Frank Sinatra Has a Cold

[4] The illustrations that accompanied the original article were made by Edward Sorel, who also did the artwork for the Esquire issue's front cover.

He was also worried about his starring role in an upcoming NBC show named after his album, A Man and His Music, and his various business ventures in real estate, his film company, his record label, and an airline.

[4][7] Rather than give up, Talese spent three months, beginning in November 1965, following Sinatra and observing everything he could and interviewing any members of his entourage who were willing to speak.

[3] Talese was uncertain whether the story could be finished, but ultimately concluded, in a letter to Hayes, that "I may not get the piece we'd hoped for—the real Frank Sinatra, but perhaps, by not getting it—and by getting rejected constantly and by seeing his flunkies protecting his flanks—we will be getting close to the truth about the man.

For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence, and it affects not only his own psyche but also seems to cause a kind of psychosomatic nasal drip within dozens of people who work for him, drink with him, love him, depend on him for their own welfare and stability.

A Sinatra with a cold can, in a small way, send vibrations through the entertainment industry and beyond as surely as a President of the United States, suddenly sick, can shake the national economy.

The piece employed techniques like scenes, dialogue and third-person narrative that were common in fiction, but still rare in journalism.

[4] This is illustrated in a scene with the writer Harlan Ellison who is wearing corduroy slacks, a Shetland sweater, a tan suede jacket, and Game Warden boots while playing pool in a club.

After Ellison leaves the room, Sinatra tells the assistant manager, "I don't want anybody in here without coats and ties.

Through a series of scenes and anecdotes, focusing on the people surrounding Sinatra, the article "reveals the inner workings of the climate-controlled biosphere the singer had constructed around himself—and the inhospitable atmosphere coalescing outside its shell.

He told NPR: "The term new journalism became very fashionable on college campuses in the 1970s and some of its practitioners tended to be a little loose with the facts.