Sinatra. The name? What does it that word, the
name invoke? Well for me and millions of Italian-Americans over the years, the name
Sinatra conjures mostly love, Happiness, good-times, wonderful memories, and “Pride.” These
emotions that are all one really need to be happy and content. That’s what is
important. Along with good health and family togetherness. And, by the way, you
don’t have to be Italian-American to love Sinatra, most everyone does.
My love of Frank Sinatra, the man and his
music began when I was a young boy growing up in East Rutherford, New Jersey, always in sight of the wondrous skyline of my beloved New York
City. As far back as I can remember, my mother used to play all her fine records on her RCA
Victor Record Player. Songs like Strangers in The
Night, The Summer Wind, The Lady is a
Tramp, Fly Me to the Moon, Come Fly with
Me, and so
many more. She played Sinatra all the time,
along with Sammy, Dino, Elvis, Al Martino, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole. Those were her favorites and Frank Sinatra was always number one for the entire Bellino Family, especially for Me, my Mother,
Sister Barbara, and Uncle Frank.
Whether listening to a record or seeing the
man live, this man sang with so much
emotion that you could actually feel it
within yourself, the feelings and emotions he was
trying to convey. He tried and he always succeeded, whether he
was singing a fun happy song like “Luck Be a Lady,” “I’ve Got
the World on a String”, or the incredible way he
sang a torch song, and sang these
songs in a way no other could. Songs of lost
love and Bittersweet Romances like “You and
Me,” The World We
Knew, The Second Time Around, and “If
I Had You,” many others of course. You could feel the pain of hurt and lost love. They say
the reason he had this very special touch with torch songs was because he was thinking of, and
singing about the Greatest Love of his life, Ava Gardner, Frank’s proverbial Girl That Got
Away.
The man had such a way with lyrics and music, he’d take those
songs and make
them his own. These songs were, still, are, and always will be wonderful
gifts to his hundreds of millions of fans, to The World, to the history of mankind,
to the Millions Who Loved and adored him, Frank Sinatra.
We
Italian-Americans are deeply proud that
he was one of our own. He was
an Icon, The Twentieth Century’s greatest
entertainer, a National Treasure and source of pride, whom Italians looked-up-to and could brag about, he was of Italian blood, same as us.
That our roots were from the same place
(my family in particular the Bellino family came from the same town as Sinatra
Family in Sicily, Lercara Friddi) as well as so many of our forbearers of Italy to precede us, people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Giotto, Verrazano, Columbus, Marconi, and Michael Angelo. In America we had
Italian Americans like; Joe Di Maggio, Dean Martin (Dino Crochetti), Tony
Bennett (Anthony Benedtto), Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola,
Robert Mondavi, Jake La Motta, Rocky Marciano, and so many more, and of all those incredible
people, Sinatra was tops. He still is.
There are have been all kinds of great singers in this World, people
like Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Dean
Martin, Al Green, Pavarotti, and on-and-on, but never a performer quite like
Sinatra. His singing, the way he handled a song, was beyond compare. Frank sang with incredible
feelings and emotions.
If you were fortunate to ever see Sinatra perform
live, it was an experience like no other. You know how he makes you feel so good when you listen to one of his many
great recordings? Well multiply
that by 100 and
you just start to understand.
The emotions one felt at
a Sinatra Concert. Emotions quite similar to the magical euphoric feelings you’d get as a
child running down to the Christmas Tree, opening your presents on Christmas Day. You’d get that
special toy you’d been dreaming of, and.
You are in Seventh Heaven. Euphoria! Do
you remember?
For any great Sinatra fan, seeing the man perform live, being at a Sinatra Concert, it’s akin to being a child again, under that Christmas Tree, to open that special present, that’s a Sinatra Concert. Better!
When you went to a Sinatra Concert there would be so much love, joy, happiness, and adulation for the man that you
could literally feel it in the air. It made you shiver and sent chills up and down your
spine, “Literally.” People would be
screaming out, “We love you Frank”, both
men and women, and he’d reply back, “I love
you too”, in a way, only
Frank could do. He
truly did Love and appreciate his fans and had such
a fantastic rapport with his audience.
Frank had great conversations with his audience. Guys felt as
his pal, and women his lover, these are
messages he conveyed, and his fans adored him for it.
There have been so many great performers over the years, but
there never was, there is not now, and there will never ever be another quite like that man, Francis Albert Sinatra.
Never.
I’ve been a tremendous fan of his since early
childhood. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, all
the great Motown and Philadelphia Sound
artists, as well as many other Rock and Pop
Stars.
Along with the Pop, R&B, and Rock music
that most kids of my age would listen
to at the time, I added artists of my
parent’s generation as well, artist like; like
Sinatra, the rest of the Rat Pack, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, and others. These artists that
most children and young adults didn’t listen to unless they were the chosen few who had the good taste and capacity to appreciate at tender
young ages, musicians like; Armstrong,
Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and others. No
matter that these older artists were of their
generation or not, their music was great, and even at such a young age, I could
love and appreciate. Sammy, Sinatra, Dean and others were great performers who made great music, and that all there was to
it.
When I was in high school, I had a few friends
who were heavily into Sinatra as well. Most kids thought he was “boring” and old-fashioned.
We knew better! We were all of Italian
ancestry and we were proud of him and
of ourselves that although we were from another era, we were sophisticated enough,
at such young ages to appreciate great performers of our parents and grandparents
generation, we were Cool and we knew it! Hey, Facts-Are-Facts, and that was a fact, “We
Were Cool.” We looked at ourselves as The Jr. Rat Pack, Cool,
Sophisticated, and Confident!!! Frank gave us that confidence and
Bravado!
The sad day in which Frank Sinatra passed
away,
I received four messages
of condolence, one from my sister Barbara, one from my brother-in-law Noel, one
from my friend Selena, and one from my good buddy Jimmy
Starace. That’s how much I loved the man, what a big fan I was, and all
my friends and family knew it, thus the messages of condolence. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened to a couple
Million other Sinatra fans as well.
We were blessed
with his presence for a long time. We still
are, through all his fabulous recordings
(12 Hundred Songs ) and the
memories, they evoke
feelings of girlfriends,
Love, our mothers, fathers, and of Frank.
I made sure that I went to see the man perform live on seven
extraordinary occasions. These concerts
hold many wonderful memories that I will have for the rest of my life, along
with the numerous dinners with friends
and family spent listening to his incomparable recordings and having Sinatra
Parties on Saturday nights when WNEW AM
in New York used to have a show every Saturday night for years called “Saturday with Sinatra”, well, as only New Yorkers could do.
New Yorkers being
Franks most loyal fans. This
is where he got his start. The show
was hosted by Sid Marx’s. Sid and some of his special guests would tell
all sorts of wonderful stories about Frank. There would be guests who knew
Frank personally, as well as listeners who
would call in and tell stories of how they “Fell in
Love” listening to Sinatra or how they
met him one time, or of performances that they went to. The show was three
hours of listening to Sinatra’s unrivaled music and of stories and antidotes of
“The Man.” For Sinatara Fans, this weekly Saturday Night Show was pure bliss.
Sinatra
was loved all over the World, and people could tell you all sorts of interesting
antidotes pertaining to all parts of the globe. I have a particular interesting
memory of him combined with a great food and wine trip in Italy. I was in the small wine town of Greve
in Chianti Classico, Italy having a
nice little dinner with
a
friend. We were in this
great little Enoteca
eating the famed local Salumi
and Paparadelle with
Wild Boar Ragu. We were a
bit surprised (I don’t know why) to hear both Sinatra and Billy
Holiday recordings playing at this little place. The owner walked by to see
how we were doing. I gave him a
thumbs-up and told him, “Great music”.
“You like Billy Holiday?” he inquired. We had a nice little conversation with him
about Billy, Sinatra, and wine.
He told us that he had lived and worked for a
few years in New York. This guy was a big fan of Frank,
Billy Holliday, and New York City. So, that’s Sinatra, loved
the World over, even in little towns like Greve in Chianti.
SINATRA Excerted from La TAVOLA by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke
http://www.amazon.com/La-TAVOLA-Adventures-Misadventures-American/dp/1463618123
