In the twenty-eighth episode of The Pop Culture Lens podcast, Christopher Olson and I welcome back friend of the podcast and unofficial fourth co-host Clelia Sweeney to discuss the classic iconography of Frank Sinatra.

In this episode, the conversation considers how Sinatra’s identity changed through the various stages of his career, but also how those changes were under his control as he worked to create a celebrity identity focused on masculinity and American mythos. Throughout the years, his ability to control his identity led to an iconic performance, leading him to embody what it meant to be a man in the mid-20th century. Interestingly, his celebrity identity resembles performances seen in contemporary boy bands and singers, and their ability to make fangirls squee in delight.

One note: in the episode, Christopher discusses a Sinatra album as his recommendation that was in fact part of a trilogy that Sinatra produced in 1980. You can find more information at that venerable source of facts, Wikipedia, in this article.

Many thanks goes out to production assistant, Jean-Michel Berthiaume, for helping produce this episode.

As always, you are encouraged to become a part of this conversation by visiting any of the podcast’s social media sites. You can also talk with Christopher Olson on Twitter (@chrstphrolson) and at his academic blogseemsobvioustome.wordpress.com. And you can talk to CarrieLynn Reinhard on Twitter (@mediaoracle) and at her website www.playingwithresearch.com.