Good afternoon, Thursday.
By now you've surely noticed the Frank Sinatra nods and tributes as Saturday would be his 100th birthday. I have been a massive Sinatra fan from a very young age, and have written about him and enjoyed his music and still do to this day. I have gotten through many gloomy days with Frank's perfect pitch by my side- I am eternally grateful for the gift of his music and his impeccable timing, style, and life well lived. He has been a huge part of my life and probably always will be. (If you get it, you get it. If you don't, oh well...)
And clearly I'm not the only one enraptured by the Chairman. So many great books have been written about him, he's been the focus of tons of films, and he's endlessly mentioned as one of the key figures of American music, and the Rat Pack will always be sacred ground for those of us who enjoy a booze soaked great time. And if you have never read the brilliant Gay Talese piece from April 1966's Esquire entitled "Frank Sinatra has a cold" you better. It's often cited as the best example of new journalism, and it is a fantastic glimpse in to the life of a legend. It's a piece that any writer would kill to write. From the opening paragraph:
"FRANK SINATRA, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something."
Want to keep reading as the blondes keep waiting? The full article is posted here, and it's a testament to the highs and lows of living the life Sinatra, all while Gay Talese waits for Frank to feel better, and finds out so very much . And if you are in New York on Monday, Gay Talese is reading the piece in its entirety an audience at Gagosian uptown, just so you know where to find me the evening of November 14th, from 6-8 pm. Talese, who is now in his 80s, is promoting Taschen's release of the essay in its entirety in a bound collectors edition book, a great gift for those Frank fans and "journalism junkies" in your life. I would venture to say there will absolutely be a cocktail after the reading to toast one of the greatest singers of all time. I'll buy.
Needless to say, happy 100th birthday to my kind of guy- Mr. Frank Sinatra. Thanks for the music- where every note and every word was sang with so much heart. Cause that's what's up this "that's life" kind of Thursday in New York, New York. Yours, in perfect pitch and ring a ding dings. XO