Nancy...with a laughing face...who really wrote the song?

Nancy & Dad

The authorship of the Sinatra classic, "Nancy...with a laughing face" is discussed/covered at great length on both the internet and in several books covering the tunes of the great american songbook. In every case, they have it mostly wrong. Here is my personal story:

"In 1979, I was working with songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen on a TV special with Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope that was never produced. Jimmy told me that one day (circa 1942) he and his lyricist Johnny Burke were working at 20th Century-Fox composing for a film. While Burke was out of their writer's bungalow, Phil Silvers, the comedian, a friend to both, entered and suggested to Jimmy that they write a song for Johnny's wife, Bessie, who was soon to celebrate a birthday. Silvers provided the lyrics, later revised by Van Heusen and Burke.

At the party they sang "Bessie... with the laughing face" It was such a hit that they used it at other female birthday events. When they sang it as "Nancy... with the laughing face" at little Nancy Sinatra's birthday party, Frank broke down and cried thinking that it was written specially for his daughter - the trio wisely didn't correct him. Jimmy assigned his royalties to Nancy after Frank recorded it for Columbia."

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The story of "White Christmas"

Irving Berlin had the melody for what eventually became "White Christmas" lying around for a couple of years before he began writing songs for Paramount's film, "Holiday Inn".  Berlin told an interviewer in 1954, "I took it off the shelf and polished the lyrics a little, and went to Bing Crosby's dressing room at Paramount to get his okay on all
the songs for the picture."  Crosby nodded approvingly at several songs but, according to Berlin, "...when I did 'White Christmas' he came to life and said, 'Irving, you won't have to worry about that
one"'.

Bing's instinct was correct.  By the time "Holiday Inn" was released in August 1942, a country at war had become captivated by the simple message of peace in Irving Berlin's song and Bing Crosby's voice.
Filming of "Holiday Inn" began in November 1941 and Bing first performed the song on his "Kraft Music Hall" radio program on December 25, 1941 - just eighteen days after the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor.  He recorded the song for Decca in May 1942, and that master eventually became worn out from overuse, causing Decca to have Bing cut a nearly identical version in 1947.

On March 4, 1943, Irving Berlin collected the Academy Award for best original song.  By the time of the Academy Awards, "White Christmas" had already enjoyed an eleven week stay at the number one spot in the
charts in the fall of 1942.  It was too big a hit not to win the Oscar.

Writing about "White Christmas" in "the Chicago Times" during the first holiday season of its existence, Carl Sandburg summed up the song's appeal.  "When we sing that, we don't hate anybody.  And there
are things we love that we're going to have sometime if the breaks are not too bad against us.  Way down under this latest hit of his, Irving Berlin catches us where we love peace."

Bing's Decca version of the song eventually became the best selling recording of all time, topping out at over 100 million sales and hitting the charts twenty separate times.  The success of "White Christmas" firmly established that Christmas songs were commercially viable.

Frank Sinatra's lonely Thanksgiving in New York

One of Frank Sinatra's favorite eating spots in Manhattan was Patsy’s Restaurant in Midtown.  "When Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, friends and fans just showed up at Patsy’s  — arguably Sinatra’s favorite restaurant in New York City for decades. Salvatore Scognamillo, the chef and co-owner, remembered people saying, “I just felt I had to be here today.” It was a place that was strongly identified with Sinatra, who had a special table upstairs in the back. “After he passed away, we needed to celebrate his life,” said Mr. Scognamillo, the grandson of the founder, Pasquale Scognamillo. On Dec. 12, Sinatra’s birthday, Patsy’s, a Neapolitan restaurant, now has a tradition of serving his favorite dishes like clams Posillipo, fusilli with fileto di pomodoro, and ricotta torte for dessert. Another one of Sinatra favorites was veal Milanese. “He loved it paper thin,” Mr. Scognamillo said.

“We certainly wouldn’t be in the position we would be today if it wasn’t for him,” Mr. Scognamillo said. Much of their high-profile customer base is like an exercise in six degrees of separation from Sinatra, he said. For example, he said, “Julia Roberts was brought in by George Clooney, who was brought in by Aunt Rosemary Clooney, and Rosemary Clooney was brought in by Frank Sinatra.”
There was one example of Patsy’s level of customer service for Sinatra, also recounted in “Patsy’s Cookbook,” that Mr. Scognamillo said sealed the singer’s loyalty to the restaurant. One November in the early 1950s, Mr. Sinatra was having a rough time both professionally and personally. His career was in a gradual slide that had steepened after 1948 and hit bottom in 1952. He had divorced and remarried into a tumultuous relationship with Ava Gardner, which was also in decline.

It was before his Oscar-winning performance in “From Here to Eternity,” before reinvention as a cosmopolitan crooner of the 1950s from the 1940s starry-eyed boy next door. “Before his comeback, he was down and out,” Mr. Scognamillo recalled.

Sinatra was alone at the restaurant the night before Thanksgiving, and many of the other customers walked right past him without acknowledging him. “They are all my fair-weather friends,” he said at the time, Mr. Scognamillo said. He said he wanted to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Patsy’s. Mr. Scognmillo’s grandfather did not have the heart to tell him that the restaurant was normally closed for the holiday. “He felt like he would have hurt his pride if he had done that, so he didn’t say anything,” Mr. Scognamillio said.

So the restaurant made the reservation. And his grandfather called up the staff and told them to bring their families in for Thanksgiving. “They were moaning and groaning,” Mr. Scognamillio said. But they understood it was for Sinatra. The restaurant also called in some other guests to fill out the restaurant — though not enough that Sinatra did not notice that it was somewhat emptier than usual the next day.

So they opened for Thanksgiving for Sinatra, who had a 3 p.m. reservation.

Not until years later did Sinatra find out that they had opened just for him, Mr. Scognamillo said. But no one ever said anything. And the lifelong relationship between Patsy’s and Sinatra was sealed."

Best big band vocal group...The Pied Pipers?

PIED PIPERS - TOMMY DORSEY AND FRANK SINATRA

Q. Of all the big band vocal groups, which one is considered to have been the best?
A. Most big bands fans, at least at my lectures (presentations), pick Tommy Dorsey's vocal group "The Pied Pipers" as the very best.

Their path to success was far from easy. Originally consisting of eight members, seven men and one woman, the vocal group was formed in Los Angeles during the mid-1930s, an amalgamation of two groups, the Rhythm Kings and the Esquires, plus Jo Stafford. Their stylish harmonies proved appealing, and they began working at local radio stations and recording for Hollywood soundtracks. They soon attracted the attention of Dorsey arrangers Paul Weston and Axel Stordahl.

In 1938 Weston persuaded Dorsey to give the Pied Pipers a spot on the Raleigh-Kool Show, a popular radio program. All eight members piled into two cars and drove to New York, with no promise of work other than one shot on the radio. The show went well though, and they were signed to appear for ten weeks. Just as everything seemed to be going their way, however, disaster struck. During their second program the sponsor heard them for the first time, didn't like them, and promptly fired them. The Pipers remained in New York for seven more months, landing only one job the whole time from which they made $3.60 each, though they did record four sides for RCA Victor during their stay.
Returning to Los Angeles, the group lost four members to regular jobs on the way. The remaining members (Stafford, her then-husband John Huddleston, Billy Wilson and Chuck Lowry) struggled to make a living and were on the verge of calling it quits when, in 1939, they received an offer from Dorsey to join his orchestra. Shortly after Wilson was replaced by Clark Yocum, who had previously sang and played guitar for Mal Hallett's orchestra.

With Dorsey the Pipers finally found success. Jo Stafford was featured solo on several occasions, and the group backed up Frank Sinatra on many of his early numbers. The Pied Pipers remained with Dorsey until Thanksgiving Day 1942, when Dorsey exploded at one of the members, igniting an argument with the whole group, who promptly quit. They were immediately hired by three radio stations.
Huddleston left the group to join the service that same year. He was replaced by Hal Hopper, who had been one of the original eight members. In 1943 the Pipers were signed by Johnny Mercer to his newly-formed label Capitol Records. Stafford left the group in 1944 to pursue a solo career and was replaced by June Hutton, half-sister of bandleader Ina Ray Hutton and a former member of Charlie Spivak vocal group the Stardusters. The Pipers went on to record several hits during the remainder of the 1940s, including the famous ''Dream,'' their first million seller.

The groups' popularity began to wane in the 1950s, however, and the members drifted off into personal pursuits. Hutton recorded several solo albums for Capitol, backed by husband Alex Stordahl's orchestra. Hopper went on to play a regular role as Corporal Clark on the television series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. He also appeared in several films, including the classic Beau Geste and the Ann-Margret vehicle Kitten with a Whip. Hutton passed away in 1973, Hopper in 1970. Jo Stafford died in 2008 in California. A group bearing the Pied Pipers' name still tours today." (edited from Wiki)
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Frank Sinatra's advice to George Michael

Patti Page's Birthday...Nov. 8th

Happy birthday Miss Patti Page! Patti was born in Oklahoma on November 8th, the year is not important.

"The Singing Rage" Patti Page is one of America’s true musical icons. In the course of her seven-decade recording career, she has become a living legend by selling more than 100 million records, making her one of the biggest selling female recording artists in history.

Patti’s silky-smooth voice engulfed the airwaves during the ‘50s and ‘60s, providing her with a staggering 111 hits, 15 gold records and four gold albums. Patti became the first crossover artist to take country music out of the country and onto the pop charts with such million record sellers as “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “I Went To Your Wedding,” “Mister & Mississippi,” and, of course, the legendary “Tennessee Waltz,” which was #1 concurrently on all three charts (Pop, Country, & R&B) and sold more than 20 million copies. She was also the first artist to use multiple voice techniques on records and the only singer —male or female—to have had shows bearing her name on all three major television networks.

Patti’s accomplishments remain unparalleled. Today, she continues to use her sweet, tranquil voice to touch the hearts of many generations and has recorded four new albums in the past six years, one of which received a Grammy.

When not on her New England farm, Patti is performing 50 select concerts throughout the year, sharing her incredible list of chart-topping classics with her fans.

Do you remember Billy May ? - National Swing and Big Band | Examiner.com

Do you remember Billy May ? - National Swing and Big Band | Examiner.com

Mel Tormé on Frank Sinatra

Here is a quote about Frank Sinatra from Mel Tormé that deserves repeating;
"Some years ago, I shared a barber with the late Mel Tormé. It was a small, low-key shop where the talk was usually sports and the music on the radio was always jazz or vocals from the American Songbook.
One morning, Tormé and I found ourselves pausing amid an offhanded conversation as the radio played Frank Sinatra singing Gershwin's "A Foggy Day" — which figures in a rather important way in James Kaplan's marvelously thoughtful, readable biography, "Frank: The Voice." As we listened, I recall murmuring something to the effect of, "It's the phrasing, isn't it?" only to have Tormé correct me. "The diction comes before the phrasing," he said. "We all owe that to Ella [Fitzgerald] and to Frank. We all work in their shadow — and Frank cast a big shadow for such a skinny guy."
Thanks to Tim Rutten Los Angeles Times

Mel Torme sings "Body And Soul."