That was at least partially due to what albums were available on tape. Reprise 1001-1009 were not on 8 track or cassette then - the newest album available was SINATRA'S SINATRA. They didn't even have MOONLIGHT SINATRA on tape, at least in the early 80's.
I just scored a "Freedom To Swing: A Las Vegas Tribute To Frank Sinatra" CD from eBay. It contains a previously officially unreleased (commercially - if you don't count this tourist promo CD) song "It's Time For You" that was used in a Chrysler TV Commercial back in the 1980's. http://sinatrafamily.com/album/freedom-to-swing-a-las-vegas-tribute-to-frank-sinatra-1292/ $18 - not terrible for really just one song. It did come with a small booklet - no info, really, just blurbs for each song for the reader about Frank in general. It's nice to have this rather than the low quality mp3 that I found on the Interwebs years ago. I found some other light-hearted info on the song and commercial buried in a text file I found on the interwebs and - if anyone is interested. http://exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches.blogspot.com/2007/02/its-time-for-you.html (I think the picture of Franks ad showed up on a previous FS thread so I won't copy them here). http://snltranscripts.jt.org/80/80msinatra.phtml Joe Piscopo parodys the song. I understand that there are a couple of other songs Frank recorded for commercials that are not officially released.
I have alway's felt that, tis song should have been commercially released as a follow-up to , NY,NY... completely superior to "Say Hello " which I hate.
Great thread! My dad was managing a Dodge dealership at this time, so I remember the Imperial very well. Even through he (obviously) didn't sell them, the whole Chrysler Corp. had a lot riding on this car. The Imperial was really about marketing and image building at the time, as the real bread & butter (and savior) were the 'K' cars released the same model year. Of course the real thing that turned the company around would be the minivan, while the revived Imperial only lasted a few years without making much of a splash in sales IIRC. I also believe there was a Dodge version of the Imperial called the Miranda. They were pretty nice actually, at least to me (I was 11 or so at the time). You could get one all tricked out with leather, power everything and stereo cassette. My ol' man drove one as a demo for a while. dan c EDIT: The Dodge version was actually called the Mirada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Mirada
That would be "Rich Corinthian Leather", first available in the 1975 Cordoba. Yes, my 'doba has that feature!
From the 1930's into the 1960's Chrysler's Imperial was one of the best American luxury cars, if not at times the best. By the early early '80's, primarily as the result of astoundingly bad quality control and difficulty keeping up with government regulations, these cars became very sad shadows of their former selves. The '81 Imperial, which was really a dressed-up Dodge Mirada/Charger for a very high price, was typical of this. Chief among its problems was a fuel injection system that needed a full-time mechanic in residence to keep on the road. The Chairman of the Board deserved to be associated with a far better car than this. It was gracious of him to lend his name to a project intended to shore up his friend Lee Iacocca's failing company.
In addition to "It's Time for You" (1980), there was "From This Moment On" (1981) and "My Kind of Guys" (1982). More info in this SFF thread: "It's Time For You". I'm not a fan of the song, but for those who haven't heard it in full: "It's Time for You" MP3 Clip
Only on the pictured promo 45. I believe the flip side was the instrumental sans vocal. I know that Chrysler dealerships received those.
I've never seen one before. Interesting how it doesn't mention Frank. I'm guessing that was part of the deal for the records to be made...
Here is a whole rundown of the Imperial and the fs edition courtesy of CurbsideClassic.com Curbside Classic: 1981 Imperial by Chrysler – It’s Time For You. Or Not. »
Right. Luckily for anyone who's enough of a Sinatra fan that they'd want this car, the car itself is something of a crapfest with the nadir of Detroit styling. So car collectors mostly can't be bothered.
The crapfest was the unproven fuel injection system. I wonder how the models retrofitted with carburetors and related fuel supply components ran? Also I dig the luxury personal coupe styling.
It's legit. Promo use for Chrysler: Frank Sinatra Single - It's Time For You / It's Time For You [instrumental] U21863M 0 » I agree that the lack of Sinatra's name on the single is totally weird.
It was the only recording Sinatra made in the year 1980, and it was totally "off the books" as far as Warner/Reprise was concerned. I don't know if all dealers received the single (possibly not, considering the rarity of copies today), but I recall my dad's store (a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership) playing it in the showroom. Wish I'd asked him to save it for me.
The 318 was a reliable motor, but by the early 80s it had been detuned to something like 110 h.p.! Cordobas had problems overheating, but the Imperial's bigger grill may have helped in that department.
We had one of those. I loved that car, but only got to spin it around the parking lot a couple times since my dad sold it when I was 15. My grandfather had had problems with the positrack when it was new, so ours no longer had it, but instead had a standard rear end probably out of a Newport.
A few of these were made into limos (and featured in Cannonball Run). One is currently for sale in the back of the WPC Newsletter.
Yeah, (the '72 New Yorker) was a lot of car. The 440 cu. in. engine was powerful, and it had a great interior. I swear the hood was 8 feet long. Nice on dates, when I was 17...
I remember buying a copy of the 45 from Gary Doctor in 1982 and paying $30.00 for it back in 1982. Then it came out on a boot CD in the mid 80's. I think it's a great swing song that should have been released commercially. I really believe it could have been a hit, in the song the line "What I'm Sayin' is Don't just sit there crying " A lotta guys really talked like that back then and I think the song would have resonated Frank nailed the attitude perfectly and it swings like crazy. It could have been a hit.
