Music Blog

A Hoboken Skinny Malink

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

This is Week 40 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters S or T. This is my choice.

With the exception of children, I have yet to meet anyone who has not heard of Frank Sinatra or listened to one of his songs, even in passing. And if you don’t know who Frank Sinatra is, you will probably recognize the names of some of the superstars who sang with him on his highly successful Duets album, artists such as Anita Baker, Tony Bennett, Bono, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Julio Iglesias, Liza Minnelli, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand and Luther Vandross. Frank also recorded with popular music sensations Stevie Wonder, Chrissie Hynde, Gladys Knight, Willie Nelson, Elvis, Nancy Sinatra and countless others. And at the age of 54, Sinatra was collaborating with Bob Gaudio, the renowned producer/songwriter behind the genius of the Four Seasons.

Surely some of those names will ring a bell …. and it they don’t, Google them and look up Frank Sinatra while you’re at it because today’s post is a little different. I’m not going to spend my time writing about Frank; instead, I’m going to feature some rare videos by the people who knew him the best followed by a couple of my favorite Sinatra songs. Sit back and enjoy the videos.

Quincy Jones talks about Frank Sinatra and racism in Las Vegas:

Dionne Warwick and Larry King reminisce about Frank Sinatra and Solid Gold:

The best Frank Sinatra story you will ever hear, told by comedian and Frank’s frequent warm-up act, Tom Dreesen:

Dennis Miller tells some funny stories about dinner with Sinatra:

And saving the best for last, this is Richard Burton’s speech about Frank Sinatra:

Now for some music. It would be impossible to play all the Sinatra songs I love so I’m going with four which I think are top notch musically and showcase his incredible talents. Frank was incomparable, as you’ll see in this next video.

This is a live recording of a 1962 concert at Monaco’s Royal Hall; in attendance were Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. The performance was the second night of a two-night charity event to raise money for the United World Colleges Fund. Frank isn’t just singing this song; he’s acting out the story of a guy in a bar who’s hit rock bottom because his girl has left him and the only one around who’ll listen at 2:45 in the morning is the bartender. This is superb storytelling put to music.

Here’s “One For My Baby” live from Monaco, just Frank and a piano.

What kind of New Yorker would I be if I didn’t include Frank’s iconic tribute to my home town? Fuhgeddaboudit! This is “New York, New York”.

Here is an absolutely gorgeous song that recounts the type of girls with whom the singer had relationships at various years in his life. I love this song by Frank; it’s the incredibly lovely and melancholy “It Was A Very Good Year”.

My last song has become synonymous with Frank Sinatra. Other people may have recorded it …. maybe the composer Paul Anka …. but other than him I can’t think of anyone else, not that it matters. I’m really not interested in who else sang it. Even though it’s been said that Sinatra hated this song, it will always belong to him.

Live from Madison Square Garden in NYC, this is “My Way”.

In his six decade career, Frank Sinatra won 11 Grammy Awards, an Oscar for “From Here To Eternity”, and an Emmy Award for “Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music”. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra possessed one of the best voices of the 20th century. His voice had a broad range and he knew how to make the most of its power, joy, sentimentality, humor and sensuality. He has sold over 150 million records, making him one of the bestselling recording artists of all time. Ironically, he never learned how to read music but had a great ear, a remarkable sense of phrasing and an innate feeling for music. He has left behind an unparalleled catalogue and legacy of music and film.

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 40 – Alternate T-Rex

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

39 thoughts on “A Hoboken Skinny Malink”

    1. Hi Allen! Thanks for stopping by; it’s good to see you here again.

      “Music for an elegant life”; what an absolutely stunning sentence. You are definitely right about that. There will never be another Frank Sinatra.

      Thank you, Allen!

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  4. I really enjoyed this! The Burton speech was magnificent. ‘One for my baby” is one of my favorite songs – an odd choice for an adolescent, which I was the first time I heard him sing it. Thanks for this.

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    1. My great pleasure to share this today, Grace. I have to agree with you on a couple of things: Richard Burton’s speech was indeed magnificent; I had no idea what a stellar human being Frank Sinatra was. Also, with regard to “One For My Baby”, I know exactly what you mean by that being an odd choice for an adolescent. I had the same reaction to that song and every song on his Only the Lonely album …. my favorite Sinatra album. I’ve played it frequently ever since I was a young teenager. Thank you for these great comments, Grace.

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  5. So many great stories, love the Dennis Miller clip! I don’t know if I ever told you that my grandma grew up with Frank, I have a photo of them when they were like 3-4 years old, you can totally tell it’s him, those blue eyes! 💙

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    1. That’s incredible, Tiffany! No, I didn’t know that story about your grandma and Frank; that’s something I’m sure I would have remembered. I had the great opportunity to meet him backstage after a performance. If you’d like to read about it, HERE’S a link. I’ve been very lucky to meet a lot of celebrities (right place/right time) but meeting Frank was amazing! Thanks for sharing your thoughts today, Tiffany. Great comments! 💙

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  6. What a fabulous tribute to “Ole Blue Eyes”! 😎 I’ll come back later to finish watching the videos, but “It Was A Very Good Year” is my favourite Sinatra song, with “My Way” a close second. 💖

    I know you said you didn’t care who else recorded “My Way”, but this is a pretty interesting bit of trivia: Elvis Presley released a cover of “My Way” on a red vinyl 45 shortly before he died. I still have it. 😃
    https://www.discogs.com/release/3114315-Elvis-My-Way

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    1. Wow, Debbie! As soon as I saw the name Elvis, I remembered that he recorded “My Way”; I had totally forgotten about that! HERE’S his version; it’s from 1973 and is not the one you mentioned but it’s an excellent video.

      It’s obvious that I adored Frank Sinatra. I’m very happy to know you enjoyed my tribute to him. Thanks so much! 🤩

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    1. That was a pretty funny story! I was laughing out loud when he got to the part about seeing the nanny’s autograph book for the first time! That was something I could easily see happening. Thanks for your comments, Jim. I’m glad you enjoyed my pick today.

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    1. What a great word you used to described my homage; immersion sounds so much nicer than self-indulgent! 😂
      My favorite was the Richard Burton speech; I learned things about Frank I never knew before. But the Dreesen story really was quite touching. I’m so glad you enjoyed the videos, D! 🎶

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  9. Excellent choice Nancy. I do have a few Frank Sinatra vinyl singles and I have the two set CD single of his duet with Bono; ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, which is the second track on part one of the ‘Stay (Far Away, So Close)’ cd single

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    1. Thank you, Glyn. I tried not to be too self-indulgent; it’s easy for me to go overboard when talking about one of my idols! I’m glad you enjoyed my homage to Frank Sinatra and delighted to know you’re a fan as well. I appreciate your comments.

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  10. You said you were going for it, and you meant it! Superb post. I wasn’t that big a fan – he was more to my Mum’s taste – but I can appreciate what a consummate performer he was.

    The One For The Road video isn’t available here, but this one is:

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    1. For crying out loud! I just fished your comment out of spam, Clive! How you landed there I have no idea; you must have wondered why I was ignoring you, especially since this is such a great comment and I love the video you attached. Sorry you couldn’t open my “One For The Road”; it really is quite the performance. Thanks so much, Clive. 😊

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      1. To be honest I leave so many comments that I lose track, so I hadn’t noticed! That’s why I always check my spam folder, as WP has a habit of dropping the wrong things in there!

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    1. You know, we’re quick to toss out words such as legend and superstar and attach them to just about every performer these days, but in the case of Frank Sinatra, he was indeed both a legend and a superstar. Your excellent comment nailed it, CA. Thanks! 🤩

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  12. The four you chose definitely belong to Sinatra. And so many others … just the title … makes me think of his sound. If I hear some other artists of by gone days I often have to think, “What was his/her name?” But nobody forgets his name.

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    1. Thank you, Michele. It’s difficult for me not to be a bit self-indulgent when it comes to Frank Sinatra; I adored him. He was a masterful performer, a defender of the downtrodden and a magnanimous human being. He was also no saint and never claimed to be but in my eyes he was damn near perfect. Thank you for your very lovely comments. ♡🎶♡

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