Making it Look Easy
Frank Sinatra 1942
When Tommy Dorsey hired Frank Sinatra in 1939, he was taking a gamble. Sinatra had no track record of success. He'd only been in the "bigs" for a year or so. He'd made a handful of records with Harry James, but Dorsey hadn't heard them. All Tommy knew was that this skinny kid (and I DO mean skinny!) had a nice voice, could sing on key, and had that "certain something." At a time when secretaries and waiters made $15 a week, Sinatra was now making ten times that amount.
Suffice it to say that Dorsey didn't know what he was getting when he hired Sinatra, but he had his suspicions. Tommy was a quick and shrewd judge of talent and character, and he believed this kid had real potential.
Little did he know how fiercely ambitious Sinatra was - or how all that ambition would translate into an amazing work ethic that drove Sinatra to work tirelessly on his technique, rehearsing every syllable of every word of every song until he was happy with it. Jo Stafford, lead singer of the Pied Pipers, remarked years later that she and the other band members were surprised and impressed with Frank's willingness to work and work a song until everyone was satisfied with every aspect of it. He even spent extra time rehearsing vocals with the Pied Pipers, making sure his intonation was perfect, and matching his vibrato to mesh seamlessly with the group. And when it came time to deliver the goods on the bandstand, Sinatra really came through with performances that were usually better than adequate, and occasionally thrilling. And the girls absolutely flipped for this guy. The bobby-soxers were swooning in the aisles. Women generally wanted to either mother him, maul him, or feed him. And Dorsey was watching.
Tommy knew he really had something in this kid - but he also knew that he was in danger of being eclipsed by one of his own sidemen, and this could not be allowed. Tommy firmly believed that the leader of the band was the biggest star on the stand. So, after nearly three years, during which Sinatra built a substantial name for himself and contributed mightily to the Dorsey band's drawing power, terms of separation were agreed upon that would allow Frank to go forth and make his way as a single.
Frank made his final appearance with the Dorsey band on September 3, 1942, on the band's weekly network radio show. Tommy gave Frank a heartfelt sendoff, and used the occasion to introduce Frank's replacement, Dick Haymes, to the nationwide audience. Frank sang one final song with the band, The Song Is You, and it was over.
Or was it?
Remember those terms of separation? Under that agreement, Dorsey was entitled to one-third of Frank's earnings - for life. Sinatra had signed the agreement, believing that he was betting on himself, and that his earnings would be so substantial that he could live without Dorsey's cut. This turned out to be a little optimistic, to say the least. Life after the Dorsey band was more of an uphill endeavor than Frank had anticipated, and he was actually having trouble supporting his young family. As time wore on, it became obvious that Frank would have to persuade Tommy to release him from bondage. But Dorsey would not be moved. Frank appealed again and again to his old boss, but Tommy stood firm, declaring, "A deal's a deal."
This part of the story has never been substantiated, but the tale has circulated for many years that Dorsey received a visit very late one night at his comfortable country home from some "gentlemen" who were very persuasive in their reasoning, and convinced Tommy to let Frank out of the contract. Was the Mob involved? Now, that's a very ugly accusation. Was violence threatened or implied? Was the barrel of a gun placed in the bandleader's mouth? Who can say? But Frank Sinatra found himself a free man in short order.
We will start the show this week with about 20 minutes of Frank Sinatra's best recordings with the Tommy Dorsey band. We start with This Love of Mine, one of the first songs "owned" by Sinatra in the Dorsey band. The arrangement was written by one of Dorsey's staff men, Axel Stordahl, who wound up writing arrangements for and backing Sinatra in his Columbia recordings. Sinatra would adopt this as his radio theme song in the 1940s. Among others, we'll hear the big production number, Let's Get Away from It All, which pairs Sinatra with Connie Haines for some lighthearted banter, and the mega-hit I'll Never Smile Again, a sensitive and artful collaboration between Frank and the Pied Pipers.
To start Hour 2, we turn to the danceable, stylized sound of the Russ Morgan Orchestra. Russ was a versatile and hard-working arranger who knew his stuff and produced sparkling charts for symphony orchestras, Big Bands, studio orchestras, radio shows, movies, and more. Russ's band had many hit records, and several number one hits. And they were big favorites of dancers everywhere. They even delivered credible Dixieland performances from time to time. The one thing that the Morgan orchestra did not do was swing. They had a straight-ahead dance band style, ornamented with Russ's favorite bag of signature arranging tricks, and they stuck to it with great success.
A lot of what Morgan played was considered "cornball" even by 1940s standards, but you can't argue with box office. "There are millions of squares out there," Russ once said, "Millions. And they like to dance too." There were no star soloists in this band; Russ was versatile enough to cover all solo spots, either on piano, singing, or on that muted wah-wah trombone. I'll admit, Music in the Morgan Manner is an acquired taste. But it doesn't take long to acquire. Your foot will be tapping before you know it. We'll hear a generous representative sampling of Russ Morgan's music on this week's show.
In addition to the aforementioned musical experiences with Frank Sinatra and Russ Morgan, this week's In the Mood brings you a delightful array of sweet and swinging treats from the likes of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Harry James, Count Basie, Dick Jurgens, the Dukes of Dixieland, and many more. Doris Day will sling a happy pop tune, Cab Calloway will shout and jive, and Eddy Howard will raise an eyebrow with one of the most suggestive songs we've ever played. In all, a well-rounded couple of hours.
As always, I am grateful for your interest in this music and this show. Remember to share this incredible music with a young band student or musician this week. They NEED the benefit of having this stuff in their back pocket.
Feel free to leave a comment or request, either here on on our Facebook Page.
Be good to one another this week, and above all,
Keep Swinging!
Scott
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