◆ SpookStack

SWAMI OF SWOON There followed a four-year period in which America was the scene of the greatest demonstra- tions of fan idolatry the worid had ever seen. Be- fore a hushed throng of young girls, plus the in- evitable newspaper reporters out for good copy, Frankie took his microphone and sang the pop- ular ballads of the day .. . with a liguid tonal quality, phrased uniquely, with rapid shifts of tension and dramatic pauses, all to the accompani- ment of teen-age voices trilling, “Ooooh, Frankie,” “Oh, Frankie Boy!” and “Sing to ME, Frankie.” On good authority, a sizeable number of his audi- ence fainted. Learned articles appeared in schol- arly journals. Columnists turned aside from analyz- ing the war to spend considerable time and thought on the sociological implications of this new phe- nomenon. The wits had a lovely time of it, and the radio comedians counted their success by the number of Sinatra jokes their writers came up with. The obvious parallel was drawn: not since - the days of Rudolph Valentino—not even in the fabulous era of crooners Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee—had the country witnessed such massive and explicit adoration for an entertainment figure. A born showman with a lot of talent after sey- eral years of experience had hit his stride as an entertainer. Here was a consciously informal young man who, with excellent control of his exceedingly pleasant voice, had worked out an individual pat- Sinatra runs through a number, accompanied by one of the greats in show business, Nat “King” Cole. tern for presenting a song. He chose the best songs to sing—and soon commanded the best fees, be- cause he commanded the biggest audience. One night Robert Weitman, Manager of the Para- mount Theatre, journeyed over to Newark, New Jersey, to investigate first hand a report that teen- agers were shouting and fainting over the intimate vocalism of a newcomer. Weitman was impressed, : and Frankie was signed for a four-week run on the j same bill with Benny Goodman. It was a sell-out month at the Paramount. A short time later, Sin- atra went back to the Paramount at $7500.00 a week ... three hundred times his salary a short six years before! And that was only the beginning. 19 §