[78-L] Early studio singers - question

[David Lennick]

On 12/10/2011 6:44 PM, Julian Vein wrote:
> On 10/12/11 21:13, Jeff Sultanof wrote:
>> Sinatra could not read music, and he was another singer who learned songs
>> from his musical director or others. For instance, Sammy Cahn introduced
>> him to songs he was previously unaware of (I Don't Stand a Ghost of a
>> Chance and Street of Dreams are two examples that Sinatra himself
>> mentioned). He could also sense a melody line from sheet music by watching
>> the lines go up and down.
>>
>> He was a huge opera fan, and he came to know a lot of symphonic music as
>> well; meetings with Nelson Riddle would consist of Frank describing the
>> type of accompaniment he wanted with regard to tempo and backgrounds, even
>> saying that in an introduction, he wanted a similar sound to a work by
>> Brahms, which he would name.
>>
>> He turned out to be a fine conductor. Riddle commented that he could stand
>> on a podium, give the musicians a look, and they followed. If he didn't
>> like something, his piercing stare would precede telling the musicians what
>> he wanted.
>>
>> Several musicians have told me that if he'd had some real musical training,
>> who knows what he could have done.
>>
>> Jeff Sultanof
>> _______________________________________________
>>
> Yeah, he could have become a half-decent singer!
>
>        Julian Vein

Hey, his cousin Ray got to conduct for a REAL singer, that Mario Lasagna guy!

dl