Blog
04/13/2017
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. (...)
04/06/2017
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. (...)
03/30/2017
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. (...)
03/25/2017
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. (...)
03/16/2017
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. (...)
03/10/2017
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. (...)
03/04/2017
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. (...)
02/17/2017
The Academy Awards are almost here, which starts me reminiscing on how Frank Sinatra was able to transcend being the best popular singer of his time to also become a brilliant actor. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1953’s From Here to Eternity and even hosted the 35th and 47th Academy Award shows, but awards don’t always tell the whole story as his performances in The Manchurian Candidate and The Man with the Golden Arm, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in 1955, may have surpassed that earlier role. (...)
02/02/2017
If there was ever another candidate for “The Voice” of the 20th century, it would be Mario Lanza. I was reminded of this incredible tenor when I noticed a marathon of his movies on TCM January 31st, his birthday. Although there is no record of he and Ol’ Blue Eyes ever recording together, it’s only natural that these two great vocalists would have a connection. And for one amazing movie scene, Dean Martin would come into the picture too. (...)