Crosby could out-sing Sinatra in his sleep - although both were perfect a-holes in their private lives. Interestingly, both were pretty decent actors though.
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Artists that seem to "drop off."
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
At the time, bands were seen as the stars, and the vocalists were just there for certain songs in the show.
What kept him competitive was the quality of the songs. He recorded great songs that suited his very unique technique.
Crosby couldn't soar on the high notes the way Sinatra did. But Frank always admitted that Bing was his idol. Bing did it first.
I recall a news story from back in the early 1980s where Frank Sinatra himself showed up as a contestant for a Sinatra look-alike contest. If I recall correctly, he placed 3rd. People had such a perfectionist view of what Sinatra must look, dress and sound like, that he himself didn't even place in the top 2. I can only imagine the surprise for the judges, audience and contest organizers when he stepped forward and explained he was actually the guy! Lol
I never heard that story, and I was in news at the time.
Can't find a trace of it online, either.
When I was posting my comment above I also looked online but most searches turned up links for modern-day Sinatra impressionists or look-alikes. That said, I distinctly remember hearing the news story on the radio back in the 80s as I happened to be in the car with the choral teacher from my school and a number of other students and we got into a discussion about it afterward.
Thus spake Landtuna.
But, of course, Sinatra could not duplicate Bing's influence and participation in the development of audio tape recording. While some see Crosby's interest in the technology brought to the US from the defeated Germans to be limited to allowing him to play golf instead of doing a show for each time zone, he actually invested in Ampex and later on, on his own, was an earlier developer of videotape.
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Nope, not an interest of Sinatra. Both benefited quite a bit from live radio airplay though. I think when Sinatra was with Harry James, he would appear on WNEW in New York. Apparently it was his many appearances on live radio shows with James and Dorsey that brought hm to the attention of fans and earned him the headline show at the Paramount Theater. Frank would later host his own TV variety show, but I don't know he ever hosted a radio show similar to Crosby.
A lot of non-famous people can sing wonderfully. We hear them on commercial jingles, as back-up singers for stars and even in some churches on Sundays.
Becoming a famous and popular singer of hit music requires more than singing skills. It requires some kind of charisma, a sort of human magnetism that combines the voice, the appearance, the movements and the aura of an artist.
And there is a reason why still, more than half a century after his peak, there are still some Sinatra shows on the radio. That phenomenon never happened with Crosby.
And you just pointed out the areas where the two were different and can't be compared.
I think the comparison fails in several areas... just as comparing Buddy Holly with Elvis Presley also fails.
I seem to recall one of Frank's first guests on his TV show was Bing, and they sang together.
With Dean Martin. (and they ask me why I drink)
I'm thinking I've heard that story, but.not with Sinatra. Dolly Parton lost a Dolly Parton drag queen looKalike contest.
10 Interesting Facts You Probably Never Knew About Dolly Parton
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Bing and Frank also co-starred (and sang) together in 1956's "High Society" ( a musical remake of 1940's "The Philadelphia Story"):
And again (with Dean Martin) in 1964's "Robin and the 7 Hoods"):
This reminds me of the Woody Allen standup bit from the early 60s.I'm thinking I've heard that story, but.not with Sinatra. Dolly Parton lost a Dolly Parton drag queen looKalike contest.
10 Interesting Facts You Probably Never Knew About Dolly Parton
PS makes wellness more accessible through real-life stories, first-person perspectives, and expert-backed information. Our staff of journalists and subject-matter experts research, report, and produce articles, videos, and social content that help people feel good about their well-being choices...www.popsugar.com
He shoots a moose (you must suspend disbelief right at the beginning) in upstate New York, ties it to the hood of his car and drives back into the city.
Going through the Holland Tunnel, the moose wakes up. Woody just grazed him.
Woody has to think fast. He remembers that friends of his are having a costume party that night, so he takes the moose, introduces it to the hosts ("Thanks for inviting us. You know the Solomons"), and plans to ditch the moose there.
There's a prize for best costume.
The moose comes in second to the Berkowitzes, a couple in a moose costume.
There are actually a number of celebrities who've either lost look-alike contests or were called out for doing bad impersonations of....themselves, or when actual footage of famous people was criticized for being a really bad replication of that person. Again, people sometimes form utopian ideas of what certain celebrities must look and act like, and even the actual people can fall short in comparison.I'm thinking I've heard that story, but.not with Sinatra. Dolly Parton lost a Dolly Parton drag queen looKalike contest.
10 Interesting Facts You Probably Never Knew About Dolly Parton
PS makes wellness more accessible through real-life stories, first-person perspectives, and expert-backed information. Our staff of journalists and subject-matter experts research, report, and produce articles, videos, and social content that help people feel good about their well-being choices...
10 Famous People Who Couldn't Impersonate Themselves
Celebrities are normally famous for a reason---they have some skill or feature that distinguishes them from regular people. So naturally when they walk
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True. Cathy Crosby and his sons made sure the public knew all about his lousy behavior.
All we knew about Sinatra was his mob connections and being thrown out of Australia (the original 'ugly American'?) And it didn't hurt he was Italian and a whole culture worshiped him (including every barbershop in Noo Yawk and Noo Joisey).
All we have to do is look at the current Johnny Depp lawsuit to see that "good behavior" in the entertainment industry is measured differently and distinctly.
In many cases, such as this one, the phrases "good behavior" and "the entertainment industry" are an oxymoron. Emphasis on "moron."
In the "old days" the studios and labels made sure those stories didn't get out because when they eventually did there were scandals aplenty. Now days we just assume people in certain industry's are just human rejects right off the bat and don't tend to be surprised or shocked. I am always surprised there are so many people in the entertainment industry that never make the headlines.
And the worst behaviour was to set up fake dating and relationships by actors we now know were gay... furthering the prejudices against LGBTQ persons for many decades.
Or maybe we now realize that they are just the average misbehaver who just has more money.
With hundreds of channels of distribution today, there are far more "stars" than there were in the Hollywood "contract artist" era. We can't keep up with who hit a waiter in Cannes and who was caught soliciting a prostitute in West Hollywood. I just ignore most of them now as otherwise there would not be a movie or TV show I could enjoy.
Of course, reality shows have created a new class of useless and moronic celebrities.
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