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Posted by: rs on 5/15/1998@04:46hrs:
In Reply to: FRANK SINATRA 1915 to 5/14/98 "The Greatest Singer Who Ever Lived" posted by: Gina on 5/15/1998@04:05hrs:
Went to a show he and Dean Martin put on at the Cal-Neva in North Lake Tahoe in the Summer of '63, the summer that first brought me to California. Sat in "Mr. Sinatra's Box" with one of the other StatNislanda's. Watched him perform live and keep the legend growing.
Even though his health has been dire and death anticipated, still a shock, and a huge icon of our era, and of our parents, breaking off like a calving glacier into the sea, pushed by time.
Talk about leaving a sign that you were alive, Sinatra did that.
Commentators would describe the technical underpinnings of his artistry, the "phrasing," and breath control, etc., which, not being a singer, I'd never noticed until the comments. After noticing the technical expertise and comparing, my appreciation grew for the man; it wasn't just luck for Sinatra. When a couple of my sons participated in school performances and were in the rehearsal periods beforehand, I'd call their attention to Sinatra performances on the tube from time to time to call their attention to how clearly he came across with his measured and modulated tones.
A kid from Hoboken, he later took pride in his early (circa WWII) efforts to speak out against racial discrimination. No doubt as an Italo-American of the time he felt its sting personally and knew it was no good for anyone. I was impressed to have learned this in one of the many reprises of his life that have appeared in the papers over the years. It was, for me, a positive aspect of the seemingly swashbuckling life he led, always reported. I also saw his friend Sammy Davis, Jr. perform at Tahoe. What a wild bunch they made. Captured a lot of imaginations.
-rs