[Dixielandjazz] Steve Lawrence interviewed

[Harry Callaghan]

I was probably most impressed with Steve Lawrence when he appeared as part
of a roundtable discussion about Frank Sinatra on "Larry King Live" the day
after his death.

I remember how he so eleoquently stated "Frank was the soundtrack of our
lives".
He mentioned at the time that Frank had given him all the Riddle, May, Costa
arrangements and when he recorded an album in tribute to him, in my opinion
he did the man justice.

As i have thoroughly enjoyed "Songs Carmen Sang", a tribute to her friend
Carmen McRae, I didn't think I was sticking my neck out too far by spending
a few bucks on Carole Sloane's "Songs Sinatra Sang".
Needless to say, I was not disappointed and recommend both albums to one and
all.

I was not previously aware, but friend Bruce McNichols recently mentioned to
me that Carole (a Concord recording artist) had performed for sometime with
Dave Lambert & Jon Hendricks in betwen Annie Ross and Yolanda Bavan.

Tides,
HC
On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 10:21 AM, Robert Ringwald <rsr at ringwald.com> wrote:

> Old School Suits Steve Lawrence
> by Bruce Fessier
> Palm Springs Desert Sun, January 28, 2011
> Steve Lawrence is old show biz -- the kind of Brooklyn kid who knew if he
> could make
> it across the Brooklyn Bridge, he could make it anywhere.
> He's an old-fashioned triple threat who could sing well enough to win a
> Grammy, act
> dramatically enough to win a Tony, and joke well enough with his wife,
> singer Eydie
> Gorme, to win a Las Vegas Entertainment Award.
> In the Frank Sinatra-Robert Wagner tradition, he's a charming man who's
> also fun
> to hang out with.
> He uttered a line at Robert Goulet's funeral three years ago that's now
> legendary
> among old school Las Vegas entertainers. As a pall bearer preparing to
> carry Goulet's
> coffin into the spotlight for one final turn, he knocked on the coffin and
> said,
> "Five minutes Mr. Goulet!"
> "Oh, God," said Lawrence, almost embarrassed to hear the story retold. "I'm
> sorry,
> but we were waiting an extraordinarily long time."
> Born six months after Elvis Presley in 1935, Lawrence is the antithesis of
> a rock
> star, and he and Eydie have been lampooned for that on "Saturday Night
> Live."
> But he'll proudly carry the banner as among the last of the old-school
> Vegas entertainers
> tonight and Saturday at the McCallum Theatre.
> His wife won't perform with him. Her health is fine, but she just got tired
> of touring.
> But Lawrence will still sing his songs and tell stories about many of their
> old school
> friends. His show starts with film clips of his pals, including such late
> greats
> as Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Dean Martin and the leader of their pack,
> Sinatra.
> Lawrence says coming to the desert from his Los Angeles home used to be
> like a vacation
> when Sinatra was alive.
> "He was a case-and-a-half," Lawrence marveled. "Not only did we spend a lot
> of time
> with Frank in Palm Springs, but we spent a lot of time with him on the road
> for about
> a year. He was an extraordinary individual both on and off stage."
> He remembers the signs Sinatra posted around his Rancho Mirage compound,
> like, "Anybody
> found around here at night will be found around here in the morning."
> He especially remembers him playing with his gigantic train set in the
> compound.
> "I'm not a big choo-choo fan," Lawrence said. "But he loved it. He did
> everything
> shy of wearing that gray-and-stripe hat that they put on. It took a long
> time to
> set this thing up. He had a sign in there that said, 'When you check out of
> this
> life, he who has the most toys wins.' He really subscribed to that."
> In the late 1980s, Sinatra started sending Lawrence some written
> arrangements for
> his big band material.
> "I knew why he was doing it and I had mixed emotions about it," Lawrence
> said. "He
> just wanted to see that this music he made continued."
> He recorded "Steve Lawrence Sings Sinatra" in 2003, but there are some
> Sinatra songs
> he won't sing.
> "I don't think I would ever record 'Nancy,'" he said. "That was a very
> personal song
> for him. Also, there were some things he did in '(Frank Sinatra Sings for)
> Only the
> Lonely' that were untouchable. 'Soliloquy' (by Rodgers and Hammerstein) was
> so much
> a part of him, I wouldn't go near that."
> Lawrence will only tell positive stories about Sinatra.
> "I heard stories about the dark side of him, which I was never exposed to
> in 40 years,"
> he said. "I think he liked us both very much. He was very comfortable in
> our company
> and he was a fan, which was thrilling."
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald
> www.ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 530/ 642-9551 Office
> 916/ 806-9551 Cell
> Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV
>
> "Congress was broadcast live on Facebook for the first time in history.
> Now you can waste time and not get work done by watching Congress waste
> time and not get work done."
> --Jimmy Fallon
>
>


-- 
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
      - Vergil: The Aeneid Book II