Song Archives - Frank Sinatra Dedicated Blog

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:38+03:00August 11th, 2011|Categories: Songs|Tags: 1956, 1963, 1993, Album, Bono, Capitol Records, Cole Porter, Duets, Frank Sinatra, I've Got You Under My Skin, Nelson Riddle, Reprise Records, Sessions with Sinatra, Sinatra's Sinatra, Song, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers, The Main Event, U2, What Did Frank Sinatra Say?|

Here’s a truly masterpiece, an awesome jazz piece, I’ve Got You Under My Skin. Written in 1936 by Cole Porter, it was not perfect till Nelson Riddle’s rearranged this song. Sinatra included this song in his album Songs For Swingin’ Lovers (1956), and it was a huge hit. From then on, I’ve Got You Under My Skin was to be a song he would sing all his life.

“…It took twenty-two takes of Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to satisfy the singer. Sublimely erotic, this recording is the turning point in the Sinatra-Riddle epoch, the pivot on which all future Sinatra efforts would hinge. Ironically, it almost never came to pass, as it was added to the list of tunes for the Songs for Singin’ Lovers album shortly before the session at which it was recorded. In the forty-plus years since its waxing, the recording has become one of the most studied and admired Sinatra performances of all time…”

[Sessions With Sinatra]

Frank Sinatra was to re-perform I’ve Got You Under My Skin in 2 other albums later, in Sinatra’s Sinatra (1963) and Duets (1993) with U2’s soloist bono. Except the version with Bono, in which Bono can be considered as having ruined the song, it is very hard to find a bad version of this song. Mr. Sinatra included I’ve Got You Under My Skin in his concerts great many times, making it hard to count. And every time, he was legendary. The orchestration is very rich and highly enjoyable with a trombone solo, and Sinatra’s shouting “Don’t you know you fool, you never can win”, and stopping at a point and re-singing the chorus starting with “I would sacrifice anything…” makes it perfect.

What did Frank Sinatra say about I’ve Got You Under My Skin?

Here’s something that I don’t like leaving out because it’s a classic. And its arrangement is a classic.( 1976-05-10 Grand Ol’ Opry)

This is a Cole Porter Song. Great Song (Sinatra ’57 In Concert)

Nelson Riddle’s most identifiable orchestration I believe this would be. It’s bigger in Japan than it is here. (?,?)

Oh, here’s something we can’t leave out when we do a performance. Cole Porter’s shining hour and Nelson Riddle’s, at his best. (Main Event)

Ah! Here’s an old chestnut we can never leave out of program because people I think, sometimes we get letters say why didn’t you do it or you didn’t sing that song. This is a Cole Porter and Nelson Riddle’s wonderful orchestration, the song you know well. (Dublin, 1991)

Nelson Riddle and Cole Porter, something we never leave out. (Caesar’s Palace, 1975)

Ah, here’s a beauty. (?, 1973)

This is one of the best of Mr. Cole Porter and Mr. Nelson Riddle’s arrangements. (White House, 1973)

Cole Porter, My Way of Nelson Riddle (Royal Festival Hall, 1971)

Cole Porter and Nelson Riddle, this is a must! You don’t do this, you get hate letters. (1980-07-07 Universal Amphitheater)

Here’s a wonderful version of I’ve Got You Under My Skin from A Man and His Music.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin might not be as widely known as My Way, Strangers In The Night or New York New York, but surely it is known by almost everyone that knows Frank Sinatra, and I might add this is one of his greatest songs of all times.

5

Strangers In The Night

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:38+03:00July 9th, 2011|Categories: Songs|Tags: 1966, A Man Could Get Killed, Album, Barbara Sinatra, Bert Kampfert, Charles Singleton, Concert For The Americas 1982, Eddie Snyder, Frank Sinatra, Grammy Award, Jack Jones, Lyrics, My Life With Frank, My Way, Reprise Records, Song, Strangers In The Night, What Did Frank Sinatra Say?|

The worst fucking song I’ve ever heard. No! It’s not my opinion. In fact, i really love Strangers In The Night, but Frank Sinatra himself did not like this song at all, and in his concert in Dominican Republic in 1982 August, also known as “Concert for the Americas”, Frank Sinatra said so after he finished singing Strangers In The Night, when the audience was applauding for his great performance.

When Frank Sinatra comes to mind, he brings two great songs with him. One is “My Way” without any doubt, and the other is, most probably, “Strangers In The Night”. Though he liked neither, these two songs made him well known all over the world. Strangers In The Night was written by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, and composed by Bert Kampfert. The song was performed by various singers before Sinatra, but when Frank Sinatra included the song in his album “Strangers In The Night” in 1966, it became a huge hit.

Strangers In The Night was a song written for the movie “A Man Could Get Killed”. It was given to both Sinatra and Jack Jones, and when Reprise Records heard that Jack Jones was to release his version in few days, they immediately recorded it and made it ready before Jack Jones’s version was on the radio. It reached no 1 on the charts, but then replaced by Beatles’s “Yesterday”.

The following parts are form Barbara Sinatra’s book, Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank.

Barbara Sinatra: Songs like “Strangers In The Night” or “My Way”, which he’d been asked to sing over and over again since 1960s, did absolutely nothing for him. He always said the words were not subtle enough, too “on the nose.” Knowing that he’d still have to sing them at every concert, he’d try to lighten the experience by joking with the auidence that those tunes had kept him in pizza for years.

Barbara Sinatra: .. I could see he was thrown. Even when the crowd settled down a bit and allowed him to go on, he was overwhelmed. So much so that when the time come to sing “Strangers In The Night”, he was completely unable to- the first time I’d ever seen that happen. He stood up there on stage, eyes welling, as the music carried on without him. Then the most amazing thing happened. Almost every one of the 175,000 people in that arena, many of whom had learned to speak English by listening to Sinatra records, began to sing the words to him, heavily accented. “Strangers in the night, exchanging glances. Wond’ring in the night, what were the chances…” Their voices welled as one until the night air was filled with melody. Tears slid down my face as well as down Frank’s. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I ever heard.

Frank Sinatra won four Grammy Awards including “Record of The Year” and “Best Male Vocal Performance” for recording “Strangers In The Night”, and many versions in different languages have been performed till then. This is another reason why the song is known by everyone.

A mistress of Saddam Hussein, Parisula Lampsos, was noted to say that Saddam loved to listen Strangers In The Night and dance to it.

What did Frank Sinatra say about the song?

Frank Sinatra: This is a marvelous song written by Charles Singleton and we would like to do it for you. (28-11-1983, Nassau Coliesum)

Frank Sinatra: Ah here is a song everybody in the world knows, everybody! (20-11-1994, Japan)

Frank Sinatra: Yeah here’s a song that I can not stand. I just can not stand this song, but what the hell. (1975-11-27, Jerusalem, Israel)

Frank Sinatra: The worst fucking song I’ve ever heard. (29-08-1982, Dominican Republic)

Frank Sinatra: This is a song that I absolutely detested the first time I heard it. And strangely enough I keep saying to myself “Why are you still singing this song?” (1993-11-21, Faxwoods Casino, Connecticut)

Frank Sinatra: Oh you know this one (Sinatra 80th Live in Concert)

Frank Sinatra: Here’s a song, the first time I heard Don Costa played it for me some years ago. I hated it! I hated this goddamn song the first I’ve heard it. And I still hate it! So sue me, shoot bullets through me. Shoot. (New York Set, Cd 4)

Strangers In The Night was sung by Frank Sinatra many times during his concerts and among them, I love the 1985 Japan Concert version and the following one at most. The album version is as good as the live ones, but of course it lacks the “Do Be Do Be Do.”

12

Send In The Clowns

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:39+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Songs|Tags: 1973, A Little Night Music, Barbra Streisand, Concert For The Americas 1982, Frank Sinatra, Lyrics, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, Reprise Records, Song, Stephen Sondheim, Tony Mattola, What Did Frank Sinatra Say?|

Send In The Clowns is a song by Stephen Sondheim, for the musical “A Little Night Music” in 1973. Frank Sinatra recorded this song in his album “Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back”, in the same year. The song has a deep meaning and chooses an uncommon way to tell about a break-up.

What did Frank Sinatra say about Send In The Clowns?

Frank Sinatra: This is a song about a couple of adult people who have spent quite a long time together to one day one of them gets restless and decides to leave. Whether it’s the man or woman who left is unimportant, it’s a break-up. It’s a lovely marriage of words and music, written by Stephen Sondheim.

Frank Sinatra: I’d like to do a song for you that I think it is one of the most beautiful songs written in maybe all the time i’ve been in this racket. This is very infrequently done, it’s not done often. (1975-03-26, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas)

Frank Sinatra: It’s quite pointing, quite beautiful.

Frank Sinatra: I would like to sing for you a very pretty song. Sad, beautifully written however. From a show called “A Little Night Music”, and it was written by Stephen Sondheim. It’s a story of two adult people who had had a very nice life together, and suddenly, in older age, one of them decides to split. (1974-09-15, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas)

Frank Sinatra: Probably one the best marriages of words and music done in a long time. (1975 MDA Telethon)

The following performance of Send In The Clowns is from his concert, “Concert For The Americas”, 1982. Tonny Mattola is playing the guitar.

Send In The Clowns is a very beautiful song indeed. The lyrics are simply amazing and when listening for the first time, it could be difficult to understand the song completely, but as the song is listened more and more times, it’s real beauty can be understood better. Although the song was written just in two days by Sondheim, he surely did an amazing work. Barbra Streisand’s version is also good, but not as good and emotional as Sinatra’s I believe.

And this is the other, more widely known version of Send In The Clowns, again by Mr. Sinatra.

On the following video, Stephen Sondheim tells about Send In The Clowns. If you would like to find out more about this song, this video could be helpful.

Stephen Sondheim: I get a lot of letters over the years asking what the title means and what the song’s about. I never thought it would be in any way esoteric. I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she’s an actress, but it’s not supposed to be a ‘circus’. It’s a theater reference meaning ‘if the show isn’t going well, let’s send in the clowns’; in other words, ‘let’s do the jokes.’ I always want to know, when I’m writing a song, what the end is going to be, so ‘Send in the Clowns’ didn’t settle in until I got the notion, ‘Don’t bother, they’re here’ which means that ‘We are the fools. And, that’s the story.

4

Moon Love

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:39+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Songs|Tags: 1939, 1966, Andre Kostelanetz, Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra and Harry James Complete Recordings, Harry James, Lyrics, Mack David, Mack Davis, Moon Love, Moonlight Sinatra, Nelson Riddle, Reprise Records, Song|

“Moon Love” is a beautiful song recorded by Frank Sinatra two times, first in 1939 with Harry James, and in 1966 in the album “Moonlight Sinatra“, arranged by Nelson Riddle (Reprise Records). The song is actually adapted from Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, and lyrics are written by Mack David, Mack Davis and Andre Kostelanetz.

And below is the 1939 version of of this song when Sinatra was working with Harry James orchestra.

Moon Love Lyrics

Will this be moon love, nothing but moon love
Will you be gone when the dawn comes stealing through
Are these just moon dreams, grand while the moon beams
But when the moon fades away, will my dreams come true
Much as I love you, don’t let me love you
If I must pay for your kiss with lonely tears, say it’s not moon love
Tell me it’s true love, say you’ll be mine when the moon disappears

Sadly no live version of Moon Love exists, it would be nice if Frank Sinatra had sang this song at least once in his concerts.

2

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

By Ozgun Akalin|2017-06-10T00:19:40+03:00June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Songs|Tags: 1979 Egypt Concert, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Frank Sinatra, Lorenz Hart, Lyrics, Pal Joey, Richard Rodgers, Song, The Concert Sinatra, What Did Frank Sinatra Say?|

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered is a wonderful song from the musical Pal Joey (1940). Lyrics are by Lorenz Hart, music is by Richard Rodgers. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered was performed by Frank Sinatra many times in his concerts, and it can also be found in the album “The Concert Sinatra”, released in 1963.

On the album cover, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered is shortly written as “Bewitched”.

What did Frank Sinatra say about Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered?

Frank Sinatra: This is one of the finest things I’ve done in the entire career.

Frank Sinatra: This is a Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart song, Nelson’s Riddle orchestration. One of the best songs written, any language.

Frank Sinatra: I recently made a picture called Pal Joey with Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth. We had a song the the picture that, i think , is one of the finest Rodgers and Hart songs in their entire catolog. (1958-06-14)

Frank Sinatra: Nice song, good song.

Frank Sinatra: I did a film once with the late Rita Hayworth. We have wonderful music in the film. This is a song from Pal Joey. (1987-07-17)

Frank Sinatra: I did a picture some years ago with Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth and whole bunch of wonderful people called Pal Joey. And in Pal Joey, was this song from the score, written by Rodgers and Hart. ( Live at Meadowlands)

Frank Sinatra: From a production that we did years ago on the film, on the screen called Pal Joey. We’d like to do one of the songs from the score, written by Rodgers and Hart, orchestrated by Nelson Riddle, and I sang this to Rita Hayworth and I tried to do it for Kim Novak but she wouldn’t even look at me, so Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth. Maroon what a sandwich, Jesus Christ! Rodgers and Hart, and Nelson Riddle’s beautiful orchestration. It is such a pretty song. (1986/07/04 Golden Nugget)

Frank Sinatra: Beautiful song that I truly love to sing. There are about 10 songs or 15 songs in our language that I am so fond of, of which I am fond. Excuse me I want to get that straight. This is Rodgers and Hart, and the great Nelson Riddle’s orchestration. (1991 October 5, Frankfurt)

Frank Sinatra: Some years back I did a film for Columbia Pictures with 2 wonderful ladies, the late Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak, and we have some wonderful music by ROdgers and Hart in the picture. I would like to do one of those songs now for you. (1987/10/17 Worchester)

Frank Sinatra: Wonderful song from the film Pal Joey, written by Rodgers and Hart. (1980/01/26 Brazil)

Frank Sinatra: Some years ago I did a film in Los Angeles .., with a wonderful lady, the late Rita Hayworth. And in the film I did a song that is kind of the best Rodgers and Hart songs, I’d like to do it now, with Nelson’s orchestration. (1987/12/9 Carnegie Hall)