A Lover Is Blue Archives - Frank Sinatra Dedicated Blog

(02,09,14)-03-1940 Sinatra College Concerts

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:33+03:00October 14th, 2015|Categories: Articles|Tags: 1940, A Lover Is Blue, After All, Avalon, Careless, Deep Night, Do I Love You, Fable Of The Rose, Frank Sinatra, I'll Get By, I've Got My Eyes On You, If I Had You, Isle Of May, It's a Blue World, Japanese Sandman, Leaning On Old Top Rail, Marie, Polka Dots and Moonbeams, Say Si Si, Sky Fell Down, Starlight Hour, Talk Of The Town, Tommy Dorsey, Whispering|

Here is a collection of broadcasts recorded on March 2, March 9 and March 14 of 1940.

The song list is as follows:

After All
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Deep Night
Whispering – Avalon – Japanese Sandman
Sky Fell Down
Isle Of May – Starlight Hour – It’s a Blue World
Fable Of The Rose
Marie
I’ll Get By – Talk Of The Town – If I Had You
A Lover Is Blue
Do I Love You – Careless – Say Si Si
Leaning On Old Top Rail – Starlight Hour – I Got My Eyes On You

The quality of the broadcast is listenable, but it is not very enjoyable. The quality of Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey Band at Meadowbrook is a little better than this one.

Now let’s talk about the songs that are worth mentioning.

Polka Dots and Moonbeams: Frank Sinatra delivers another amazing performance. I have not heard a single bad version of this song from Sinatra, just amazing.

Deep Night: This song actually fits Frank Sinatra perfectly with this tempo. Sinatra has great control over the song, especially when saying “come to my arms my darling”. The problem with this song is, sadly, The Pied Pipers. Without them, it would be perfect. The Columbia Records’ Deep Night can’t come close to this.

Fable Of The Rose: Can never go wrong with Fable Of The Rose with Sinatra, just like Polka Dots and Moonbeams.

If the sound quality was a little better, I could probably mention Sky Fell Down and I’ve Got My Eyes On You, as well but with this quality it wouldn’t be wise. If I could take only one song from this broadcast, it would be Deep Night.

24-02-1940 Frank Sinatra at Meadowbrook

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:33+03:00October 14th, 2015|Categories: Articles|Tags: 1940, A Lover Is Blue, Allan Dewitt, Broadcast, Careless, East Of The Sun, Frank Sinatra, I've Got My Eyes On You, Jack Leonard, Jo Stafford, Melancholy Baby, NBC, New Jersey, Pied Pipers, The Meadowbrook, Tommy Dorsey|

On February 24 1940, Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra with Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers had a live broadcast show at The Meadowbrook, New Jersey. It was a one-hour long broadcast on NBC Radio and they performed the following songs:

College Medley
A Lover Is Blue
Easy Does It
March of The Toys
What Can I Say Dear After I’ve Said I’m Sorry
I Know That You Know
Do I Love You
Careless
Say Si Si
Loser’s Weepers
I’ve Got My Eyes On You
Fraternity Medley
East Of The Sun
Melancholy Baby
Time On My Hands
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
College Medley

Firstly, let me say that the recordings are between listenable and good. It is highly understandable, but at certain tracks the quality decreases significantly at some intervals.

Frank Sinatra sang the songs A Lover Is Blue, Careless, I’ve Got My Eyes On You, East Of The Sun and Melancholy Baby during this program.

A Lover Is Blue was sang by Jack Leonard when he was in Tommy Dorsey band, too. Compared to Jack Leonard’s version, Frank Sinatra’s is smoother and more crooner-like. This is mostly due to characteristical differences between Leonard’s and Sinatra’s voice and emphasis. In this performance, the orchestra’s arrangement leads to easy-on-the-ears trombones as well, which keeps Sinatra and the band fit to each other.

Careless is a rather OK performance. There are problems with the first parts of the song, but the finishing is fantastic. I would say, the first 2/3 of this song fits Allan Dewitt better, and the last 1/3 fits Frank Sinatra better. Not an easy song.

I’ve Got My Eyes On You starts with a good quality band arrangement, and is followed by a very correct and proper performance of Frank Sinatra. Absolutely worth a try.

East Of The Sun, which we know very well from Frank Sinatra’s recordings with Tommy Dorsey (recorded on 23.04.1940, 2 months after this broadcast), comes quite good. A little bit rushed, but good.

Melancholy Baby is probably the weakest link among these songs. Sinatra fails to hit high notes, just doesn’t fit.

And that concludes the Sinatra part of Meadowbrook broadcast. A Lover Is Blue and I’ve Got My Eyes On You are my picks from that night, and I hope you like them too.