My favorite sound in the world in a baritone in song & my favorite baritone voice of all time is Frank Sinatra. No matter what he was like as a human being, I find his pich, cadence, phrasing & musicality to be the best of all time. I stand by my choice of his 1967 collabrative album- Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim, to be a perfect album. I am willing to put his Nelson Riddle arranged 1955 “concept album”- In The Wee Small Hours in the same category.
I was living in LA in the early 1970s & was fortunate to be an acquaintance of actress/singer Betty Garrett. She told me that because of their past affiliations with the Communist Party, Garrett & her husband- Larry Parks became embroiled with the House Un-American Activities Committee, although only Parks was forced to testify. While he willingly admitted he had been a member of the party, he refused to name others, but it was widely thought he had, & he found himself on the Hollywood blacklist. Garrett also had trouble finding work, although as the mother of two young sons she did not mind being unemployed as much as her husband did. Betty related to me that the only person that would see them socially was Frank Sinatra, who defied Hollywood convention & was open in his support of the couple with friendship & money. After being moved by his recording for the past 50+ years, I am still moved when I hear that voice.
No comments:
Post a Comment