Mark Steyn on Frank Sinatra

Steyn Online ^ | May 1998 | Mark Steyn

[gonzo]

"... The world became a much poorer place to live once Frank Sinatra left it.
"In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning"..."

My Dear-Sister, Betty and I will soon record a version of the Duet of Frank Sinatra and Carly Simons' 'In The Wee Small Hours / Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry'.

Frank Sinatra was arguably the best song-stylist of the 20'th Century, and I love to sing his songs .............. FRegards

[Rembrandt]

In the early ‘90’s, I went to a live Sinatra concert in Cincinnati. He was obviously past his prime, couldn’t sing real well but he captivated the crowd, held them in his hand and made everyone in the crowd happy and proud to have been there. He was great!

[Erasmus]

Thre Mandalays:

Sinatra

(Two operatic interpretations:)

Lawrence Tibbett

Leonard Warren

[Billthedrill]

One of Sinatra's secrets was his perfect enunciation. No slurring, no fades, you could always hear every word in every lyric perfectly. And the reason it's a "secret" is that it flies in the face of his laid-back image.

I have an album I treasure, an original pressing of "Come Fly With Me." Getting a little fragile now because my Mom and Dad played it so often on really awful gear, but even now you don't have to strain to make out the words. A very few other artists - Mel Torme comes to mind - bothered with that sort of professionalism.

He did have one rather cruel amusement - a home recording studio in which he encouraged guests to sing along with some great bands. Then he'd replay it and fade the bands out, and the results were about as you'd imagine it for amateurs, however talented. But not him. When he sang it would sound better without the band. RIP.

[ishabibble]

Wonderful article, thanks for posting!

[Mr. Mojo]

Still, there is no way that Basie "carried" Sinatra.

Correct. Though they complemented each other brilliantly, neither Frank nor the Count needed to be (or were) carried by anyone. They were two legends meeting in the twilight of their prime.

[Biblical Calvinist]

Rummyfan, and Gonzo.. and anyone else who is interested..Yahoo Groups has a “SINATRAPHILES Group”. Anyone can join.. You’ll find that many of the people in this group have been Sinatra fans for a very long time, some have worked on a professional level with Frank (for instance,Vinny Falcone)personally..Some have authored well known biographies of Frank..and almost everyone on this group is extremely knowledgeable about Francis’s Music and life.. if anyone is interested.. here’s the link..=

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sinatraphiles/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1

[greyfox]

What a privilege to have lived in Sinatras’s time, and to have been fortunate enough to see him in person on four occasions.
There will never ever be another you, Frank.

[MinuteGal]

Taking the "El" from the suburbs to the city, I saw and heard "Frankie" perform at the Chicago Theater when I was a kid. It was a Saturday matinee in his early career.....I saw the young gals packing the front-center seats screaming and "swooning", his incredible skinny-ness, his ill-fitting suit, his "coolness" and stage confidence....and his magical voice which I appreciate 101% more today than I did then.

He represents an era of great popular music enjoyed by all ages. I also consider myself fortunate, Greyfox, to have been able to see Sinatra in person at a time when his voice was at its best.

Todays' pop music makes me want to harf (yes, harf....as in Marie Harf, Obama's Valley Girl PR mouthpiece). It's mostly just noise, not music...and sadly, this orchestrated noise overlaid with shrieking and shouting is what today's culture embraces as "music".

When I shop at the Publix supermarkets here in Florida, the loud cacaphony of pop music continuously foisted on shoppers' ears over the PA system is enough to make you work the aisles faster....and to GET OUT out of the store just as fast as you can.

Leni