Article: "My 30 Minutes With Sinatra"*

That was a great story, thanks for the link.

 

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this!
------- Chris

 

Re: "The Saddest Thing of All"

Glenn: I dig it! Thank you very much for that glimpse into this session at A and R Studios in New York.

For the record, the date was Monday, August 18, 1975. The orchestra track, under the direction of Gordon Jenkins, had been recorded two weeks earlier, August 4, 1975, at T.T.G. Recording Studios in Hollywood.

(In addition to "The Saddest Thing of All" [master no. TCA 5601], reports indicate a second, unreleased song titled "Merry Christmas, Little Angel" [master TCA 5602] was recorded and overdubbed at these sessions. Your account puts into question whether Sinatra ever actually did that second vocal.)

Sinatra's schedule that year was filled with nightclub and concert performances, and he was doing almost no studio recording at all. In fact, with the exception of two Christmas songs in October, this was the only studio track he laid down between March 1975 and February 1976. To put this A and R session in perspective of Sinatra's activities at the time: He stopped in NYC during a concert tour which began in Detroit (8/15), then followed to Washington, DC (8/19), Toronto (8/21), two nights at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ (8/22-23), and Saratoga, NY (8/25). Shortly after that, he returned to Manhattan, where he broadcast two remotes for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon (9/1), followed by a two-week gig at the Uris Theater with Ella Fitzgerald and the Count Basie Orchestra (9/8 to 9/20). The show with Ella and the Basie band went on to Philadelphia (9/22), Cleveland (9/23), and Chicago (9/25). Busy guy in 1975, approaching his 60th birthday!

Interestingly, "The Saddest Thing of All" was not performed at any of those concerts. This was actually Sinatra's second recording of the song. He'd first attempted it nearly a year earlier (September 24, 1974) in Burbank [master no. SCA 5051, an unreleased version which has slipped out on some rare bootleg CDs], and he sang it in Vegas and on tour beginning in March 1975. The last known concert performance was in Paris in May, but by this date in August he had dropped it from his repertoire.

The original title of Michel Legrand's "The Saddest Thing of All" was "Toi et Moi, C'est Rien, C'est Tout" with French lyrics by Pierre Leroyer and Eduard Ruault. The English lyrics are by Carl Sigman. It was curious to learn that Sinatra's negative opinion of the composer necessitated Don Costa's removal of Legrand's name from the lead sheet. Frank certainly had no problem singing the Frenchman's music over the years: "I Will Wait for You"; "Watch What Happens"; "The Summer Knows"; "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?"; "Summer Me, Winter Me"; "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?".

For those looking for a recording of "The Saddest Thing" on vinyl, it was released on a Reprise 45 in 1975: RPS 1343 (backed with "Empty Tables"). The only LP issues were compilation albums titled "I Sing the Songs" in Italy (1976: Reprise W 54093) and Brazil (1978: Reprise 34.016), with different track lists. A similar LP was planned for a US release in 1982 (Reprise FS 2430), but it was never issued. On compact disc, there is only one choice: "The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings" (leather "suitcase" or cardboard box set), disc 17 of 20.

Thanks again for the article,
Bob
__________________
~ Frank's Albums

 

Wonderful article. Thank you very much.

 

These are the full lyrics, as I hear them in the 1975 recording; a beautiful, sad "saloon" song:

Through a blurry window, out above the roof tops,
I keep looking at the rain-swept sky.
In this small apartment, where she used to love me,
I just sit here as my life goes by.
There's no doorbell ringing, no sweet sound of singing,
Just a silent room where tears won't dry.

Life is sad when people hurt you,
Sad when friends desert you,
Sad when dreams get lost beyond recall.
But, remembering that love stopped blossoming,
And that's the saddest thing of all.

Once, we had it made; our days one grand parade
Of thrills and laughter only lovers know.
She was part of me, and we were young and free,
One touch was all it took, and off we'd go.
Now, above the rain, I hear a passing plane,
And all my loneliness begins to show.

Life is sad when people hurt you,
Sad when friends desert you,
Sad when dreams get lost beyond recall.
But, remembering from spring to lonely spring,
Well, that's the saddest thing... of all.​

(The 1974 recording, with a different Gordon Jenkins arrangement, has identical words, except for minor phrasing changes typical of Sinatra. This disproves the notion in the story that Frank was seeing the song for the first time. He is known to have praised Michel Legrand in concerts, so I think perhaps Don Costa was being a bit paranoid when he removed the composer's name from the chart with white-out. )

 

Just to expand on this a bit, below is Sinatra's verbatim spoken introduction to "The Saddest Thing of All," when he sang it at the Montreal Forum (Le Forum de Montréal) in a concert on May 9, 1975, over three months before the subject New York recording session. (A recording of this concert has circulated among collectors; it is not available commercially.)

The orchestra on that date was conducted by none other than... Don Costa!

 

Many, many thanks!

 

Something must have happened after that live date but before the recording session involving Legrand that set Sinatra off. It probably was a short-lived situation.

Or maybe Costa was the one with the grudge!

 

Could be. After Montreal, Sinatra sang the song live only one more time that I can find documented: May 20, 1975, in Paris, France. A run-in with Legrand in France would explain it. (Pure conjecture, though. )

 

I dug it the most -- great story, Glenn!

A good buddy of mine had a similar experience during a session with Aretha Franklin in the 1990s. He told me before they started, Aretha came into the control room, pointed at the rows of limiters in the rack, and said "you ain't gonna use that, are you? I've got my own compressor in here." And she pointed to her chest. He nodded and yanked the patch chords, and they laid it down straight. She knew the difference.

 

Great story and as a recording engineer I could really relate to it as I've been in that situation myself with big stars, there were always sessions and then special sessions where you were scared and then relieved it was over and successful.

 

One day I will be like Sinatra or Dylan and fill everybody with fear when I walk into the studio. I will call out one song and the key, then start another song in another key.

If any musicians appear confused, I will gesture for them to stop playing.

My assistants will whiteout certain names because I will explode if I see that name.

I will be glad someone's "stink" has been removed from the studio and everyone will laugh at my coarse comments.

 

The Mitch Miller line was coarse but funny. I think Sinatra was just trying to say something amusing to a kid he could see was a bit in awe of him.

Bob Dylan sounds like a true headcase more than a tyrant, though obviously inconsiderate of his fellow musicians. It's remarkable to hear Blood On The Tracks now knowing from Dr. B's link what a madhouse the studio was during a massively unpleasant, single-day session.

 

Thanks for the info. I've corrected the story. GB

 

Video recently uploaded to YouTube by the OP:



Note the tribute to Phil Ramone at the very end. He was the "R" in A and R Studios.

 

I've compared this mix to the released version in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings box set. They are very similar. Contrary to a comment made at YouTube, there is no question but that this is the same vocal take and orchestration.

 

It's a damn shame that this Sinatra tribute video has been pulled... and that's the saddest thing of all.

 

I thought it was a great article, and I don't even like Sinatra's music very much.

 

Glenn, this was the best thing I've read in a long time. Thank you for taking me into the studio with you.

 

great read glen, thanks for sharing!!!