by Rich Berkheimer, June 11th, 2024
I always liked this number, as they say. Where Or When kind of transcended the different Frank Sinatra eras. It’s tough to put it exclusively in the Crooner Era of the 40s and 50s, this was recorded almost in his “Elder Statesman” era, and as Sinatra continued to update the arrangements of his regular cache of about 30 or so songs he’d regularly use in concert, this one would change tempo’s, rhythms, and styles.
This is my favorite version of what he did in concert. He always said, “Whenever I do this, I feel this song applies to me and you and to us.” I think this particular version I lifted from his Philadelphia PA concert and can be found on what I consider his best compilation of live in concert works, Standing Room Only. That album provides a great overview of most of his concert works.
I am surprised though that this would be put as the opening number in Philly, as he usually said, “Open with 3 songs that people know and love.” I don’t feel Where Or When is the most familiar, nor is it the most upbeat version of possible arrangements. But this one with it’s staccato annunciation and its “slow swing” encapsulates the best bits of what Sinatra is best at.
There’s a funny part at the start of this version which I couldn’t get to come thru. A woman in the crowd, at just the right moment at the beginning, yells, “I love you Frankie!” He responds coyly, “I love you too.”
I also, while we’re talking about this song, can’t leave out a most wonderful version by Tom Wopat of Dukes Of Hazard fame. Yes. That Tom Wopat. He is a masterful interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Tom’s version is slower, more contemplative, like trying to stare backwards in a mirror, grasping at faded memories, and also deserves a listen so you can compare. Mr. Wopat’s entire catalog is worth a listen. Honestly, my favorite interpretation overall.
Tom Wopat – Where Or When
I’m also a big fan of Kenny Rogers, and his chicken RIP. But he adds the verse to this and it’s so important and telling in the version of this. Most songs of the era of the Songbook included really poignant, well-conceived verses of lyrics before jumping into the melody or chorus of the song. Kenny’s version of Where Or When highlights this, and really makes you think about…well….thoughts. It’s what I’d call a “haunting version.” Yet, comforting in a Disney way.
“When you’re awake, the thoughts that you think, come from the dreams you dream.
Thought has wings, and lots of things, are seldom what they seem.
Sometimes you think you think you lived before, all you lived today.
The things you do, come back to you, as if they knew the way….
Oh, the tricks your mind can play.”
Kenny Rogers Version of Where or When
Wow! What a lyric and so much to think about within those 5 lines. I mean they say that we only dream for mere minutes, but just imagine all the info we play out in those fleeting seconds. Describing Deja Vu and Karma is really heady stuff for a song written in 1937 for the musical Babes In Arms. Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
I normally do about 30 seconds of these because I feel that’s all you have an attention span for. But this taping was going so well, I thought I’d throw the whole thing on here. So this is my attempt, using the Philly concert of Frank Sinatra’s Where Or When
Rich B. Sings Where Or When | Frank Sinatra Tribute Show
I also think that with my mind, this could be my theme song, or an Alzheimer’s theme song.
If you’d like to book All Or Nothing: The Frank Sinatra Tribute Show, with Rich B., head on over to the Contact Page on here and let me know you’re interested. Also, each month you can hear me live at Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches in Lebanon. It’s an Open Mic, the 3rd Saturday of each month. It’s from 6 until 8 pm and I sing about 3 songs or so, all with similar themes, and tell a few stories. It’s a good casual time. Come See Me!!
