Rick Michel's Blog

I wrote about songs that reference Frank Sinatra before, there are many, but I was recently listening to a couple of other very interesting mentions of Ol’ Blue Eyes by two very different, but significant song writers, Lou Reed and Suzanne Vega. The two songs have decades between them, but both, just like both of the artists, are very relevant today. Let’s have a look at “New Age” by The Velvet Underground and “Frank & Ava” by Suzanne Vega. Read More

When you’re famous, there inevitably will be people that want to profit from your celebrity; I’m sure it didn’t take Frank Sinatra very long to learn this. In fact, by 1947 he was already having to defend himself against the sometimes-negative workings of the media who, let’s face it, want a juicy story to sell to their readers. It was 70 years ago this month that Ol’ Blue Eyes made headlines for a rather brash altercation with journalist Lee Mortimer. Read More

Frank Sinatra released his version of the Academy Award winning song, “Call Me Irresponsible” in April of 1963; it’s the best-known recording of the tune, charting on Billboard’s Hot 100 for eight weeks. As is often the case with Ol’ Blue Eyes’ songs, “Call Me Irresponsible” wasn’t written for him; in fact there are two versions of why it came into being, both involving wonderfully iconic artists. I love how so many of these golden standards have stories of their own, often threading through the lives of so many we hold dear. Read More

Do any of you watch Dancing with the Stars? While the majority of the contestants are not trained dancers, it’s interesting that once they’re teamed up with a professional, they seem to turn into little Freds and Gingers. Well, some of them do. Others maybe should have stayed at home. Still, you have to give anyone willing to try something new in front of millions a well-deserved hand. I have no doubt any of the Rat Pack, had this show been around, would have worked their wonders on DWTS at any age, but I like to picture the three of them as the judges. Here’s a sampling of the latest season with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. doling out their expertise. Read More

Frank Sinatra’s life was a series of ups and downs, with thankfully more elevations than depressions, often resulting in extremely varied stories coming from those who interacted with him. His generosity and loyalty are legendary, but so was his temper and, sometimes, cruelty. Those that knew him best seemed most inclined to talk about the former, even after undoubtedly experiencing or witnessing negatives. This dichotomy is represented in the many media depictions that make him seem to be a saint in some stories, yet tales of pretty evil behavior exist too. It was the latter that viewers of the FX television series Feud recently saw. Read More

I had such a great time with Jeff Parry Promotions/Annerin Productions last year, I was thrilled when they suggested another tour and after my three shows in British Columbia, I’ll be jetting to the Canadian province of Ontario for another five performances of, A Night with Sinatra and Friends. The people of Ontario are always a pleasure to see and this time around I’ll be hitting all the major cities. Read More

Canada is a wonderful country to tour and April in British Columbia should be a real treat when I perform three showings of A Night with Sinatra and Friends in a trio of beautiful west coast venues. Read More

With the phrase “Rat Pack” being a synonym for “cool,” there’s little wonder they seemed to have been drawn to some very hip cars. Automobiles have been an essential part of the American landscape since their birth and Frank, Dean, and Sammy all embraced this mode of transportation, adding their own flare to the vehicles they drove. Here’s a quick look at some exceptional cars matched to the personas of the icons that owned them. Read More

Good things are meant to be celebrated. When Ol’ Blue Eyes’ 100th birthday rolled around, the world had a party; when 1976 came, America reveled over its 200th year; and it’s worth noting for when I tour Canada this year that that nation is celebrating its 150th anniversary. It has also been 50 years since the iconic album, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim was released and on April 7, 2017 a special expanded version will be issued to mark this milestone collaboration. Read More

Chances are you’ve never heard of a symphonic poem; while it was once in vogue to create a piece of orchestral music to invoke the feelings behind a poem, book, painting or some other artistic work, the genre fell out of favor as Romanticism died and the tone poem was, essentially, forgotten. Ol’ Blue Eyes embraced this genre for an album in 1956 called Frank Sinatra Conducts: Tone Poems of Color. Read More