I gave a belated 100th birthday piano concert
in honor of Frank Sinatra – only a few days late, my regular Brookdale Senior
Living home monthly performance, ironically on my own birthday. I listened to Sinatra all day on Dec. 12, his
100th and I wondered how different my life would have been if there
had not been a Frank Sinatra. He permeated our culture.
The Great American Songbook would not exist in its
present form if there was no Sinatra. I
remember in high school I was just getting over my fascination with Elvis
Presley, and abandoning my guitar lessons, when a new kid moved into my neighborhood. Ed
was unlike any of my other friends. When we hung out in his room he had two
albums he played over and over again, Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me, and Ahmad Jamal’s At the Pershing: But Not for Me, both released in 1958 on the eve
of my senior HS year. My parents never listened
to such music. Those albums brought me back to the piano.
So, thanks to that accidental connection, and Frank and
Ahmad, I’ve had a musical life of joy playing the songs of the Great American
Songbook during my entire adult life.
And I’ve had all those decades of enjoying Sinatra but it wasn’t until he was in his mid-70’s, the age I’m now approaching myself, that I had an
opportunity to see him in person. It was June of 1991 and we had ventured to Las Vegas for a long weekend to see our dear friend, Peter and his wife Marge, who lived there.
Peter had been diagnosed with cancer but he was still
mobile and relatively pain free and our mutual wish was to see Sinatra who was then
appearing at the Riviera Hotel. We had
practically front row seats, slightly off to the left, and he sang many of
his signature pieces, some of the same ones I played at my concert such as The Lady Is a Tramp, I’ve Got you Under My
Skin, New York, New York and the piece I concluded my own piano tribute to
him, My Way. That June 1991
appearance turned out to be among his last concerts in Vegas. His orchestra was enthusiastically conducted
by his son, Frank Sinatra Jr.
Although one could tell that age had taken its toll on
Sinatra’s voice by then, his phrasing, which made him so distinctive, as
well as his personality, came through.
He had the ability to convince the audience members that he was singing
directly to and for you.
I had one tangential connection with The Chairman of the
Board. In 1998 my publishing company
published Ol’ Blue Eyes; A Frank Sinatra
Encyclopedia, chronicling every song he ever sang, every movie he ever
appeared in. I gave a copy to a
transient boater who was docked next to me at our marina as he was Sinatra’s
drummer for many of his concerts over a twenty year period (forgot his
name). So I was regaled about several
personal incidents and it was enjoyable to hear from someone who worked closely
with him. Bottom line, Sinatra was a
perfectionist when it came to music and how he sang a song.
He was also an outspoken person all his life. I found his 1963 Playboy interview fascinating. Then, of course, the
threat was communism and the cold war.
I’m pretty sure if he were around today, he’d have a thing or two to say
about the present world tumult and the breakdown of our political process.
