by Rich Berkheimer – July 1, 2024
Frank Sinatra’s Retirement
So the last time the public had heard anything coming from the mouth of Frank Sinatra, had been during his self-imposed retirement concert in 1971. It was star-studded and filled with emotion and a great intro and farewell by fellow movie star, Rosalind Russell. His earlier forrays into pop music, in the 70s, including the avant-garde, and slightly ahead of ANY time in my opinion, Watertown, kind of fell on deaf ears. Honest to God, I don’t know why performers feel like they continuously need to step out of their lane to impress the public fringe with artistic renderings of other genres that aren’t their wheelhouse. But to hear the deeper Sinatra fans tell it, they really enjoyed that album. So be it. So at 55, Frank Sinatra retired from a 36 year career of ups and downs with 2 concerts in one evening.His cinematic contribution during those years was affected by the decline of the musical genre and suffered from notable irregularity. As with records, the brilliance of films was often directly proportional to the depth of discourse they presented.
A “Mini” Comeback
On April 17, 1973, President Richard Nixon invited him to sing at the White House during a dinner in honor of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. The concert, which Frank performs with the backing of the Marine Corps Presidential Band conducted by Nelson Riddle, is a little clanky in my opinion. They are a Marine Band, and even though highly musically trained, swingin ain’t their thing. But it was enough to get the wheels turning on a true comeback.
Down To The Wire
So a suggestion was made that Frank should try for a true comeback and it was suggested by producer Jerry Weintraub, off the cuff in a matter, that it should be done in Madison Square Garden. Frank wasn’t impressed. Then the suggestion that Howard Cosell, the great ABC Sports announcer perform Mr. Sinatra’s intro. Frank was not only a fan of Cosells, but boxing, which Cosell announced, as well as MSG. To further incentivise, the entire show would be broadcast live on ABC. So Sinatra was in and the date was set. It would be called Sinatra: The Main Event.
In order to prepare, there was a series of concerts prepared on the East Coast, using Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd band to back SInatra. That band in my opinion, with the exception of the final band in his final concert, was the best band ever assembled to back Sinatra. Normally that band did a lot of esoteric jazz stuff, but maybe a band of that musical caliber was what was needed to handle Sinatra’s new arrangements. The final pre-show was done in Philadelphia and then it was onto the big apple.
No one had heard from Frank in the hours, and even days, preceding the concert. Jerry Weintraub, the shows producer was searching for Frank everywhere, and as always Frank hadn’t shown at rehearsals, as was his way.
Finally, the afternoon of the show, Jerry knocks on the door of the room of the hotel Frank stayed in in Manhattan, and Frank sarcastically says, “I thought you’d never find me!”
It’s Magic Time
“The Lady Is A Tramp” was last heard as a slower swing kind of number, and mostly whenever Frank did it, it was in a sextet fashion or arrangement. This was going to lead off a show on a Saturday night in Prime Time TV to millions, so you can’t come out with nearly a ballad. Billy Byers, who I feel really captured everything in arranging this, and other Sinatra songs, hit it out of the park with this. It became a staple of Frank Sinatra’s live performances, and it’s not hard to see why. The chart does a masterful job of packing in a surprising amount of content for the band while managing to never step over the vocal melody at any time.
This arrangement is jumpy, and swings, and captures the best of Sinatra’s phrasing and punchiness, if you will.
It was written in 1937 for the musical Babes In Arms, by Rodgers and Hart, who wrote so many of the classics that Frank did. This song appears on 16 different Sinatra albums, but this by far was the best rendition.
Now as I’ve previously said, it started the show and followed that amazing intro. From what I’ve heard in Sinatra-lore and I can’t find the source to back it, but the applause from the actual concert prior to the song lasted 1:40 before Sinatra even begins singing. The applause you hear on the record is cut down by a minute. I can’t even imagine that.
Before Mr. S goes to he stage, he tells a very nervous Jerry Weintraub in Sinatra-fashion, “Hey, I got you into this, I’ll get you out of it.”
So amazing, as is Frank’s rendition of the song, here.
Rich B Performs “The Lady Is A Tramp” from All Or Nothing: The Frank Sinatra Tribute Show
Then we have my attempt at it. And as I’ve always said, I can’t do Mr Sinatra justice vocally in any form or fashion. This that I do is a loving tribute to the music and to the Old Man, and my weak attempt, though it may be to keep the music going, as SInatra wanted. It’s NOT an impersonation. I like to perform this song and it’s one of 3 songs near the end of my performance that I can really “lean into” if you will. This and the song which follows it in this concert, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and of course “Mack The Knife.” The crowd really seems to get into these and you can see why. They’re easy to over sing or overdo. You have to measure your exuberance in this and let the band do their thing.
Book All Or Nothing: The Frank Sinatra Tribute Show for A Performance in Lancaster PA, or Hershey, PA
If you’d like to hear more of these, or like to book me for a performance in your venue, or a performance in Lancaster PA, please click here on Contact Us. I sing using the same arrangements and sing in the same keys as Sinatra did. So it’s as close as you’ll get to the real thing. But the added bonus is I am 53 singing these, where as SInatra was in his 70s.
The performance is 2 hour and a half long Shows, to cover your dinner time and as always, it’s FREE
