E319 - Chuck Granata - Top 5 Alternative Crooners

About this episode

Chuck Granata joins to discuss Frank Sinatra and the recent archival projects celebrating his music.

Croon•er (n) ['kru:nər]: a singer, particularly a male one, who sings sentimental songs in a soft, low voice. Decades before Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, or Uncle Gregg captured the hearts, imaginations, and undergarments of a swooning audience, crooners ruled the earth. The term typically conjures up golden throated singers like Bing Crosby, Nat "King" Cole, Tony Bennett, and Mel Torme interpreting the timeless songs of Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. But one crooner reigned supreme: Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. He was "The Voice," possessing an instrument of rare, pure, crystalline perfection, with a phrasing, tone, and ability to charge every word with such emotion that you can palpably sense his audience getting weak in the knees. Never has Sinatra's legendary 1940s performing career sounded as immaculately and pristinely alive as it does on the SING label's recent archival projects: At the Hollywood Bowl 1943-48; Christmas on the Air; and the 5-LP box set Long Ago, Far Away, all lovingly restored and mastered by an award winning team and featuring exquisitely detailed liner notes by no greater…

People in this episode

Host: Uncle Gregg

Guest: Chuck Granata

Topics covered

• Frank Sinatra
• alternative crooners
• music history
• archival projects
• pop music
• sentimental songs

Keywords

• Frank Sinatra
• crooners
• music
• archival projects
• Chuck Granata
• SING label
• pop music
• sentimental songs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SING

Books & works: Sessions with Sinatra, At the Hollywood Bowl 1943-48, Christmas on the Air, Long Ago, Far Away

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