Monday, December 12, 2011

Music Monday 12 December: Sinatra's Birthday

It's 12 December - and it was the birthday of Sinatra! I have idolised Frank Sinatra since the 1960s. Appreciation of his singing was possibly the only thing I took from my first short and disastrous marriage to an Italian guy. Fortunately, both of my subsequent long-term partners have shared my love of Sinatra's music. It wasn't a prerequisite, it just seemed to happen that way - and it worked out well both times!

Sinatra turns every song he performs into a work of art. I use the present tense advisedly. For me, he will never die. The wonderful lyrics of Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter and their ilk come instantly to life sung by Sinatra. His magic embellishes less classic offerings with quality they perhaps do not deserve. He is able to take modern classics by Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison, Neil Diamond, Kris Kristofferson, etc. and turn them golden in a different way.

Frank Sinatra, in my eyes, could do no wrong. I am not interested in the scandals. What he did and does for his audience, while singing or acting (he was no slouch as an actor too, by the way) is all that matters.

"That old black magic" has me in its spell again and again whenever I watch a DVD of his shows or listen to one of his albums.

I have a theory that people are attracted to entertainers, writers, musicians, actors, well-known figures whose charts contain some correlation with their own. By some peculiar means we are able to "sense" the connection, even via screen, audio, or literature. I've found in my own experience that the clearest and longest lasting attractions involve the closest astrological connections.





My theory holds good in Sinatra's case. His Sun was at 19.13* Sagittarius conjoins my Venus at 19.59* Sagittarius ! His Mercury is at 17* Sagittarius too. His Moon at 5.07 Pisces conjoins my natal Jupiter at 6.03 Pisces.
"It's such an ancient pitch, But one I wouldn't switch, 'Cos there's no nicer witch than.........."
I could wax lyrical all day about favourite Sinatra renditions. I'll post a couple of possibly lesser known songs, I never tire of hearing these (or anything by The Guv'nor):
There Used To Be a Ballpark (written by Joe Raposo)~~~

"And the sky has got so cloudy, when it used to be so clear"...........

....."For the old team isn't playing
and the new team hardly tries"
~ (Don't get me started!!!!)
The song literally refers to a sports stadium, but it's also a metaphor, for all good things from the past, things we can no longer see.



Wave (composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim)




Late addition - a winter-appropriate favourite I forgot to include:


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

GP: Neptune conjunct his MC early in Leo certainly must have "had a word" in him becoming a singer (instead of maybe a trumpetist). No doubt the songs he left us with (and especially the more sensitive women in this world) were engulfing.

And they were not just "illusion" (Neptune). His unfortunate Saturn in 69, opposing his natal Venus, but trine Jupiter in Pisces, give him that heartfelt quality which pardons all the "Frankie he was".

What had he done (or not done) to Liza Minelli?

Yvonne Mokihana Calizar said...

Interesting that you picked Sinatra's rendition of the ballpark ... the metaphor of things gone. Ry Cooder and Blah Pahinui(singing this one) recall Chavez Ravine where the old Dodger Stadium and an entire community once thrived. Music does ride the elastic band of time's character ... Neptune? Here's a link to another version of the old ballpark to prime your pump already in motion:)Ry Cooder's Chavez Ravine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po2Qv3C8bf0

Twilight said...

Anonymous/Gian Paul ~~ Agreed - certainly not illusion - more of an addiction! ;-)

Thank you for the astro pointers you've added, GP.

Don't know about things connected with Liza Minelli - but nothing would surprise me (much). :-)

Twilight said...

Yvonne Mokihana Calizar ~~
Thank you for the link - a very different take on the loss of a ballpark - but another good track!

I guess sports fans enjoy these numbers for their literal meanings, but as I have a complete blindspot for sport, I cling to the metaphor embedded - whether it was intended by the writers or not.

Neptune - yes, for sure. :-)

Wisewebwoman said...

I can listen to him T but not rapturously like your good self.
Now Ella has me in raptures - and Leonard Cohen :) along with a few more.
XO
WWW
Interesting your take on the mirror connection thing, a lot to be said for it, I would think...

Twilight said...

Wisewebwoman ~~~ I enjoy listening to Ella too - always a pleasure, but, for me, a wee bit lacking in deeply felt emotion. :-)