The music of Frank Sinatra continues to resonate with people of all ages, backgrounds and musical tastes. His unmistakable voice, choice of material and impeccable phrasing make him the foremost interpreter of American Popular Song.

Tributes have appeared on television and radio, ranging in length from a few minutes to many hours, exploring every aspect of his life, but The Sinatra Songbook will be different.

"I could talk as much about what The Sinatra Songbook is not going to be as I can about what it will be," said host Mark Sudock. "Theme shows per se cause me to yawn. With the more than 1,400 titles that Sinatra recorded, you could categorize them any way you like: songs with girls' names in the titles, songs about cities, etc. But those shows would have no relationship to what made Sinatra magical. What made him magical? He had a profound appreciation for the greatest composers that Tin Pan Alley produced. Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Berlin, Hammerstein (the list is almost endless) -- they spoke poetry through music, for which Sinatra had a keen appreciation."

Sudock said the magic that Sinatra put into the records he made is the magic he put into the concerts he performed.

"In studio and on stage, the invitation was the same: use music to go someplace, to search your soul, to take a trip through the range of human emotion. And that's what 'The Sinatra Songbook' is all about. I want the listener to feel that if Frank were here, sitting down shuffling through the recordings that are his legacy, he would say, 'I'll stack 'em this way because that takes me someplace; more importantly, it takes my audience someplace.' So, we're successful if we program the recordings, as Sinatra would perform them live. I want to give the listener the impression that Frank is here in spirit, programming the selections, as we would perform them. That's what makes the experience magical; that's what makes it distinctive. That's the series I believe we have in 'The Sinatra Songbook.'"

Sudock, a three-time Emmy winner, is the third broadcaster ever to have been honored by the Sinatra Society. A lifelong fan, he has produced and aired several television features on Sinatra and hosted hundreds of hours of his music on radio.

KRCU 90.9 FM is the region's Public Radio International affiliate and a National Public Radio member station. KRCU is located on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. More information about "The Sinatra Songbook" and KRCU 90.9 FM, visit http://www.krcu.org.