You never know where a thought will take you.
I was thinking about "Dancing With the Stars"
and that brought the foxtrot to mind. That started me thinking about my favorite foxtrot music and that would be songs by Frank Sinatra. Old Blue Eyes. My thoughts then drifted to the time I saw him on stage during a matinee at the Roxy Theater in Norfolk, Virginia when I was 13. Frank was just coming into stardom but not very well known yet or he wouldn't have been playing matinees to a bunch of screaming teeny boppers in an old run-down theater.
I had never heard of him but my girlfriend said we absolutely had to go. Why do teenagers always dress like little clones of one another? A cacophony resounded by hundreds of saddle shoes stamping the floor in anticipation of Frankie. Finally the lights lowered and a skinny boy with a protruding adams apple, accentuated by an enormous bow tie, stepped onto the stage.
I was hooked immediately. I was in love. After the performance and the screaming died down, we hurried to the stage door to get his autograph. Sadly, Frankie's signature on a program, disappeared along with the years that followed. Our country was at war and a lot of things blurred but that Roxy matinee remains in my memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They just don't have singers like that anymore. Miss the old songs... or I should say singers.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!! Suppose to get up into the 50s here.
Hurray! About time, huh? It's warmer here too. Just a little mud and a few piles of snow pushed up by a snow plough. The music of Frankie's songs is perfect for a slow foxtrot. Wanna dance?
DeleteThose were the days, all about nipple malfunctions and the like now.
ReplyDeleteThose were the days, my friend, I thought they'd never end.....ta dum ta dum de dee dum. But they did.
DeleteI really wish sometimes that I had grown up in this era so that I could have seen Frank Sinatra in his heyday...
ReplyDeleteKeith
DeleteNo you don't because you would be old now. But that ain't all bad. We just return and do it all over again and each time try to be a little bit kinder.
I love, love, LOVE Frank Sinatra. So did my mother.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you lost that autograph, but nobody can take away that memory.
Happy weekend!
Susan
DeleteYour mother must be around my age but I don't recall if she is still alive. The part of your family I recall is your family Christmas story. Renew that every year as it's the funniest story I've ever read. I'm eager to see what subject you'll be writing on for A-Z this year.
What amazing experiences you've had, Manzie. Oh, but I wish that autograph hadn't disappeared. But never mind, your post is like a brush stroke on an era that truly was.
ReplyDeleteKittie,
DeleteAt the time, We were living in Norfolk because it was war time and my father was in the Navy. A lot of moving around and I don't know were it disappeared. Later, of course, my husband was the one who always got to meet the celebs. So many of them loved baseball and then would get to know Calvin. Seemed to happen when I wasn't around. Ha
Would have been awesome to see him live
ReplyDeleteOnly way to do that is invent time travel at my hive
But then I'd step on a bee
And change history
So better of not doing that
At my mat
You stay in your time
DeleteAnd continue to rhyme
As your stories unfold
Tiz better far than being old
And don't step on a bee
To change his-tor-ree
As you live a great life
You can sing Mack the Knife
Karen
ReplyDeleteMy husband actually knew him... not calling on the phone buddies but Frankie loved baseball and my husband owned a ball team. They had lunch together sometimes when they were both at an out of town ball game. He would come home and say, "guess who I had lunch with?" When he said that I knew it was someone I would want to meet. Dang HA
The next time I see a photo or a clip of young Frank Sinatra singing in front of a large group of screaming teenagers, I will think of you. :-) My connection to Frank: We share the same birthday day 12/12.
ReplyDeleteSu-siee
DeleteYou are a Sadge too. So is my husband Dec 1. I used to think he and Frankie were born the same year but my husband was 4 years older. I guess when I saw Frankie he was already in his 30's. He looked like a skinny kid but actually he always looked thin and fit. He was a good actor too.... From Here to Eternity... what else did he just act and not sing. Can't think right now.
Can't recall the names of the films, but I do remember seeing Frank tapdancing.
DeleteHis voice was so special, you would know it and love it anywhere, any time. I miss those old songs too.
ReplyDeleteInger
ReplyDeleteI heard his voice on a video from about the time when I saw him and he improved a lot as he got older. In the beginning, he sang draggy ballads and his voice was not as rich as it was later.
That must have been something, Manzi. There is something special about seeing a star on the rise. Everyone sees it in some form or another when it is at the pinnacle... but when it is just beginning to go up... now, that's *something.*
ReplyDeleteRobin
DeleteDumb me, I didn't even know who we were going to see. I had never heard the name before.
How exciting that you got to see him perform at that early stage in his career! Thank you for sharing that memory with us.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
DeleteI had forgotten all about that until I started thinking that soon, DWTS would be starting their new season. Then my mind wandered through the chain of events that made me remember that matinee.
That's a great memory to share. You can say "I saw him when..."
ReplyDeleteThese days, everyone with a video camera and a YouTube account thinks they're a "star". They sure don't make them like they used to.
Sinatra had a little thing I like to call..."class". :)
Mark
DeleteI know what you mean about everyone thinks they are a star. I moved twice and summer and can't find my video cameras...... probably all for the best. Ha
Frankie and the foxtrot - 1, 2, 123 ... You certainly did things "Your Way"!
ReplyDeleteJJ
DeleteHey Kiddo, I think you got it. Now that you've mastered the foxtrot, how about an extreme cha cha?
Ah to have seen him in person when he melted hearts. I had one of those moments with Elvis that I will always remember.
ReplyDeletePatti
DeleteOh neat. Have you posted about about Elvis? In the back of my memory, seems like you might have. You always say I can remember. Ding.... not so good sometimes. Ha
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Billy Holiday, I wish I could've seen em. Cause I can dance to them all night long.
ReplyDeletePaige
DeleteSo happy to find that you love dancing too. Dancing has been my life and the appropriate music has always been my challenge.
He was truly a magician with music!!
ReplyDeleteFishducky
DeleteHe was a darn good dramatic actor too. He got what he wanted because he always had his mafioso backing.
I like your comment about how teens seem to clone each other with what they wear; they did it then, they do it now....times haven't changed much, have they?
ReplyDeletewhat a treat to have seen Frank Sinatra perform like that so many years ago!
betty
Betty
DeleteSaddle shoes look so dorky now but I remembered that everyone wore them. They were either black/white or brown/white. Mine were always brown/white. sweater sets too. The short sleeve pullover sweater and the matching cardigan. You were really something if they were cashmere and cashmere wasn't "that" expensive back than. I don't remember wearing any synthetic fabrics back then.
What a shame your autograph went missing ... I hope whoever has it realises its value! So you can actually say 'I knew him before he was famous'??!!
ReplyDeleteRed
DeleteI guess I didn't put it away with some of my other treasures because who knew he would become such a legend. And because of the war and my father in the Navy, we moved around quite a bit.
How did you come to be in Norfolk? Were you a military child?
ReplyDeleteAl
DeleteCorrect. My father was in the Navy an that was right smack middle of the war. A lot of memories from my youth are blurry and others are very sharp and when I focus in, those war memories come in clearly. Funny, isn't it?
I would think that traumatic (or nearly so) memories are the sharpest. I spent a total of about 11 years in Norfolk/Virginia Beach on ships and at a shore base. Nothing so traumatic as a war, though.
DeleteWhat a wonderful experience!
ReplyDeleteGail
DeleteThe time was not especially a happy one, with the war and news every day of some loved one or friend dying in battle. Because the bombs were not dropping on us, school and activities went on as usual. Some form of swing dance was always in the fore. I recall Boogie Woogie being "hot" during that time.
What a lovely memory. I think we can all have lovely memories no matter what time we live in- just a matter of attitude and such. I won't say that sometimes it's not hard to appreciate the times we live in!
ReplyDeleteI once played pool on a regular basis with a guy from a local Seattle grunge band, while I was in college. It's funny where people end up in the end. You don't always see it coming.
Rose
ReplyDeleteEveryone has beautiful memories of childhood. It changes rather quickly from generation to generation. Communication is a lot easier now than in my time. I'd say that is a huge plus.You must be a terrific pool player.