Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours

“Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours” by Tony Oppedisano 320 pages 

I’ve always been a Sinatra fan. When kids my age were listening to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, I played Frank on my record player. I think my parents were secretly relieved they didn’t have to listen to “that racket.” 

The author and former Sinatra road manager has written a fascinating look at the private life the “The Voice” in his later years. Not always sure that I believed all of it, but I did feel like I was getting to know the man. 

When the book opens, Frank is just coming out of his self-inflicted retirement. It wasn’t hard for him to get back on top.  It bothered me that the first pages were mostly about the author himself. I saw very little of Ol’ Blue Eyes there. 

Then the tone shifted and he began to relate antidotes that happened that and me feel close to Frank. His legendary temper. His friends. His work routine. His love lives. His generosity. Recording sessions. The feud between his wife and his children. 

I found the stories about his wife, Barbara, interesting. In her memoir, “Lady Blue Eyes,” She came off as a gold-digger. And she comes off as one here also. I’m sure there was no love lost between Frank’s children and Barbara, but the way she treated him in his later years made me sad.  And the way she refused to let anyone call his kids while he lay dying until she could reach her son was horrifying to me.  Keep in mind her son was in New York and his kids were 10 minutes away. 

I consider myself very lucky to have seen Frank live in concert twice in my lifetime. They were remarkable experiences. When I finished, I felt myself mourning the loss of the legend all over again, but maybe a little deeper after I read this memoir/biography. I felt that I had actually known him. 

“Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours” 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.