U2’s Bono Recalls Becoming The Only Man With An Earring Frank Sinatra Liked

Although the music industry is usually accepting of different styles and looks, the same cannot be said for musicians. For instance, Frank Sinatra didn’t like men with earrings but made an exception for U2’s Bono quickly after they met. Bono shared with BBC’s Zoe Ball that after a few nights out with Sinatra, he became the only man with an earring that the musician enjoyed hanging out with, and their relationship blossomed into a close friendship.

“I made it my business to search out older, wiser people,” said U2’s frontman about how he first put Frank Sinatra on his radar as a possible mentor or a friend in the industry. “I’ve always been interested in finding these sort of father-like figures, however mischievous and messy they may be. No more mischievous or messy than Frank Sinatra, and we just hit it off.”

The immediate connection made Bono an exception in Sinatra’s eyes, even though he was a man with an earring, which the late icon despised. “He said I’m the only man with an earring he’s ever going to like, and I ended up drinking with him a few times, and again I lost that arm wrestle.”

Speaking on Frank Sinatra’s musicianship, the U2 icon said, “There’s a chapter [in his memoir ‘Surrender’] called ‘A Showman,’ the book can be read like short stories. I’ve talked about the gift of interpretive singing. I have two versions of Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ twenty years apart.”

“Same arrangement, same key, same everything, same lyrics,’ he continued. “In one, it’s a boast, the other, it’s an apology, and that is the genius of interpretive singing. That’s why I followed him around and got to know him; he sent me presents. I’ve got gold Cartier watches; ridiculously generous, dude.”

Bono just released his memoir ‘Surrender, 40 Songs, One Story,’ which includes details about his life in the music industry, the friends he made along the way that have impacted his career, and how he approaches song making. Bono’s stories and memories reflect Frank Sinatra’s impact on him as a musician and the dynamics of their friendship.