Chase Motel

Canton, Ohio

More Midcentury Christmas
Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby - We Wish You the Merriest

Circleville ...

... has some pretty buildings.

Frank Sinatra - My Blue Heaven

Henry Clay's Sarcophagus

Lexington, Kentucky

Yeah, I know, normally, I get right up there and practically jam the lens through the wire to get the shot, but what can I tell you? This one gave me the wig. Badly. I just could not make myself get any closer.

Witch Day!

Book of Love - Witchcraft

Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft

Steve Lawrence - Bewitched

Screamin Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You

Songs I'm Feeling Lately

I have no photo for you today, (if gas prices were not so exorbitant, I could drive farther in the service of hunting up some good pictures, but oh noooooo...) but I do have some songs I've been feeling lately.

Diane Keaton - Seems Like Old Times
The provenance of this, I have no idea. An online buddy sent it to me on a mix cd (Thanks again, Emily!) and I love it.

Elvis Presley - Change of Habit
It's not only from that cute movie he did with Mary Tyler Moore (I still want to be her when I grow up), but I love it because it seems like he finally cut all that obnoxious Elvis shit I can't stand and just sang the song. And musically, the song is kind of timeless ... upbeat lyrics, and the music doesn't sound dated.

Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby - Well, Did You Evah
From the musical "High Society," in which Frank's & Bing's characters drunkenly mock the other guests and commiserate over what a lousy time they're having at the party. But in that shimmery, sophisticated way people do when Cole Porter writes their lyrics.

Joe Cocker - Bye Bye Blackbird
Again, thank you Emily! Siiiigh.

Sammy Davis, Jr. - Eee-O Eleven
From "Ocean's Eleven" - no, the real one.

Ella Fitzgerald - Ooo Baby Baby
Downloaded from Pimps of Gore. (I really need to get my links section fixed.) This is so odd, this song. It's a time warp ... Ella's voice singing a Smokey Robinson song.

She & Him - Sweet Darlin'
And thanks again, Emily. :) The mix was a hit with me.

The Ibstock Place School Singers - Dandelion
Ah, Emily? :) You know the drill. This sweet version of the Stones' song, sung by schoolkids, I assume (you know, it's August. It's too hot and I'm too damn lazy to click past the first page of Google results) is so, so pretty.

Enjoy!

Hitting the Barr

Lima, Ohio

Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

Frank, Pt. 3

Frank worked with many extremely talented people and he was a part of some great duets and collaborations, and today's post is devoted to some of those. (Including some Christmas music. Why not? It may be nearly June, but it's not like it's warm out yet.)

While I have the first Duets cd, for the most part, the whole "duet where someone isn't actually there" thing leaves me cold. I last listened to it a long, long time ago, and don't remember much from it in particular. I never got the second one.

There are a couple duets of that sort I like though; one is from Very Special Christmas 2. It's Cyndi Lauper horning in, no pun intended, on Frank's 1947 recording of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." I love the original too, but I really like her voice and I think she adds a little something fun to it.

Another is actually from Duets; the theme from the movie "New York, New York," which is a classic, but still benefits from Tony Bennett's presence here. He sounds like he's having a ball, and who wouldn't be?

Speaking of Christmas duets, there's "We Wish You the Merriest," with Bing Crosby. I dislike Bing immensely, both as a human and a singer, and there are only two ways I can cope with him. If he's with the Andrews Sisters or Sinatra, he's diluted enough by more enjoyable performers that I can put up with him and not feel like punching him in the throat. This song is excellent, Frank is excellent, Bing ... is an extra voice. I can deal with that. This is pure midcentury Christmas, by the way; if you're looking for some Christmas music for your swingin' pad, download it.

He did two albums with Count Basie & his orchestra, and the second one, It Might as Well Be Swing," is highly recommended (in fact, I should be receiving my copy of it any day now) and having heard "I Wanna Be Around," I can see why. It starts out as a slow roll and blows into a big band finish, and makes a pretty sophisticated breakup song.

I don't know as much about the Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim as I probably should, but he was a contemporary, if not a counterpart of Sinatra's, and they did an album together, from which comes "Baubles, Bangles and Beads." I like bossa nova in general, and this song in particular, so this may be my next purchase.

And there is of course, his 1967 duet with his daughter, Nancy. "Somethin' Stupid," while admittedly a touch odd for a father/daughter song, is wistful and lovely, and their voices blend beautifully.


Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Frank Sinatra & Tony Bennett - Theme from New York, New York

Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby - We Wish You the Merriest

Frank Sinatra & Count Basie - I Wanna Be Around

Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim - Baubles, Bangles and Beads

Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra - Somethin' Stupid

Frank, Pt. 2

<-- This is my favorite Frank. In his 40s and 50s, he was confident, sophisticated, still handsome, and as far as I'm concerned, maybe the best-dressed man who ever lived. This Frank is also the Frank who hung around with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and the rest of the boys and made movies with them. And who recorded the music I like best of all his career.

I know little of the music of his early career, and most of what I've heard from 1970 on doesn't light a fire under me - it may take a bit longer for me to grow into those eras - but his albums from about 1954-1967 help make up the soundtrack to my daily life and have for a few years.

One of the first songs of his that I remember enjoying is "That's Life." I remember my ex and I belting it out in the car together. At the time, it was just a fun song to sing, but lately, as life's challenges get scarier and the stakes get higher, and the least little setback becomes a very big deal, when I hear this, I am reminded that well, that's life. Failure isn't the end of the world.

"My Kind of Town" was another of the first few I remember getting stuck in my head for days. I like big, splashy music, if you haven't guessed by now, and especially the sort that keeps tempting me to burst into song like I'm in a musical. (As I can't sing to save my life, I avoid the temptation, at least until I'm alone in the car.) This one starts slow, but becomes so catchy that eventually, you've just got to sing along or you might explode. The lyrics and music are great, but I'm not convinced that if someone looked at them written down without having heard the song that they'd ever guess how swingy and infectious it is. That much is all Frank's doing.

Wikipedia says he recorded two versions of "The Lady Is a Tramp," but I'll swear I've heard at least one other one. I love any and all of them. And "(Love is) the Tender Trap," "Swingin' On a Star," "Fly Me to the Moon," and "My Blue Heaven" are also all in frequent rotation.

If you'd like to give a try to any of them that you don't already have, help yourself.


Frank Sinatra - That's Life

Frank Sinatra - My Kind of Town

Frank Sinatra - The Lady Is a Tramp

Frank Sinatra - My Blue Heaven

Frank Sinatra - Fly Me to the Moon

Frank Sinatra - Swingin' On a Star

Frank Sinatra - (Love is) the Tender Trap

Frank, Pt. 1

Frank Sinatra died ten years ago this month, as unimaginable as that seems. I remember when I heard the news. I was still living with my ex-fiance at the time, and he was big on tv news in the morning, so that day, May 14th, he'd wandered downstairs and flipped on The Today Show as usual. I came down to get a cup of coffee and saw him standing there in shock with his toothbrush in his hand. Then, when I saw tributes of flowers on the Walk of Fame on the screen and asked him who died, he could barely get it out. (Anth was from a large Italian family. I trust I don't have to explain his reaction.) I liked Frank Sinatra, and I kind of was beginning to think he'd live forever, so I was very sad.

In the intervening decade, I've gotten more and more familiar with his work; with every song and every movie of his that I've come to know, my respect, appreciation, and - I'll admit it - hero worship, have grown.

This Memorial Day weekend, my Saturday, Sunday and Monday posts will be in memory of Frank. Since I don't know anything about music, and can't write with any intelligence about his technique, his ability, etc., I'll keep these entries simple and just try to show why I love the guy.

In this post, I'll share a few of my favorite songs from one of his best albums (true, it's a large pool to pick from), 1957's Come Fly With Me, and a few other versions of the same songs.

Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me
I could absolutely use some exotic booze, as a matter of fact.

Michael Buble' - Come Fly With Me
I've mentioned before that I like the crispness & brightness of this one.

Frank Sinatra - I Love Paris
Crazy romantic and catchy. Listen to it twice and you'll sing it all day long. Interestingly, it's only 1:51 long; its only potential flaw is that about the time it really gets going, it's over.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Love Paris
I can't wait to hear the reactions to this one. It's indescribable. He um, really throws himself into this. There's this spoken word bit toward the end that's totally what we'd call insensitive today, and totally hilarious. I laugh every time he says "I saw Mau Mau kissing Santa Claus."

Frank Sinatra - Autumn in New York
His version is so rich vocally that even if you only focus on his phrasing and enunciation, you can still be swept away.

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Autumn in New York
I do love this one, and I admit that part of it is the distinct sound, in the first verse, of a Zippo clicking open. If that's not what it is, don't tell me. There is something very intimate and quiet about their version, and that sound really lends something to that. It's as if they're staying up late together, singing and lighting each other cigarettes.

Harry Connick, Jr. - Autumn in New York
As much as I love Harry and that voice of his, I have to say that if I were following those two acts above, I believe I'd make mine an instrumental too.

YMCA

Mt. Vernon, Ohio

Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby - We Wish You the Merriest

'Tini Time

Delaware, Ohio

Frank Sinatra - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

Stars Above

Ohio Theater
Columbus, Ohio

Frank Sinatra - Swingin' On A Star

More Pumpkins

Glass Art Pumpkins
Pumpkin Festival
Circleville, Ohio

Book of Love - Witchcraft

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You

Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft

Ella Fitzgerald - Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Music - More of the Halloween

I've got a ton more to post too, so just hang in there.

Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft
A little of the sexy, slinky, romantic Halloween variety for you. It's not all about toilet-papering your neighbor's tree or trick-or-treating, you know. Sometimes it's about private (very private) parties.
Tom Waits - God's Away On Business
And then sometimes it's about -- how'd I put it a few months ago? -- "the musical equivalent of Yeats' poem The Second Coming. Tom, in this song, is himself the rough beast, slouching toward Bethlehem."
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
This is kind of a Halloween standard by now, isn't it? I have some more of those upcoming, too.
Darling Violetta - the Angel: The Series theme
It's not just spooky, it's also quite pretty.