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Jazzgirl, I know the feeling!
A few years ago when he wed, it was live on Sky News from Cruit (pronounced Crutch) and my old Mother who thought he was wonderful, came to my hoose to see it.
That is the area my family comes from and so it was a double delight for old Mother, seeing everything, and trying to recognise folk!
I established myself on coffee making duty that day!

Elle, I am not sure I saw High Society?
Maybe.
Sinatra, I did not like, but I have never taken to men singing these smoochy type songs. Not manly!
I much preferred Dean Martin, and Bing, to Sinatra.
And I think My Way is a dreadful dirge.
I realised long ago that I am in a minority, though.
What ever happened to cheery songs!
"A Bicycle Built for Two", "Roaming in the Gloaming", Chantilly Lace",etc.
Songs that bring a smile to your face and a gleam to your eye!
That's my kind of music!
Let's leave Sinatra to do the dirges!

"High society" without the songs was better (it was called "The Philadelphia Story".)


Mind you, after taking my daughter, when young, to see "Cats", I was asked what I thought of it. Absent-mindedly I said "it would have been better without all that singing and dancing".

rusty
Not all Sinatra's songs were smoochy or dirges.
How about "Chicago, that toddlin' town" or "Anything goes" ?
I didn't like "My way" either.
I still have an LP of Georgie Wood singing Harry Lauder songs. It was my Dad's and we used to sing along to it years ago

sorry, wrong George !
It is George Elrick

Rusty, I really like "My Way" ( it wasn't a 'dirge!) and other songs of similar ilk that Sinatra sang!
but I guess it would be boring if everyone liked the same things!
I do like Dean Martin!
I'm with you on cheery songs, altho not sure I'd class "Chantilly Lace " with " A Bicycle made forTtwo or "Roamin' in the Gloamin'"!
Wasn't "Chantilly Lace" the Big Bopper?
I like the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran et al.
Chris mentioned "The Philadelphia Story". Did you see this?
This was the original story on which the musical "High Society" was based.
A great film - Katharine Hepburn , Cary Grant and James Stewart, if my memory serves me correctly?
I enjoyed both film and musical I felt they each had something different to offer.
Now... the sun is shining , it's lovely and warm, and I'm told we are going out for a walk....
Back later......

Jazzgirl and Elle,
I fear my dislike of Sinatra and his type of singing is because I do not rate him as a person.
But, he was never much of a singer and would be forgotten today, if it was not Mob money backing him and getting him into films and record deals.
Bing was a more gifted singer, in my view.
But my background is folk music so I may not be the best person to assess crooners.
Never sit on a fence!

Hi again,

Just reading the various posts about Sinatra and My Way, do you know that the music of the song was composed in 1967 by Claude Francois and one of his mate co-composer, and that the same Claude Francois wrote the words again with a friend co-author of a song called ' Comme d'Habitude'.

It is on hearing this song that Paul Anka bought the rights of the music and put the English words as you know them under the title of My Way.

Sinatra made it a bigger hit than the French original was initially, but later on Comme d'Habitude became one huge success of CloClo.

PS - I did not care for Claude Francois, and did not know much of Bing Crosby - But there again, we had, at that time, so many many brilliant authors/composers/singers such as Brel, Brassens, Ferrat, Aznavour, Piaf, etc etc.... that apart from the Rock'n roll stuff, we had all we needed here !

Oops !!! I meant 'I did not care for Sinatra ' I liked Claude Francois of course !

Jacques Brel - good answer to the question "Name a famous Belgian" (and Hercule Poirot doesn't count!)