Sinatra stamp will be issued in spring

WASHINGTON – Ol’ Blue Eyes will get his own postage stamp next spring.\nThe stamp commemorating Frank Sinatra was announced Wednesday by Postmaster General John Potter, who called the crooner “an extraordinary \nentertainer whose life and work left an indelible impression on American culture.”\n“His recordings, concert performances and film work place him among America’s top artists, and his legendary gift for transforming popular song into art is a rare feat that few have been able to replicate,” Potter said.\nThe stamp image will be unveiled next Wednesday – Sinatra’s birthday – at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif.\nWhile the stamp will be for first-class mail, the rate has not been announced. Currently the letter rate is 41 cents, but the postal governing board is thought likely to raise the price next year.\nUnder new rules a hike in the letter rate would be limited to the rate of inflation, probably to 42 cents if it does go up in the spring.\nDuring his career, Sinatra won an Oscar, several Grammy awards and was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983. President Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.\nHe was born in Hoboken, N.J., in 1915 and died in 1998. The Hoboken Post Office was renamed in his honor in 2002.