Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours
by Tony Oppedisano
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"An intimate, revealing portrait of Frank Sinatra-from the man closest to the famous singer during the last decade of his life. More than a hundred books have been written about legendary crooner and actor Frank Sinatra. Every detail of his life seems to captivate: his career, his romantic relationships, his personality, his businesses, his style. But a hard-to-pin-down quality has always clung to him-a certain elusiveness that emerges again and again in retrospective depictions. Until now. show more From Sinatra's closest confidant and an eventual member of his management team, Tony Oppedisano, comes an extraordinarily intimate look at the singing idol. Deep into the night, for more than two thousand nights, Frank and Tony would converse-about music, family, friends, great loves, achievements and successes, failures and disappointments, the lives they'd led, the lives they wished they'd led. In these full-disclosure conversations, Sinatra spoke of his close yet complex relationship with his father, his conflicts with record companies, his carousing in Vegas, his love affairs with some of the most beautiful women of his era, his triumphs on some of the world's biggest stages, his complicated relationships with his talented children, and, most important, his dedication to his craft. Toward the end, no one was closer to the singer than Oppedisano, who kept his own rooms at the Sinatra residences for many years, often brokered difficult conversations between family members, and held the superstar entertainer's hand when he drew his last breath. Featuring never-before-seen photos and offering startlingly fresh anecdotes and new revelations that center on some of the most famous people of the past fifty years-including Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Sam Giancana, Madonna, and Bono-Sinatra and Me pulls back the curtain to reveal a man whom history has, in many ways, gotten wrong"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I was pleasantly surprised by this memoir. I wasn't expecting the writing to be this good - so many times I felt like I was in the room with them, listening to their banter. I am not a big Sinatra fan in that he was most popular before my time, but I've come to appreciate his art that much more. The author is a talented musician and singer himself, and his brief explanations of music components and structure were quite informative and helpful. Well done, highly recommended.
Could not put this book down. Tony O was first a friend of Jilly who introduced him to Frank Sinatra. An aspiring singer who admired Sinatra for years, Sinatra was taken that someone 36 years younger than himself was so familiar with his music. Over the years, he became more friendly with Sinatra, and upon Jilly's tragic death, Sinatra asked him to come on board and work with him. Tony O. spent a lot of time with Sinatra as he did his final touring. Once the touring stopped, he continued to be close to Sinatra to the point of even helping him to bed as Sinatra's health began to fail. Tony O was there when Sinatra took his last breath and continued to befriend the family after that. The book shows how Sinatra had to walk a fine line show more between wife Barbara and daughters Nancy and Tina and at times went along with things just to keep the peace. Of course you also got stories about Dean, Sammy, and Don Rickles as well. I thought the book was probably one of the truest books of Sinatra's later years and showed a humble man who tried his best to do good but yet would not take crap from folks. The book was well done and I thank Tony O for writing this as well as for being there for Frank when Frank needed him. show less
A well written book outlining the character of Sinatra and his musical talents and ability to draw people to him and uphold a positive friendship.
The author had a long relationship with Sinatra right until the end of Sinatra's life. It was obvious the writer of this book held Sinatra in respect while outlining some of the mistakes Sinatra made in his life, while overall being a good person.
The author had a long relationship with Sinatra right until the end of Sinatra's life. It was obvious the writer of this book held Sinatra in respect while outlining some of the mistakes Sinatra made in his life, while overall being a good person.
3.5 stars
Fabulous.
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Author Information
2 Works 58 Members
Classifications
- Genres
- Music, Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 782.42164092 — Arts & recreation Music Vocal music [formerly: Dramatic music and production of musical drama] Secular forms of vocal music Songs General principles and musical forms Traditions of secular songs {genres} Western popular songs
- LCC
- ML420 .S565 .O66 — Music Literature on music Literature on music History and criticism Biography
- BISAC
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- 57
- Popularity
- 536,247
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (4.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
