Sinatra still chairman of the Billboard charts

Frank Sinatra has rocketed to near the top of the charts debuting at No.2 on the Billboard charts this week with an album of re-mastered classics.

With 2008 marking the 10th anniversary of his death, Nothing but the Best,a collection of hits from the late crooner, sold 99,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.The No. 1seller wasDeath Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs, which moved 144,000 copies.

The last time the singer debuted so high was with the No. 2 hit, Duets, back in 1993.

Sinatra whose mammoth lineup of hit singles include Come Fly With Me, Strangers in the Night, I've Got You Under My Skin and The Nearness of You is having a renaissance of sorts.

Warner Home Video is releasing 22 of his films including Anchors Aweigh, The Man With the Golden Arm and Ocean's Eleven. Life Books has updated Remembering Sinatra, and re-titled the biography, Life: Remembering Sinatra: 10 Years Later.

As well, the U.S. Post Office has issued a commemorative stamp bearing the same Sinatra image used on the compilation album's cover.

Born in Hoboken, N.J., in 1915, Francis Albert Sinatra made his first recording in 1939 witha song called Our Love.

Dorsey invite launches career

That same year, band leader Tommy Dorsey approached him to join Dorsey's band. In 1940, Sinatra released more than 40 songs with the band, including I'll Never Smile Again which topped the charts for 12 weeks.

Sinatra made a name for himself and never looked back.He signed with Columbia Records in 1943 as a solo artist and would eventually become a regular on the Las Vegas stage during the 1950s.

At the same time, he crackedthe film worldand won an Oscar for his supporting role in 1953's From Here To Eternity. He would go on to star in other notable films including The Manchurian Candidate, High Society and On the Town.

My Way, produced in 1970, is often considered his most famous song. Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song for Sinatra, inspired from the French song Comme d'habitude.

A year later, Sinatra attempted a retirement from performing but didn't sit around for long. He was back performing within a couple of years and kept up his appearances until just a few years before he died of a heart attack on May 14, 1998, at age 82.