Salute to Frank Sinatra
and Dean Martin Resuscitates Careers of Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow,
Michael Bolton, Michael Buble
The ANNOTICO
Report
Rod
Stewart, Barry Manilow, Michael Bolton, and Michael Buble have all given their carreers
a needed boost by releasing LPs of popular songs from the first half of the
20th century, particularly paying tribute to the preeminent performer,
Frank Sinatra and good friend Dean Martin.
Sinatra
and Martin's renewed popularity is basically because they sang beautiful
love songs, and younger people are turning to
the songs of Sinatra and Martin because today's pop music offers none of
the romance.
A
RAT PACK ENCORE?
Now that's amore
All four singers
have recently released recordings of popular songs from the first half of the
20th century. In doing so, they pay tribute to the preeminent performer of the
Great American Songbook, Frank Sinatra.
Last Saturday,
inside the nearly sold-out, 350-seat Stoneham Theatre, another group of
musicians did their part to bring Sinatra's memory to life. ''The Rat Pack
Returns" recalls the time from the late '50s and early '60s when Sinatra,
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and comedian Joey Bishop became icons for
hard-drinking, hard-living urban sophistication.
The show's
popularity -- a sellout when it played in
''It all started
with Rod Stewart," said Johnny Edwards, who plays Dean Martin in the show.
In 2002, Stewart
released ''It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook," followed by
three more such albums, that got him featured last month on Fox network's
''American Idol."
Barry Manilow's ''The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," soared
to the top of Billboard magazine's charts when it was released in February and
went platinum this month. Michael Bolton just released ''Bolton Swings Sinatra."
Michael Buble is making his mark as a crooner of
tunes from the American Songbook era.
Geoff Mayfield,
director of charts and senior analyst for New York-based Billboard magazine,
said all four of Stewart's Songbook releases debuted at the top of the charts,
including a 2004 release that was his first No. 1 album in decades. He surmises
that other artists are paying attention.
''Never
underestimate the older consumer," Mayfield said. ''There's an engaged
consumer that's still interested in music, and when the right thing comes along
so that it's properly promoted, they'll respond."
In
''It brings back
the nationality, the gestures, the sense of belonging," said Jan Haggerty,
53, of
Chiulli said she recalled seeing
Sinatra perform when she was a young woman and considers him ''one of the best
singers there was."
Italians, more
than other ethnic groups, ''cling to nostalgia," said Stanislao
G. Pugliese, a professor of history at Hofstra University in New York and author of ''Frank
Sinatra, History, Identity, and Italian American Culture," in an e-mail...
Pamela Donnaruma, editor of the North End's Post Gazette,... said the show's attraction and the men it portrays are
universal.
''I think they
were just such exciting men of their time," said Donnaruma.
''Naturally, the Italians loved Dean Martin. He sang beautiful love
songs."
But younger
people, she said, are turning to the songs of Martin and, especially, Sinatra,
because today's pop music offers none of the romance.
''They don't hear
beautiful music -- the young people anymore," said Donnaruma,
who lives on the Medford/Malden line. Sinatra's music ''has something in it for
everyone."
Ron Della Chiesa, who hosts the weekly radio program ''Strictly
Sinatra" on WPLM 99.1 FM, reflected on how the singer's talent took him
from Hoboken, N.J., to superstardom in the 1940s. He was still in the limelight
when he died in 1998.
''He changed the
American Songbook," said Della Chiesa. ''He
changed the styles of American singing. He made it more intimate and personal.
. . . His voice is haunting. It stays with you."
Della Chiesa likens Sinatra's voice to a cello, and said the
basis for his singing was his ability to control his breath and sustain
phrasing. ''He does things that no other singers can duplicate," said
Della Chiesa. ''He'll extend a word longer than you'd
expect him to and get away with it. Up until he came along, nobody was able to
do that. It was his invention."
Backed by a
12-piece band, Jonathan Poretz, who plays Sinatra at
the Stoneham, pulls off an admirable recreation in such songs as ''Fly Me to
the Moon," and ''New York, New York."
Edwards got the
audience's feet tapping with a rendition of ''That's Amore," sprinkled
with some racy new lyrics for a few laughs, and body movements reminiscent of a
young Martin.
Kenny Jones, as
Sammy Davis Jr., displayed a powerful voice in a moving performance of ''Mr. Bojangles."
Mickey Joseph, as
Joey Bishop, performs several politically incorrect, slightly off-color, yet
endearing stand-up routines, interspersed among the songs. (Actor Peter Lawford, an occasional member of the group, is not
represented in this show.)
Bishop, the only
living member of the Rat Pack, is credited, along with comedian Buddy Hackett,
with writing much of the original material. Hackett's son Sandy is coproducing the show with Dick Feeney, a former member of
''Lewis & Clark Expedition," a Boston-based rock band. Lon Bronson,
the show's music director, is a native of
As the audience
streamed into the lobby after the show, cast members formed a receiving line.
Marilyn Racca of
Judy Egan of
Danvers said she got ''goose bumps" during the show and thought Stoneham's
version was better than the one she'd seen in Las Vegas, where the show has had
a long run.
Janet Chirichiello, 50, of
Mayfield of
Billboard said the image of the Rat Pack retains a hipness
that attracts audiences, and even a 2004 release of Dean Martin recordings sold
well.
As for Sinatra,
Mayfield said, ''When you think about the imprint of his career, it would
surprise me if people didn't pay tribute to him."
Joyce
Pellino Crane can be reached at crane@globe.com.
The
ANNOTICO Reports are Archived at:
Italia
Italia
Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com