Khalifa sh:Wiz Khalifa fi:Wiz Khalifa sv:Wiz Khalifa vi:Wiz Khalifa zh:维兹·卡利法

name	Too $hort
background	solo_singer
birth name	Todd Anthony Shaw
alias	$hort Dawg, Short Dizzle
born	April 28, 1966Los Angeles, California, U.S.
origin	East Oakland, Oakland, California, U.S.
genre	Hip hop, dirty rap, R&B;, alternative rap
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, actor, producer, Youth UpRising mentor
years active	1980-present
label	Jive, Up All Nite, Porter House
associated acts	Ant Banks, MC Breed, Rappin' 4-Tay, Lil' Jon, E-40, Travis Porter, Git Fresh, Snow, George Clinton, Wiz Khalifa, Cee Lo Green, 2pac
website	}}

Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too $hort, is an American rapper, producer, and actor who started his career at the age of fourteen in East Oakland, Oakland, California.

Career

In the early 1980s, Shaw produced custom songs (called "special requests") for people with his high school friend, Freddy B. In 1985, Too Short had his first release, ''Don't Stop Rappin''' which, along with the following three releases, featured raw, simple drum beats from a LinnDrum drum machine. In the early 1990s his beats came from mostly a TR-808 and from mid-to-late 2000s, a TR-909 was used. In 2005, Too Short and Freddie B. formed the label Dangerous Music to regionally distribute his music. Dangerous Music became Short Records, and then Up All Nite Records. With his 1989 release, ''Life Is...Too Short'', he began used replayed established funk riffs (rather than samples) with his beats.

Subsequent work was primarily collaborative, including work with Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Scarface. One of his noticeable collaborations during this period was on the track "The World Is Filled..." on the classic Notorious B.I.G. album Life After Death; he comes in on the third verse after Diddy and Biggie. Being featured on the album introduced him to a wider audience as well, due to his typical style contrasting greatly with the Mafioso theme of the album. He also appeared on TWDY's hit single "Player's Holiday" from their 1999 debut album ''Derty Werk'' as well as the Priority Records compilation ''Nuthin but a Gangsta Party''. After these appearances, he began working on his eleventh album, ''Can't Stay Away''. The album included guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Sean Combs, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. Too Short relocated to Atlanta in 1994, but he did not begin working with a more diverse variety of Southern artists until 2000, when he collaborated with Lil Jon. With the 1999 release of ''Can't Stay Away'', Too Short fully came out of retirement and released a number of new albums within the next few years, most of them taking on a crunk or Dirty South type sound, as he had become involved in the Southern rap scene. However, he didn't totally give up on his trademark funk grooves or sexually explicit style. New albums released 2000-2003 were ''You Nasty'' (2000), ''Chase the Cat'' (2001), ''What's My Favorite Word?'' (2002), and ''Married to the Game'' (2003). These albums all charted fairly well, as they all were in the top 71 of the Billboard Hot 200, but they didn't do quite as well as Too Short's earlier 1990s releases as none of them reached the top 10.

In 2004, his earlier 1990 single "The Ghetto" appeared on popular videogame ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos and the children's television program, ''Sabrina: The Animated Series'', is an 1999 American animated television series based on Archie Comics character, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Given that this was an incredibly popular game at the time, the featuring was acclaimed as a success for Too $hort, both in publicity and in the fame generated by the song.

For his next album, 2006's ''Blow the Whistle'', Too Short now took advantage of the new hyphy rap music that was emerging out of his original home base in Oakland. This saw somewhat of a resurgence for Too Short as it peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200, much better than each of his previous three releases. However, his subsequent releases, such as 2007's ''Get Off the Stage'', have not been as successful. On October 7, 2008 Too Short was honored by VH1 at the fifth annual "Hip-Hop Honors" along with Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick and Naughty By Nature.

In 2009, Too Short recorded for Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. and continues to tour to this day. In 2011, the rapper was featured on Wiz Khalifa's song "On My Level". He featured in Snoop Dogg's 2011 album, Doggumentary in the song Take U Home.

Up All Nite Records

Too Short runs his own record label—Up All Nite Records. Artists on the label include The Pack, Dolla Will, Boo Ski, Eyob Fantay and Li'l J & Boi Payton, FX. In addition to creating Up All Nite Records, Too Short has been a mentor at Youth UpRising, a group serving at-risk youths for several years.

Too Short in film

Too Short played the role of Lew-Loc in the film ''Menace II Society''.

Too Short has also worked in the adult film industry, with the 2003 film Get In Where You Fit In.

Too Short was an interviewee in ''American Pimp.''

In 2005 Too Short starred in and performed the music for ''America's Sexiest Girls''.

Too Short has also appeared in an episode of ''The Game''.

Too Short made a cameo appearance in Jay-z's video for the hit single Big Pimpin'.

Discography

; Studio albums

1983: ''Don't Stop Rappin'''

1985: ''Players''

1986: ''Raw, Uncut, and X-Rated''

1987: ''Born to Mack''

1989: ''Life Is... Too Short''

1990: ''Short Dog's in the House''

1992: ''Shorty The Pimp''

1993: ''Get in Where You Fit In''

1995: ''Cocktails''

1996: ''Gettin' It''

1999: ''Can't Stay Away''

2000: ''You Nasty''

2001: ''Chase the Cat''

2002: ''What's My Favorite Word?''

2003: ''Married to the Game''

2006: ''Blow the Whistle''

2007: ''Get off the Stage''

2010: ''Still Blowin'''

2010: ''Respect the Pimpin'''

2012: ''Untitled'' January 24th

; EPs

2010: ''Respect the Pimpin'''

; Collaboration albums 2011: ''The History Channel'' with E-40 (Summer 2011)

References

Mixtapes: Pimpin' Inc.

External links

Too Short site by record label Jive Records (requires Flash)

Too Short interview

Too Short interview with GSlaps.com

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:Jive Records artists Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area

da:Too $hort de:Too Short es:Too $hort fr:Too $hort ko:투 숏 hr:Too Short it:Too $hort pl:Too $hort pt:Too Short fi:Too Short sv:Too Short

name	Rebecca Black
background	solo_singer
birth date	June 21, 1997
birth place	Anaheim, California, U.S.
genre	Teen pop, bubblegum pop, dance-pop, pop
occupation	Singer
instrument	Vocals
years active	2011–present
label	RB
website
notable instruments	}}

Rebecca Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with her 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Factory. After the video went viral on YouTube and other social media sites, "Friday" was derided by many music critics and viewers, who dubbed it "the worst song ever." The music video received around 167 million views, causing Black to gain international attention as a "viral star," before being removed from the site on June 16.

Biography

Rebecca Black was born on June 21, 1997, in Anaheim, California. She is the daughter of John Jeffery Black and Georgina Marquez Kelly, both veterinarians. An honor student, Black studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA. In 2011 Black left public school in favor of homeschooling, both in response to constant verbal bullying at school and in order to focus more of her time on her career.

Music career

In late 2010, a classmate of Black and music-video client of ARK Music Factory, a Los Angeles label, told her about the company. Black's mother paid $4,000 for Ark Music to produce her daughter's music video while the Blacks retained ownership of the master. The single, "Friday," written entirely by Ark, was released on YouTube and iTunes. The song's video was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011, and received approximately 1,000 views in the first month. The video went viral on March 11, 2011, acquiring millions of views on YouTube in a matter of days, becoming the most-talked-about topic on social networking site Twitter, and garnering mostly negative media coverage. As of June 14, 2011, the video had received more than 3,190,000 "dislikes" on YouTube compared to more than 451,000 "likes". As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by ''Billboard.'' On March 22, 2011, Black appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,'' during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it. The song has peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively. In the UK, the song debuted at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart.

In an interview with ''The Sun'', Black said that she is recording a new song for possible release as a single. She is currently working without a record deal. She also said that she is preparing materials for her debut album at Flying Pig Productions studio in Los Angeles containing songs with themes similar to that of "Friday," as she wants it to be "appropriate and clean." Black teamed up with Funny or Die on April Fools Day (the site was renamed Friday or Die) for a series of videos, including one which addresses the controversy about the driving kids in her music video, stating "We so excited about safety." She has also stated that she is a fan of Justin Bieber, and expressed interest in performing a duet with him.

In response to the YouTube video of "Friday," Black began to receive death threats in late February 2011, specifically by phone and email. These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.

In March 2011, Ryan Seacrest reportedly helped sign Rebecca to manager Debra Baum's DB Entertainment.

MTV selected Rebecca to host its first online awards show, the O Music Awards Fan Army Party in April 2011. As an homage to "Friday," Black appears in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," in which Black plays alongside Perry as the hostess of a party Perry attends. "Friday" was also performed on the second season of ''Glee'' in the episode, "Prom Queen," which originally aired May 10, 2011. When asked about why the song was covered on ''Glee'', show creator Ryan Murphy replied, "The show pays tribute to pop culture and, love it or hate it, that song is pop culture."

Black released a self-produced single titled "My Moment" on July 18, with an accompanying music video, publishing it to her YouTube channel; the video as of August 22 has received, approximately, 520,000 "dislikes" against 300,000 "likes." In the "My Moment" music video, director Morgan Lawley features real life video of Black's life from both before and after her fame. Black is set to release a digital 5-track EP in August.

Black appears as herself in the music video of Katy Perry's single "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". She appears as the host of a party in the house next door to that of "Kathy Beth Terry". At the end of the video Perry attempts to blame the excesses of the party (which had subsequently moved to her own house) on Black, only for her parents (Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson) to disbelieve her. Later on, Perry (in character as Kathy Beth Terry) and Black hosted a livestream on Tinychat.com after weeks of Black being mentioned on Terry's twitter. Perry, who performs Friday routinely on stage as part of California Dreams Tour, also brought Black on stage to perform the song as a duet during her show at the Nokia Theater on August 5, 2011.

On August 10, 2011, Rebecca Black was featured in an ABC ''Primetime Nightline: Celebrity Secrets'' special entitled ''Underage and Famous: Inside Child Stars' Lives''.

RB Records

Rebecca Black established her own independent record label RB Records. The first release on the new label was "My Moment", the follow up single to "Friday".

Discography

Singles

61 —

scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions						Album
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
! scope="row"	rowspan="2">2011	58	40	|	46	33	60	rowspan="2"	TBA
scope="row"	"My Moment"	—	—	|	—	—	—

Awards and nominations

In April 2011, the ''MTV O Music Awards'', one of the annual awards established by MTV to honor the art, creativity, personality and technology of music into the digital space nominated "Which Seat Can I Take?" for "Favorite Animated GIF" that included footage by Rebecca Black featuring 50 Cent and Bert. Black was named "Choice Web Star" at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in August 2011.

Year	Nominated work	Event	Award	Result
	"Which Seat Can I Take?" (50 Cent, Rebecca Black, Bert)	MTV O Music Awards	Favorite Animated GIF
Herself	2011 Teen Choice Awards	Choice Web Star

References

External links

Official YouTube channel

Category:1997 births Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:ARK Music Factory Category:Child pop musicians Category:Internet memes Category:Living people Category:People from Anaheim, California Category:Singers from California

ar:ريبيكا بلاك ca:Rebecca Black de:Rebecca Black es:Rebecca Black fr:Rebecca Black id:Rebecca Black it:Rebecca Black he:רבקה בלאק ka:რებეკა ბლეკი lv:Rebeka Bleka hu:Rebecca Black mk:Ребека Блек ml:റെബേക്കാ ബ്ലാക്ക് nl:Rebecca Black ja:レベッカ・ブラック no:Rebecca Black nn:Rebecca Black uz:Rebecca Black pl:Rebecca Black pt:Rebecca Black ru:Блэк, Ребекка simple:Rebecca Black sr:Rebeka Blek fi:Rebecca Black sv:Rebecca Black uk:Ребекка Блек vi:Rebecca Black zh:瑞贝卡·布莱克

Name	Frank Sinatra
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Francis Albert Sinatra
Alias	Ol' Blue EyesThe Chairman of the Board
Birth date	December 12, 1915
Birth place	Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Death date	May 14, 1998
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Death cause	Heart attack
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Traditional pop, jazz, swing, big band, vocal
Occupation	Singer, actor, producer, director, conductor
Years active	1935–95
Label	Columbia, Capitol, Reprise, Apple Records
Associated acts	Rat Pack, Bing Crosby, Nancy Sinatra, Judy Garland, Quincy Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Dean Martin, Count Basie, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Website
Spouse	Nancy Barbato (1939–1951)Ava Gardner (1951–57)Mia Farrow (1966–1968)Barbara Marx (1976–1998) }}

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 May 14, 1998) was an American singer and film actor.

Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the "bobby soxers", he released his first album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'' in 1946. His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''From Here to Eternity''.

He signed with Capitol Records in 1953 and released several critically lauded albums (such as ''In the Wee Small Hours'', ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers'', ''Come Fly with Me'', ''Only the Lonely'' and ''Nice 'n' Easy''). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records in 1961 (finding success with albums such as ''Ring-a-Ding-Ding!'', ''Sinatra at the Sands'' and ''Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim''), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and statesmen, including John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective ''September of My Years'', starred in the Emmy-winning television special ''Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music'', and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".

With sales of his music dwindling and after appearing in several poorly received films, Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971. Two years later, however, he came out of retirement and in 1973 recorded several albums, scoring a Top 40 hit with "(Theme From) New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally, until a short time before his death in 1998.

Sinatra also forged a successful career as a film actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''From Here to Eternity'', a nomination for Best Actor for ''The Man with the Golden Arm'', and critical acclaim for his performance in ''The Manchurian Candidate''. He also starred in such musicals as ''High Society'', ''Pal Joey'', ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''On the Town''. Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life

Born December 12, 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della Garaventa and Antonino Martino Sinatra and was raised Roman Catholic. He left high school without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. Sinatra's father, often referred to as Marty, served with the Hoboken Fire Department as a Captain. His mother, known as Dolly, was influential in the neighborhood and in local Democratic Party circles, but also ran an illegal abortion business from her home; she was arrested several times and convicted twice for this offense. During the Great Depression, Dolly nevertheless provided money to her son for outings with friends and expensive clothes. In 1938, Sinatra was arrested for carrying on with a married woman, a criminal offense at the time. For his livelihood, he worked as a delivery boy at the ''Jersey Observer'' newspaper, and later as a riveter at the Tietjan and Lang shipyard, but music was Sinatra's main interest, and he carefully listened to big band jazz. He began singing for tips at the age of eight, standing on top of the bar at a local nightclub in Hoboken. Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager in the 1930s, although he learned music by ear and never learned how to read music.

Career

1935–40: Start of career, work with James and Dorsey

Sinatra got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, The Three Flashes, to let him join. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and they sufficiently impressed Edward Bowes. After appearing on his show, ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'', they attracted 40,000 votes and won the first prize – a six month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States.

Sinatra left the Hoboken Four and returned home in late 1935. His mother secured him a job as a singing waiter and MC at the Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week.

On March 18, 1939, Sinatra made a demo recording of a song called "Our Love", with the Frank Mane band. The record has "Frank Sinatra" signed on the front. The bandleader kept the original record in a safe for nearly 60 years. In June, Harry James hired Sinatra on a one year contract of $75 a week. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July, 1939— US Brunswick #8443 and UK Columbia #DB2150.

Fewer than 8,000 copies of "From the Bottom of My Heart" (Brunswick #8443) were sold, making the record a very rare find that is sought after by record collectors worldwide. Sinatra released ten commercial tracks with James through 1939, including "All or Nothing At All" which had weak sales on its initial release but then sold millions of copies when re-released by Columbia at the height of Sinatra's popularity a few years later.

In November 1939, in a meeting at the Palmer House in Chicago, Sinatra was asked by bandleader Tommy Dorsey to join his band as a replacement for Jack Leonard, who had recently left to launch a solo career. This meeting was a turning point in Sinatra's career. By signing with Dorsey's band, one of the hottest at the time, he greatly increased his visibility with the American public. Though Sinatra was still under contract with James, James recognized the opportunity Dorsey offered and graciously released Sinatra from his contract. Sinatra recognized his debt to James throughout his life and upon hearing of James' death in 1983, stated: "he [James] is the one that made it all possible."

On January 26, 1940, Sinatra made his first public appearance with the Dorsey band at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, Illinois. In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra released more than forty songs, with "I'll Never Smile Again" topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July.

Sinatra's relationship with Tommy Dorsey was troubled, because of their contract, which awarded Dorsey one-third of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. In January 1942, Sinatra recorded his first solo sessions without the Dorsey band (but with Dorsey's arranger Axel Stordahl and with Dorsey's approval). These sessions were released commercially on the Bluebird label. Sinatra left the Dorsey band late in 1942 in an incident that started rumors of Sinatra's involvement with the Mafia. A story appeared in the Hearst newspapers that mobster Sam Giancana coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, and was fictionalized in the movie ''The Godfather''. According to Nancy Sinatra's biography, the Hearst rumors were started because of Frank's Democratic politics. In fact, the contract was bought out by MCA founder Jules Stein for $75,000.

1940–50: Sinatramania and decline of career

In May 1941, Sinatra was at the top of the male singer polls in the Billboard and Down Beat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time.

On December 31, 1942, Sinatra made a "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theater in New York. Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, 35,000 fans caused a near riot outside the venue because they were not allowed in.

During the musicians' strike of 1942–44, Columbia re-released Harry James and Sinatra's version of "All or Nothing at All" (music by Arthur Altman and lyrics by Jack Lawrence), recorded in August 1939 and released before Sinatra had made a name for himself. The original release did not even mention the vocalist's name. When the recording was re–released in 1943 with Sinatra's name prominently displayed, the record was on the best–selling list for 18 weeks and reached number 2 on June 2, 1943.

Sinatra signed with Columbia on June 1, 1943, as a solo artist, and he initially had great success, particularly during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Although no new records had been issued during the strike, he had been performing on the radio (on ''Your Hit Parade''), and on stage. Columbia wanted to get new recordings of their growing star as fast as possible, so Sinatra convinced them to hire Alec Wilder as arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best–selling list.

Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") for a perforated eardrum by his draft board. Additionally, an FBI report on Sinatra, released in 1998, showed that the doctors had also written that he was a "neurotic" and "not acceptable material from a psychiatric standpoint". This was omitted from his record to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Active-duty servicemen, like journalist William Manchester, said of Sinatra, "I think Frank Sinatra was the most hated man of World War II, much more than Hitler", because Sinatra was back home making all of that money and being shown in photographs surrounded by beautiful women. His exemption would resurface throughout his life and cause him grief when he had to defend himself. There were accusations, including some from noted columnist Walter Winchell, that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service – but the FBI found no evidence of this.

In 1945, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in ''Anchors Aweigh''. That same year, he was loaned out to RKO to star in a short film titled ''The House I Live In''. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this film on tolerance and racial equality earned a special Academy Award shared among Sinatra and those who brought the film to the screen, along with a special Golden Globe for "Promoting Good Will". 1946 saw the release of his first album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', and the debut of his own weekly radio show.

By the end of 1948, Sinatra felt that his career was stalling, something that was confirmed when he slipped to No. 4 on ''Down Beat'''s annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby).

The year 1949 saw an upswing, as Frank co-starred with Gene Kelly in ''Take Me Out to the Ball Game''. It was well received critically and became a major commercial success. That same year, Sinatra teamed up with Kelly for a third time in ''On the Town''.

1950–60: Rebirth of career, Capitol concept albums

After two years' absence, Sinatra returned to the concert stage on January 12, 1950, in Hartford, Connecticut. His voice suffered and he experienced hemorrhaging of his vocal cords on stage at the Copacabana on April 26, 1950. Sinatra's career and appeal to new teen audiences declined as he moved into his mid-30s.

This was a period of serious self-doubt about the trajectory of his career. In February 1951, he was walking through Times Square, past the Paramount theatre, keystone venue of his earlier phenomenal success. The Paramount marquee glowed in announcement of Eddie Fisher in concert. Swarms of teen-age girls had gathered in frenzy, swooning over the current singing idol. For Sinatra this public display of enthusiasm for Fisher validated a fear he had harbored in his own mind for a long time. The Sinatra star had fallen; the shouts of "Frankieee" were echoes of the past. Agitated and disconsolate he rushed home, closed his kitchen door, turned on the gas and laid his head on the top of the stove. A friend returned to the apartment not long after to find Sinatra lying on the floor sobbing out the melodrama of his life, proclaiming his failure was so complete he could not even commit suicide''.

In September 1951, Sinatra made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn. A month later, a second series of the ''Frank Sinatra Show'' aired on CBS. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. The persona he presented to the TV audience was not that of a performer easily welcomed into homes. He projected an arrogance not compatible with the type of cozy congeniality that played well on the small screen.

Columbia and MCA dropped him in 1952.

The rebirth of Sinatra's career began with the eve-of-Pearl Harbor drama ''From Here to Eternity'' (1953), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This role and performance marked a turnaround in Sinatra's career: after several years of critical and commercial decline, becoming an Oscar-winning actor helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world.

Also in 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program ''Rocky Fortune''. His character, Rocko Fortunato (aka Rocky Fortune) was a temp worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbled into crime-solving by way of the odd jobs to which he was dispatched. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954, following the network's crime drama hit ''Dragnet''. During the final months of the show, just before the 1954 Oscars, it became a running gag that Sinatra would manage to work the phrase "from here to eternity" into each episode, a reference to his Oscar-nominated performance.

In 1953, Sinatra signed with Capitol Records, where he worked with many of the finest musical arrangers of the era, most notably Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Billy May. With a series of albums featuring darker emotional material, Sinatra reinvented himself, including ''In the Wee Small Hours'' (1955)—Sinatra's first 12" LP and his second collaboration with Nelson Riddle—''Where Are You?'' (1957) and ''Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely'' (1958). He also incorporated a hipper, "swinging" persona into some of his music, as heard on ''Swing Easy!'' (1954), ''Songs For Swingin' Lovers'' (1956), and ''Come Fly With Me'' (1957).

By the end of the year, Billboard had named "Young at Heart" Song of the Year; ''Swing Easy!'', with Nelson Riddle at the helm (his second album for Capitol), was named Album of the Year; and Sinatra was named "Top Male Vocalist" by ''Billboard'', ''Down Beat'' and ''Metronome''.

A third collaboration with Nelson Riddle, ''Songs For Swingin' Lovers'', was both a critical and financial success, featuring a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin".

''Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely'', a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads, was a mammoth commercial success, spending 120 weeks on ''Billboard'''s album chart and peaking at #1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of Sinatra's concerts throughout his life.

Through the late fifties, Sinatra frequently criticized rock and roll music, much of it being his reaction to rhythms and attitudes he found alien. In 1958 he lambasted it as "sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons. It manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth."

Sinatra's 1959 hit "High Hopes" lasted on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks, more than any other Sinatra hit did on that chart, and was a recurring favorite for years on "Captain Kangaroo".

1960–70: ''Ring-A-Ding-Ding'', Reprise records, Basie, Jobim, "My Way"

Sinatra started the 1960s as he ended the 1950s. His first album of the decade, ''Nice 'n' Easy'', topped ''Billboard'''s chart and won critical plaudits. Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol and decided to form his own label, Reprise Records. His first album on the label, ''Ring-A-Ding-Ding'' (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on ''Billboard'' and No.8 in the UK.

His fourth and final Timex TV special was broadcast in March 1960, and earned massive viewing figures. Titled ''It's Nice to Go Travelling'', the show is more commonly known as ''Welcome Home Elvis''. Elvis Presley's appearance after his army discharge was somewhat ironic; Sinatra had been scathing about him in the mid fifties, saying: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." Presley had responded: "... [Sinatra] is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it... [rock and roll] is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago." Later, in efforts to maintain his commercial viability, Sinatra recorded Presley's hit "Love Me Tender" as well as works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), The Beatles ("Something", "Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides Now").

Following on the heels of the film ''Can Can'' was ''Ocean's 11'', the movie that became the definitive on-screen outing for "The Rat Pack".

From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help them win equal rights. He played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1960s. On January 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 Dr. King and his movement. According to his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at a concert in 1963 as Sinatra sang ''Ol' Man River'', a song from the musical ''Show Boat'' that is sung by an African-American stevedore.

On September 11 and 12, 1961, Sinatra recorded his final songs for Capitol.

In 1962, he starred with Janet Leigh and Laurence Harvey in the political thriller, ''The Manchurian Candidate'', playing Bennett Marco. That same year, Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album ''Sinatra-Basie''. This popular and successful release prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up ''It Might as Well Be Swing'', which was arranged by Quincy Jones. One of Sinatra's more ambitious albums from the mid-1960s, ''The Concert Sinatra'', was recorded with a 73-piece symphony orchestra on 35mm tape.

Sinatra's first live album, ''Sinatra at the Sands'', was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin played live in Saint Louis to benefit Dismas House. The concert was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. Released in August 1965 was the Grammy Award–winning album of the year, ''September of My Years'', containing the single "It Was A Very Good Year", which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in 1966. A career anthology, ''A Man and His Music'', followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys in 1966. The TV special, ''Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music'', garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.

In the spring, ''That's Life'' appeared, with both the single and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on ''Billboard'''s pop charts. ''Strangers in the Night'' went on to top the ''Billboard'' and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. The album of the same name also topped the ''Billboard'' chart and reached number 4 in the UK.

Sinatra started 1967 with a series of important recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. Later in the year, a duet with daughter Nancy, "Somethin' Stupid", topped the ''Billboard'' pop and UK singles charts. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album ''Francis A. & Edward K.''.

During the late 1960s, press agent Lee Solters would invite columnists and their spouses into Sinatra's dressing room just before he was about to go on stage. ''The New Yorker'' recounted that "the first columnist they tried this on was Larry Fields of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'', whose wife fainted when Sinatra kissed her cheek. 'Take care of it, Lee,' Sinatra said, and he was off." The professional relationship Sinatra shared with Solters focused on projects on the west coast while those focused on the east coast were handled by Solters' partner, Sheldon Roskin of Solters/Roskin/Friedman, a well-known firm at the time.

Back on the small-screen, Sinatra once again worked with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald on the TV special, ''A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim''.

''Watertown'' (1970) was one of Sinatra's most acclaimed concept albums but was all but ignored by the public. Selling a mere 30,000 copies and reaching a peak chart position of 101, its failure put an end to plans for a television special based on the album.

With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", inspired from the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. (The song had been previously commissioned to David Bowie, whose lyrics did not please the involved agents.) "My Way" would, ironically, become more closely identified with him than any other song over his seven decades as a singer even though he reputedly did not care for it.

1970–80: Retirement and comeback

On June 13, 1971 – at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund – at the age of 55, Sinatra announced that he was retiring, bringing to an end his 36-year career in show business.

In 1973, Sinatra came out of retirement with a television special and album, both entitled ''Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back''. The album, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a great success, reaching number 13 on ''Billboard'' and number 12 in the UK. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song and dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly.

In January, 1974, Sinatra returned to Las Vegas, performing at Caesars Palace despite vowing in 1970 never to play there again after the manager of the resort, Sanford Waterman, pulled a gun on him during a heated argument. With Waterman recently shot, the door was open for Sinatra to return.

In Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there – who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference – as "fags", "pimps", and "whores". Australian unions representing transport workers, waiters, and journalists went on strike, demanding that Sinatra apologize for his remarks. Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". The future Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, then the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) leader, also insisted that Sinatra apologize, and a settlement was eventually reached to the apparent satisfaction of both parties, Sinatra's final show of his Australian tour was televised to the nation.

In October 1974, Sinatra appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title ''The Main Event – Live''. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month. The TV special garnered mostly positive reviews while the album – actually culled from various shows during his comeback tour – was only a moderate success, peaking at No.37 on ''Billboard'' and No.30 in the UK.

In August, 1975, Sinatra held several back-to-back concerts together with the newly-risen singer, John Denver. Soon they became friends with each other. John Denver later appeared as a guest in the ''Sinatra and friends'' TV Special, singing "September Song" together with Sinatra. Sinatra covered the John Denver hits "My Sweet Lady" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane". And, according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request.

In 1979, in front of the Egyptian pyramids, Sinatra performed for Anwar Sadat. Back in Las Vegas, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award during a party at Caesars Palace.

1980–90: ''Trilogy'', ''She Shot Me Down'', ''L.A. Is My Lady''

In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, ''Trilogy: Past Present Future'', a highly ambitious triple album that found Sinatra recording songs from the past (pre-rock era) and present (rock era and contemporary) that he had overlooked during his career, while 'The Future' was a free-form suite of new songs linked à la musical theater by a theme, in this case, Sinatra pondering over the future. The album garnered six Grammy nominations – winning for best liner notes – and peaked at number 17 on ''Billboard'''s album chart, while spawning yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York", as well as Sinatra's much lauded (second) recording of George Harrison's "Something" (the first was not officially released on an album until 1972's ''Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2'').

The following year, Sinatra built on the success of ''Trilogy'' with ''She Shot Me Down'', an album that revisited the dark tone of his Capitol years, and was praised by critics as a vintage late-period Sinatra. Sinatra would comment that it was "A complete saloon album... tear-jerkers and cry-in-your-beer kind of things".

Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2 million in Sun City, South Africa, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. See Artists United Against Apartheid

He was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katharine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James in honoring his old friend, President Ronald Reagan said that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow".

In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, ''L.A. Is My Lady'', which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. (Horne developed vocal problems and Sinatra, committed to other engagements, could not wait to record.)

1990s: ''Duets'', final performances

In 1990, Sinatra did a national tour, and was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles–based Society of Singers. At the award ceremony, he performed for the final time with Ella Fitzgerald.

In December, as part of Sinatra's birthday celebrations, Patrick Pasculli, the Mayor of Hoboken, made a proclamation in his honor, declaring that "no other vocalist in history has sung, swung, crooned, and serenaded into the hearts of the young and old... as this consummate artist from Hoboken." The same month Sinatra gave the first show of his Diamond Jubilee Tour at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In 1993 Sinatra made a surprise return to Capitol and the recording studio for ''Duets'', which was released in November.

The other artists who added their vocals to the album worked for free, and a follow-up album (''Duets II'') was released in 1994 that reached No.9 on the ''Billboard'' charts.

Still touring despite various health problems, Sinatra remained a top concert attraction on a global scale during the first half of the 1990s. At times during concerts his memory failed him and a fall onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March, 1994, signaled further problems.

Sinatra's final public concerts were held in Japan's Fukuoka Dome in December, 1994. The following year, on February 25, 1995, at a private party for 1200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Sinatra sang before a live audience for the very last time. ''Esquire'' reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". His closing song was "The Best is Yet to Come".

Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss—the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?" Sinatra called it "the best welcome...I ever had", but his acceptance speech ran too long and was abruptly cut off, leaving him looking confused and talking into a dead microphone.

In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, ''Sinatra: 80 Years My Way'', was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. At the end of the program Sinatra graced the stage for the last time to sing the final notes of "New York, New York" with an ensemble. It was Sinatra's last televised appearance.

In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.

Film career

Sinatra enjoyed a huge film career and began making movies almost as soon as his singing career took off. His most important pictures include ''The Manchurian Candidate'' with Angela Lansbury, ''From Here to Eternity'' with Burt Lancaster, ''The Man With the Golden Arm'' with Arnold Stang, ''Kings Go Forth'' with Natalie Wood, ''Guys and Dolls'' with Marlon Brando, ''High Society'' with Bing Crosby, ''Pal Joey'' with Rita Hayworth, ''Some Came Running'' with Dean Martin, ''Never So Few'' with Steve McQueen, ''A Hole in the Head'' with Edward G. Robinson, ''Meet Danny Wilson'' with Shelley Winters, ''On the Town'' with Gene Kelly, ''Robin and the 7 Hoods'' with Bing Crosby and the Rat Pack, ''Ocean's 11'' and ''Sergeants 3'' with the Rat Pack (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop), ''Step Lively'', ''None But the Brave'' (directed by Sinatra), ''The Detective'' with Lee Remick, ''Come Blow Your Horn'' with Lee J. Cobb and Barbara Rush, and ''The Pride and the Passion'' starring Cary Grant, among many others spanning most of his lengthy career.

Personal life

Sinatra had three children, Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina, all with his first wife, Nancy Barbato (married 1939–51). He was married three more times, to actresses Ava Gardner (1951–57), Mia Farrow (1966–68), and finally to Barbara Marx (married 1976), to whom he was still married at his death.

Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of depression. Solitude and unglamorous surroundings were to be avoided at all cost. He struggled with the conflicting need "to get away from it all, but not too far away." He acknowledged this, telling an interviewer in the 1950s: "Being an 18-karat manic depressive, and having lived a life of violent emotional contradictions, I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation." In her memoirs ''My Father's Daughter'', his daughter Tina wrote about the "eighteen-karat" remark: "As flippant as Dad could be about his mental state, I believe that a Zoloft a day might have kept his demons away. But that kind of medicine was decades off."

Alleged organized crime links

Sinatra garnered considerable attention due to his alleged personal and professional links with organized crime, including figures such as Carlo Gambino, Sam Giancana, Lucky Luciano, and Joseph Fischetti. The Federal Bureau of Investigation kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra. With his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics and his friendship with John F. Kennedy, he was a natural target for J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. The FBI kept Sinatra under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. They also portray rampant paranoia and strange obsessions at the FBI and reveal nearly every celebrated Sinatra foible and peccadillo.

For a year Hoover investigated Sinatra's alleged Communist affiliations, but found no evidence. The files include his rendezvous with prostitutes, and his extramarital affair with Ava Gardner, which preceded their marriage. Celebrities mentioned in the files are Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford, and Giancana's girlfriend, singer Phyllis McGuire.

The FBI's secret dossier on Sinatra was released in 1998 in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

The released FBI files reveal some tantalizing insights into Sinatra’s lifetime consistency in pursuing and embracing seemingly conflicting affiliations. But Sinatra’s alliances had a practical aspect. They were adaptive mechanisms for behavior motivated by self-interest and inner anxieties. In September 1950 Sinatra felt particularly vulnerable. He was in a panic over his moribund career and haunted by the continual speculations and innuendos in circulation regarding his draft status in World War II. Sinatra “was scared, his career had sprung a leak.” In a letter dated September 17, 1950 to Clyde Tolson, Sinatra offered to be of service to the FBI as an informer. An excerpted passage from a memo in FBI files states that Sinatra “feels he can be of help as a result of going anywhere the Bureau desires and contacting any people from whom he might be able to obtain information. Sinatra feels as a result of his publicity he can operate without suspicion…he is willing to go the whole way.” The FBI declined his assistance.

Political views

Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life.

Sinatra's parents had immigrated to the United States in 1895 and 1897 respectively. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward boss.

Sinatra remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s when he switched his allegiance to the Republican Party.

Political activities 1944–1968

In 1944, after sending a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sinatra was invited to meet Roosevelt at the White House, where he agreed to become part of the Democratic party's voter registration drives.

He donated $5,000 to the Democrats for the 1944 presidential election and by the end of the campaign was appearing at two or three political events every day.

After World War II, Sinatra's politics grew steadily more left wing, and he became more publicly associated with the Popular Front. He started reading liberal literature and supported many organizations that were later identified as front organizations of the Communist Party by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, though Sinatra was never brought before the committee.

Sinatra spoke at a number of New Jersey high schools in 1945, where students had gone on strike in opposition to racial integration. Later that year Sinatra would appear in ''The House I Live In'', a short film that stood against racism. The film was scripted by Albert Maltz, with the title song written by Earl Robinson and Abel Meeropol (under the pseudonym of Lewis Allen).

In 1948, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson. a rival singer and a Republican, for Kennedy's visit to Palm Springs, in 1962. Kennedy had planned to stay at Sinatra's home over the Easter holiday weekend, but decided against doing so because of Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Kennedy stayed at Bing Crosby's house instead. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit. At the time, President Kennedy's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was intensifying his own investigations into organized crime figures such as Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who had earlier stayed at Sinatra's home.

Despite his break with Kennedy, however, he still mourned over Kennedy after he learned he was assassinated. He also re-stated his support for Humphrey on a live election-eve national telethon.

Political activities 1970–1984

In 1970, the first sign of Sinatra's break from the Democratic Party came when he endorsed Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California;

Death

Sinatra began to show signs of dementia in his last years and after a heart attack in February 1997, he made no further public appearances. After suffering another heart attack, he died at 10:50 pm on May 14, 1998 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with his wife Barbara by his side. He was 82 years old. Sinatra's final words, spoken after Barbara encouraged him to "fight" as attempts were made to stabilize him, were "I'm losing." The official cause of death was listed as complications from dementia, heart and kidney disease, and bladder cancer. His death was confirmed by the Sinatra family on their website with a statement accompanied by a recording of the singer's version of "Softly As I Leave You". The next night the lights on the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed for 10 minutes in his honor. President Bill Clinton, as an amateur saxophonist and musician, led the world's tributes to Sinatra, saying that after meeting and getting to know the singer as President, he had "come to appreciate on a personal level what millions of people had appreciated from afar". Elton John stated that Sinatra, "was simply the best – no one else even comes close". Tony Curtis, Liza Minnelli, Kirk Douglas, Robert Wagner, Bob Dylan, Don Rickles, Nancy Reagan, Angie Dickinson, Sophia Loren, Bob Newhart, Mia Farrow, and Jack Nicholson. A private ceremony was held later that day at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Palm Springs. Sinatra was buried following the ceremony next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, a quiet cemetery on Ramon Road where Cathedral City meets Rancho Mirage and near his compound, located on Rancho Mirage's tree-lined Frank Sinatra Drive. His close friends, Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen, are buried nearby in the same cemetery.

The words "The Best Is Yet to Come" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker.

Legacy

The U.S. Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra on May 13, 2008. The design of the stamp was unveiled Wednesday, December 12, 2007 – on what would have been his 92nd birthday – in Beverly Hills, California, with Sinatra family members on hand. The design shows a 1950s-vintage image of Sinatra, wearing a hat. The design also includes his signature, with his last name alone. The Hoboken Post Office was renamed in his honor in 2002. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens and the Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken were named in his honor.

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contribution to American culture. The resolution was introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack.

To commemorate the anniversary of Sinatra's death, Patsy's Restaurant in New York City, which Sinatra frequented, exhibited in May 2009 fifteen previously unseen photographs of Sinatra taken by Bobby Bank. The photos are of his recording "Everybody Ought to Be in Love" at a nearby recording studio.

Stephen Holden wrote for the 1983 ''Rolling Stone Record Guide'': : Frank Sinatra's voice ''is'' pop music history. [...] Like Presley and Dylan – the only other white male American singers since 1940 whose popularity, influence, and mythic force have been comparable – Sinatra will last indefinitely. He virtually invented modern pop song phrasing.

Wynn Resorts dedicated a signature restaurant to Sinatra inside Encore Las Vegas on December 22, 2008. Memorabilia in the restaurant includes his Oscar for "From Here to Eternity", his Emmy for "Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music", his Grammy for "Strangers in the Night", photographs and a gold album he received for "Classic Sinatra".

There is a residence hall at Montclair State University named for him in recognition of his status as an iconic New Jersey native.

The Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus campus, was dedicated in 1978 in recognition of Sinatra's charitable and advocacy activities on behalf of the State of Israel.

Film portrayals

In 1992, CBS aired a TV mini-series about the entertainer's life called ''Sinatra'', directed by James Steven Sadwith and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Opening with his childhood in Hoboken, New Jersey, the film follows Sinatra's rise to the top in the 1940s, through the dark days of the early 1950s and his triumphant re-emergence in the mid-1950s, to his status as pop culture icon in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In between, the film hits all of the main events, including his three marriages, his connections with the Mafia and his notorious friendship with the Rat Pack. Tina Sinatra was executive producer. Casnoff received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

In 1998, Ray Liotta portrayed Sinatra in the HBO movie ''The Rat Pack'', alongside Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin and Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr. It depicted their contribution to John F. Kennedy's election as U.S. president in 1960.

In 2003, Sinatra was portrayed by James Russo in "Stealing Sinatra", which revolved around the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. in 1963

Also in 2003, he was portrayed by Dennis Hopper in ''The Night We Called It a Day'', based upon events that occurred during a tour of Australia where Frank had called a member of the news media a "two-bit hooker" and all the unions in the country came crashing down on him.

Sinatra was also portrayed by Sebastian Anzaldo in the film ''Tears of a King'', who also impersonated Sinatra in a TV episode of ''The Next Best Thing''.

Brett Ratner is currently developing a film adaptation of George Jacobs' memoir ''Mr. S: My Life With Frank Sinatra''. Jacobs, who was Sinatra's valet, will be portrayed by Chris Tucker. Martin Scorsese is developing a biopic of Sinatra's life to be scripted by Phil Alden Robinson and produced by Scott Rudin. When the film as first announced, three actors were said to be in contention for the part: Leonardo DiCaprio was Scorsese's preference, Johnny Depp was the studio's, and the Sinatra estate preferred George Clooney. Scorsese later mentioned that he wanted Al Pacino for Sinatra and Robert DeNiro as Dean Martin. The film covers his whole life, so three or more actors will be playing him at different ages.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

See also

Rat Pack

Sinatra Doctrine

1920 US Census with Sinatras

1930 US Census with Sinatras

List of jazz musicians

Best selling music artists

Frank Sinatra discography

Frank Sinatra filmography

The Frank Sinatra Show (CBS)

The Frank Sinatra Show (ABC)

Anthony Martin Sinatra

References

Further reading

Biographies

Freedland, Michael (2000) ''All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra''. St Martins Press. ISBN 0-7528-1662-4

Grudens, Richard (2010) ''Sinatra Singing''. Celebrity Profiles Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9763877-8-7

Havers, Richard (2004) ''Sinatra''. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 1-4053-1461-3

Kaplan, James (2010) ''Frank: The Voice''. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385518048

Kelley, Kitty (1986) ''His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra''. Bantam Press. ISBN 0-553-26515-6

Lahr, John (1987) ''Sinatra''. Random House. ISBN 0-7538-0842-0

Munn, Michael (2002) ''Sinatra: The Untold Story''. Robson Books Ltd. ISBN 1-86105-537-4

Rockwell, John (1984) ''Sinatra: An American Classic''. Rolling Stone. ISBN 0-394-53977-X

Rojek, Chris (2004) ''Frank Sinatra''. Polity. ISBN 0-7456-3090-1

Santopietro, Tom (2008) ''Sinatra In Hollywood''. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-0-312-36226-3

Summers, Antony and Swan, Robbyn (2005) ''Sinatra: The Life''. Doubleday. ISBN 0-552-15331-1

Taraborrelli, J. Randall (1998) ''Sinatra: The Man Behind the Myth''. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-119-2

Wilson, Earl (1976) ''Sinatra''.

Memoirs

Ash, Vic. (2006) ''I Blew it My Way: Bebop, Big Bands and Sinatra''. Northway Publications. ISBN 0-9550908-2-2

Jacobs, George and Stadiem, William. (2003) ''Mr. S.: The Last Word on Frank Sinatra''. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-330-41229-9

.

Criticism

Fuchs, J. & Prigozy, R., ed. (2007) ''Frank Sinatra: The Man, the Music, the Legend''. The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-58046-251-0

Granata, Charles L. (1999) ''Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording''. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-509-4

Hamill, Pete (2003) ''Why Sinatra Matters''. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-73886-7

Mustazza, Leonard, ed. (1998) ''Frank Sinatra and Popular Culture''. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96495-7

Petkov, Steven and Mustazza, Leonard, ed. (1997) ''The Frank Sinatra Reader''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511389-6

Pugliese, S., ed. (2004) ''Frank Sinatra: "History, Identity, and Italian American Culture "''. Palgrave. ISBN 1-4039-6655-9

Smith, Martin (2005) ''When Ol' Blue Eyes Was a Red''. Redwords. ISBN 1-905192-02-9

Zehme, Bill (1997) ''The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin'''. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-093175-2

"Frank Sinatra – Through the Lens of Jazz", ''Jazz Times Magazine'', May 1998

Friedwald, Will (1999) ''Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art''. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-684-19368-X

Granata, Charles L. (1999) ''Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording''. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-509-5

McNally, Karen (2008) ''When Frankie Went to Hollywood: Frank Sinatra and American Male Identity'' University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-03334-5

Pignone, Charles, with foreword by Sinatra, Frank Jr. and Jones, Quincy (2004) ''The Sinatra Treasures''. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-184-1

Pignone, Charles, with foreword by Sinatra, Amanda (2007) ''Frank Sinatra: The Family Album '' Little Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-00349-2

Sinatra, Julie (2007) ''Under My Skin: My Father, Frank Sinatra The Man Behind the Mystique'' iuniverse.com, ISBN 0-595-43478-9

Sinatra, Nancy (1986) ''Frank Sinatra, My Father''. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-23356-9

Sinatra, Nancy (1998) ''Frank Sinatra 1915–1998: An American Legend''. Readers Digest. ISBN 0-7621-0134-2

Sinatra, Tina (2000) ''My Father's Daughter''. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-87076-2

Cultural criticism

Gigliotti, Gilbert L. ''A Storied Singer: Frank Sinatra as Literary Conceit''. Greenwood Press, 2002.

Hamill, Pete. ''Why Sinatra Matters''. Back Bay Books, 2003.

Mustazza, Leonard, ed. ''Frank Sinatra and Popular Culture''. Praeger, 1998.

Petkov, Steven and Mustazza, Leonard, ed. ''The Frank Sinatra Reader''. Oxford University Press, 1997.

Pugliese, S., ed. ''Frank Sinatra: "History, Identity, and Italian American Culture "''. Palgrave, 2004.

Smith, Martin. ''When Ol' Blue Eyes was a red''. Redwords, 2005.

Zehme, Bill. ''The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin'''. Harper Collins, 1997.

Other

Gigliotti, Gilbert L., ed. (2008) ''Sinatra: But Buddy I'm a Kind of Poem''. Entasis Press ISBN 978-0-9800999-0-4

Giordmaina, Diane [McCue] (2009) "Sinatra and The Moll". iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-53234-6

Havers, Richard (2004) ''Sinatra''. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 1-4053-1461-3

Ingham, Chris (2005) ''The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra''. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-414-2

Knight, Timothy (2010) ''Sinatra – Hollywood His Way''. Running Press. ISBN 9780762437436

Kuntz, Tom; Kuntz, Phil (2000) ''The Sinatra Files: The Secret FBI Dossier''. Three Rivers Press ISBN 0-8129-3276-5

Lloyd, David (2003) ''The Gospel According to Frank''. New American Press. ISBN 1-930907-19-2

O'Neill, Terry, ed. Morgan, Robert (2007) ''Sinatra: Frank and Friendly''. Evans Mitchell Books. ISBN 1-901268-32-2

Phasey, Chris (1995) ''Francis Albert Sinatra: Tracked Down'' (Discography). Buckland Publications. ISBN 0-7212-0935-1

''The New Rolling Stone Record Guide'', Rolling Stone Press, 1983.

External links

The House I Live In (1945)

The Frank Sinatra Show (1950–1952)

FBI file on Frank Sinatra

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