Happy New Year from Dean, Frank and the Ding-a-Lings. Which begs the question…were the Ding-a-Lings a different group from the Golddiggers? Did they precede them/morph into them? I remember Dean and the Golddiggers from my childhood, but I have no recollection of these Ding-a-Lings. Ah well – glad to have discovered this, for ’tis delightful:
Tag Archives: Frank Sinatra
Merry Christmas: the Sacred and the Silly
Sinatra
He would have been 104 today. Here’s a piece I wrote for his 100th.
Diahann Carroll, RIP
I had a Julia Barbie doll that I adored. Carroll was a beautiful, talented woman, who apparently got her heart ripped out by Sidney Poitier! (If you’re going to get crushed, better by someone fab, I always say.) Here she is with Frank and Dean, in 1965. The first two songs are only Frank and Dean, but they are so great I decided to post this longer clip.
Sheesh, she was gorgeous. At the risk of sounding like my curmudgeonly self, they don’t make entertainers like these three anymore, and that is a tragedy.
It Does Not Get Better
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra Sr. died, which gives me an excuse to post another Sinatra performance.
Sinatra
He died twenty years ago today. In memory, a famous song about memory (of which I posted another version here).
Francis Albert, exceptional:
When Christmas and Hanukkah Fall on the Same Day
Sing a carol written by a Jew! There are plenty. Today, I offer you this one, from a couple of crooners you might recognize:
December 12: Sinatra 101
This day can mean only one thing – Frank Sinatra’s birthday. In tribute, here is some Sinatra Christmas cheer, with Der Bingle along for the fun. (And here is my HuffPost tribute to Frank last year, on what would have been his 100th birthday.)
Frank Sinatra Jr.
On the death of Frank Sinatra Jr., I thought I’d post this very good piece by Tom Junod. It was written over 20 years ago and reposted in 2013. It was not easy being the Chairman’s son, as one can imagine. My Significant Other and I used to listen to Frank Jr. on Siriusly Sinatra and as S.O. once said, “Compared to most people, he is a decent singer. But compared to his father, he’s a disappointment.” Still, Sinatra Jr. seemed to have terrific humour about his unique situation and Junod shows great empathy.
Somewhat a propos, the tribute I wrote to Frank on the 100th anniversary of his birth. In it, you can find links to many great pieces of writing about Sinatra, including Gay Talese’s famous “Frank Sinatra has a cold.”