December 30, 1942 –

Frank Sinatra opened at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a 4-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular, he was booked for an additional 4 weeks). An estimated 400 policemen were called out to help curb the excitement.
It is said that some of the teen-age girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed ‘The Sultan of Swoon,’ ‘The Voice that Thrills Millions‘ and just ‘The Voice.’ Whatever he was known as, it was at this Paramount Theatre engagement that modern pop hysteria was born.
