Treasured Music

Bobby Darin

I first became a fan of Booby Darin in the 1990’s when I heard “Mack the Knife.” “Man, now THAT guy has talent,” I thought. There’s a tonal quality to Bobby Darin’s voice that makes anything he sings sound terrific.

Walden Robert Cassotto, later known as Bobby Darin, was born in May, 1936 in the Bronx, New York. Here’s interesting part of his youth, “It was not until he was an adult that he learned that the woman he thought to be his sister Nina, 17 years his senior, was in fact his mother, and the woman he thought to be his mother was his grandmother.[3] He never knew the identity of his birth father.”

Bobby grew up having serious heart trouble. With the doctor telling him he would likely die early, he always had that in the back of his mind.

Bobby Darin started making hits in 1950s and didn’t stop until the 1970s when he died. An acting (more…)

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Frank Sinatra - Chairman of the Board

“The Chairman of the Board”, as Frank Sinatra was sometimes known, was born in 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey to first generation Italian immigrant parents.

He sang in different groups but was picked up by Harry James in 1939 for $75 a week. He soon joined Tommy Dorsey’s band. The 1940’s saw him acting in several movies and continuing to sing. In 1953 Frank Sinatra won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the movie, “From Here To Eternity” which helped turn his career around.

The 1960’s saw Frank Sinatra with the “Rat Pack” (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop), playing the Sands Casino in Las Vegas, and recording some of his most memorable work. He retired in the early 1970s then came out of (more…)

Tags: Frank Sinatra, frank sinatra biography, frank sinatra music, frank sinatra singer, frank sinatra songs

Edith Piaf - more than “La Vie En Rose”

Perhaps best known for her song in French cinema, La Vie En Rose, Edith Piaf was much more. In fact, a movie about her life recently won an Academy Award, “La Vie En Rose”.

There are others but the video below is my favorite. (more…)

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Louis Armstrong - the best jazz musician

This video is a real treasure. Get the sense and feel for Louis Armstrong, the unique quality of his voice and presence.

He was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901 and went by nicknames like “Satchmo” and “Pops.” Louis Armstrong performed with the best of his time including “Jimmie Rodgers, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Bessie Smith, and Ella Fitzgerald.” (ref)

“Shortly before his death he stated, ‘I think I had a beautiful life. I didn’t wish for anything that I couldn’t get and I got pretty near everything I wanted because I worked for it.’”(ref)

He was probably the best jazz musician. Lest we forget (more…)

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