Sinatra and Hoboken Four broke through 80 years ago

Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra on stage in London during a 1950 performance.
AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Eighty years ago today, Frank Sinatra appeared on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour on behalf of the Hoboken Four.

The appearance on the popular live radio talent show was Sinatra's first national exposure. He was 19 years old at the time.

The Hoboken Four pulled in 40,000 votes from the audience and won first prize. They were awarded a six-month contract to perform on the radio and onstage.

Sinatra left the group later that year and took a job as a singing waiter in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.