Displaying items by tag: Frank Sinatra

Sammy received tap-dancing lessons courtesy of the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson when he was a little older.

I am a fan of hats, I probably have too many, after all, I only have one head. But for me, a good chapeau can make a person stand out in a crowd. It can elevate their style, and can help a person exude a confidence that is admirable. Now, I am talking about real style. Not just a functional thing to put on one’s head to protect yourself from whatever a person feels their noggin needs protection from.

Blues shouters were blues singers, usually men, capable of singing unamplified with a band. Their voice projected fervour and energy and got audiences to their feet, driven by the power of the music.

After the limited success of 2016’s all-female Ghostbusters, whose reasonable box office was stifled by its massive production budget of $144 million, it was a brave move to reinvent another much-loved franchise in the same gender-swapping way. Still, that’s what Warner Bros. has done with the latest chapter of the Ocean’s saga, Ocean’s Eight. That bravery has been more than rewarded, as the new movie has already passed the Ghostbusters total box office, despite having less than half the budget.

The Hollywood Bowl, California opened in 1922 and was designed as a modern amphitheatre to be used for public performances. The natural cavity upon which the structure was built is called “the bowl" and was a traditional Cahuenga Indian ceremonial ground. Prior to the present building the site had been a natural amphitheatre formerly known as the Daisy Del.

Where do you start with a man whose nickname is "The King of Cool"? How on Earth can anyone be called that? I mean, it's a bit much 'init? Well, not really... 'cause it's the nickname of Steve McQueen.
 

During the swinging sixties, Sinatra’s Mafia connections returned to haunt him, with regard to his friendship with Salvatore ‘Mooney Sam’ Giancana, head of the Chicago Mafia syndicate. During the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy was running against the sitting Republican vice president, Richard Nixon.

When the forties ended, Sinatra’s career went into free fall and his popularity waned. As he moved into his thirties, his appeal to the teen audiences declined. He appeared on the Lucky Strike’s radio show ‘Hit Parade’, where he had to sing the top ten records of the day. During the late sixties, I picked up a couple of bootlegs of these shows, and one of the tunes he sang was ‘The Woody Woodpecker Song’, which was a big hit in 1948.

Francis Albert ‘Frank’ Sinatra (December 12, 1915 Hoboken, New Jersey - May 14, 1998 Los Angeles, California), was one of the greatest and most influential vocalist of the 20th century. As well as being a successful singer, who recorded over sixty albums, he was also a successful actor and starred in more than fifty motion pictures. Sinatra won an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of Private Angelo Maggio in