Duets I by Frank Sinatra

As I get older I have realized that my musical taste is going backward rather than continuing on with the latest pop music.  I am developing a taste for the music of my dad and show tunes and Light music that I grew up listening on my dad's 78 rpm record player.  I listen every Sunday to BBC 2's programs.  Alan Titmarsh and Desmond Carrington and also the David Jacob's Collection.  How boring yes but I just listening to them. 

I recently say a show on the American Songbook and fell in love with many of the old songs.  This tape I taped from the original vinyl album twenty years ago.  It is so impressive with all the stars who sang with Sinatra on this album.  According to the Internet,  Sinatra chose all these artists personally and Phil Ramone was the producer.  The guest singers were not physically present with Sinatra but instead were singing along to his pre-recorded vocal parts over a telecommunications link

1. "The Lady Is a Tramp" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) (with Luther Vandross) – 3:24The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. This song is a sophisticated and witty spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line of the verse is significant: "I get too hungry for dinner at eight..."). It has become a classic song in the pop standards/vocal genre.
2. "What Now My Love" (Gilbert Becaud, Carl Sigman, Pierre Leroyer) (with Aretha Franklin) – 3:15 What Now My Love" is the English title of a popular song whose original French version, "Et Maintenant" ("And Now") was written in 1961 by composer Gilbert Bécaud and lyricist Pierre Delanoë. English language lyrics and the title were written by Carl Sigman: early versions of it were recorded by Jane Morgan and Ben E King.
3. "I've Got a Crush on You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) (with Barbra Streisand) – 3:23 I've Got a Crush on You" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It is unique among Gershwin compositions in that it was used for two different Broadway productions, Treasure Girl (1928), and Strike Up the Band (1930).
4. "Summer Wind" (Heinz Meier, Hans Bradtke, Johnny Mercer) (with Julio Iglesias) – 2:32 "Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, with music by Henry Mayer and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song is a nostalgic tale of a fleeting romance, first recorded by Wayne Newton who had the first national chart hit with the song in 1965, peaking at number 78. "Summer Wind" is most known for a 1966 recording by Frank Sinatra which peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard pop singles chart and number one on the Easy Listening chart.^[The Sinatra version originally appeared on his album, Strangers in the Night. By the 2000s, it was one of Sinatra's most-used recordings in various contexts
5. "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Mercer) (with Gloria Estefan) – 4:04Come Rain or Come Shine" is a popular music song written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was written for the musical St. Louis Woman, and was published in 1946. Martin Scorsese's 1983 film The King of Comedy features Ray Charles' recording of the song in its opening credits. Later in the film, the character of Masha (played by Sandra Bernhard) sings the tune for the kidnapped Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) during their "date" as he's being held hostage in her apartment. 
6. "New York, New York" (Fred Ebb, John Kander) (with Tony Bennett) – 3:30  "Theme from New York, New York" (or "New York, New York") is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York (1977), composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli. It was suggested to him by Howard Huntridge, an English Television producer, during a meeting at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 1977 The first line of the song is
   

   Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today
   I want to be a part of it: New York, New York.

   The song concludes with the line
   

   If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere,
   It's up to you, New York, New York.

7. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) (with Natalie Cole) – 3:11 They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 song (see 1937 in music) written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Shall We Dance. The song is performed by Astaire on the foggy deck of the ferry from New Jersey to Manhattan. It is sung to Ginger Rogers, who remains silent listening throughout. No dance sequence follows, which was unusual for the Astaire-Rogers numbers. Astaire and Rogers did dance to it later in their last movie The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) in which they played a married couple with marital issues. The song, in the context of Shall We Dance, notes some of the things that Peter (Astaire) will miss about Linda (Rogers). The lyrics include "the way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea", and "the way you hold your knife, the way we danced till three." Each verse is followed by the line "no, no, they can't take that away from me." The basic meaning of the song is that even if the lovers part, though physically separated the memories cannot be forced from them. Thus it is a song of mixed joy and sadness. The verse references the song "The Song is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On)" by Irving Berlin:
   

   Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note, though by tomorrow you're gone. The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote, 'the melody lingers on.' They may take you from me, I'll miss your fond caress, but though they take you from me I'll still possess....

   George Gershwin died two months after the film's release, and he was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 1937 Oscars.




8. "You Make Me Feel So Young" (Mack Gordon, Josef Myrow) (with Charles Aznavour) – 3:05 You Make Me Feel So Young" is a 1946 popular song composed by Josef Myrow, with lyrics written by Mack Gordon.




9. "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"/"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)/(Bob Hilliard, David Mann) (with Carly Simon) – 3:57 Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" is a 1945 popular music song composed by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was memorably recorded by Frank Sinatra on the album Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958), in an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. It was originally introduced on stage by film star Jane Withers in the 1944 flop "Glad to See You," which closed in Philadelphia and never made it to Broadway. Styne and Cahn had previously written songs for several of Withers' movies. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" is a 1955 popular song composed by David Mann, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was introduced as the title track of Frank Sinatra's 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours.




10. "I've Got the World on a String" (Arlen, Ted Koehler) (with Liza Minnelli) – 2:18 "I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the 1932 Cotton Club Parade. It was introduced by Cab Calloway and Bing Crosby. It was also recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1953. It reached #14 on Billboard's most played list. Anthony Perkins sang it in the drama Winter Dream, a production of the live anthology TV series, Front Row Center. Céline Dion also performed this song in her Las Vegas show A New Day..., which ran from 2002 until 2007.




11. "Witchcraft" (Carolyn Leigh, Cy Coleman) (with Anita Baker) – 3:22 "Witchcraft" is a popular song from 1957 composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was released as a single by Frank Sinatra, and reached number twenty in the U.S., spending sixteen weeks on the charts. Composed as an instrumental piece by Coleman for the revue Take Five, lyrics were added by Leigh, and "Witchcraft" was subsequently recorded by Sinatra in May 1957, in an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. Elvis Presley sang this song in The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis. At the 1st Grammy Awards, Frank Sinatra was nominated for six Grammy awards, with Sinatra's recording of "Witchcraft" being nominated for the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Vocal Performance, Male, and Nelson Riddle's arrangement nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement. Sinatra had two albums nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover. This song was also sung live by Peggy Lee




12. "I've Got You Under My Skin" (Cole Porter) (with Bono) – 3:32 "I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by Cole Porter. It became a signature song for Frank Sinatra and, in 1966, became a top 10 hit for The Four Seasons. Since then it has gone on to be recorded by many leading pop artists and jazz musicians. Written in 1936, the song was introduced in the Eleanor Powell MGM musical, Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song that year.Sinatra first sang the song on his weekly radio show in 1946, as the second part of a medley with "Easy to Love". He put his definitive stamp on the tune ten years later, in a swinging big-band version that built to successive crescendos on the back of an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. Riddle was a fan of Maurice Ravel, and has said that this arrangement was inspired by the Boléro.  In 1993, Sinatra recorded a version as a duet with Bono of U2 for the album Duets. It was also released as a B-side on U2's "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" single.

Lyrics: I've got you under my skin. / I've got you deep in the heart of me. / So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me. / I've got you under my skin. / I'd tried so not to give in. / I said to myself: this affair never will go so well. / But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well / I've got you under my skin?
I'd sacrifice anything come what might / For the sake of havin' you near / In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night / And repeats, repeats in my ear: / Don't you know, little fool, you never can win? / Use your mentality, wake up to reality. / But each time that I do just the thought of you / Makes me stop before I begin / 'Cause I've got you under my skin
13. "All the Way"/"One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" (Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen)/(Arlen, Mercer) (with Kenny G) – 6:03 "All the Way" is a 1950s pop song which has since been covered by many artists. It was introduced in the movie The Joker Is Wild. Sinatra also had the best-selling recorded version of the song. Aside from this song, he also sang Chicago (That Toddlin' Town) for the movie. It wound up as the flipside of All The Way when Capitol Records released the song as a single. The single reached #15 in sales, #2 in airplay in Billboard's charts. The song received the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song. "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit (1943) and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra. "One for My Baby" is the theme song of the 1957-1958 NBC detective series, Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy. Harold Arlen described the song as "another typical Arlen tapeworm" - a "tapeworm" being the trade slang for any song which went over the conventional 32 bar length. He called it "a wandering song. [Lyricist] Johnny [Mercer] took it and wrote it exactly the way it fell. Not only is it long - forty-eight bars - but it also changes key. Johnny made it work."^[ In the opinion of Arlen's biographer, Edward Jablonski, the song is "musically inevitable, rhythmically insistent, and in that mood of 'metropolitan melancholic beauty' that writer John O'Hara finds in all of Arlen's music.  A famous and acclaimed performance of the song was by Bette Midler, sung to Johnny Carson on the penultimate night of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Both Midler and Carson got caught up in the emotion of the song, and a heretofore unused camera angle on the set framed the two and the performance. It earned Midler that year's Emmy Award (1992) for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. The lyrics were adapted to suit the occasion - such as "And John I know you're getting anxious to close".

Another great listening experience thank you and good night.