Cross-Posted from DaleGlading.com
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I am a huge Frank Sinatra fan. Always have been and always will be.
In high school, while my buddies were listening to Billy Joel, Boz Scaggs, and Fleetwood Mac on the radio, I was tuning into “Friday with Frank” and “Sundays with Sinatra” on 1210 WPHT. And when they were plunking down money to see Boston, Chicago, or Kansas in concert, I was buying tickets to see Ol’ Blue Eyes at Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
My two favorite Sinatra albums are The Concert Sinatra (1963) and Sinatra at the Sands (1966). In fact, I can recite most of Frank’s between songs banter from the latter LP, recorded live in Las Vegas with the Count Basie Orchestra. I guess that’s why those albums have such deep grooves in them, from playing them over and over on my parents’ stereo.
And so, it should come as no surprise that I tuned into a TV special honoring Frank on his 80th birthday. It was recorded on November 19, 1995, and aired on December 14th, two days after his actual birthday. Paying tribute to the Chairman of the Board were such luminaries as Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Vic Damone, Bob Dylan, Patti LaBelle, Little Richard, and Bruce Springsteen – all of whom performed classic Sinatra songs – while actors from Gregory Peck and Angela Lansbury to Tom Selleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger shared their memories of the greatest pop singer of the 20th century.
Seated at a small table next to the stage along with his fourth wife, Barbara Marx Sinatra, Frank listened intently throughout the 2-hour special. However, as the night wore on it became apparent that he was tiring. Finally, as the camera zoomed in on Frank, I noticed something very troubling to a devoted fan like me.
Simply put, Frank’s once piercing blue eyes were glazed over and almost vacant. It was as if he was there – but not there – at the same time.
I realized then and there that I would never have the privilege of seeing Frank Sinatra live in concert again. His stage and recording careers were both over… and there was no going back.
Actually, the clues had been there for quite some time. On his ill-fated reunion tour in 1988 with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., Frank had to rely on large-print teleprompters lest he forget the lyrics to songs he had been singing for generations. After Martin left the tour for health reasons, Liza Minelli filled in for the remaining shows and – true professional that she was – often found herself covering for Frank’s glaring miscues.
The denouement of Frank’s six-decade career came unceremoniously on March 6, 1994, in Richmond, Virginia when he fell off a stool while performing My Way, striking his head on a speaker in the process. A wane-looking Sinatra waved weakly to the audience as he was wheeled off stage and taken to a local hospital.
The official diagnosis, at least for public consumption, was dehydration, but the world seemed to know that the curtain had officially come down on Frank’s unprecedented and unparalleled time at the top.
Why focus on the sad conclusion of Frank Sinatra’s illustrious career in a political blog? Because I see remarkable similarities between what happened to my favorite crooner and what is currently going on with the 46th President of the United States.
The other day, Joe Biden was “campaigning” in a retail store in Delaware while on yet another vacation. As he shuffled tentatively across the floor, he seemed unaware of his surroundings… or the purpose of his visit. A campaign aide gently grabbed hold of Mr. Biden’s elbow and guided him over to the store’s owner for a photo-op. However, as the camera focused on his face, I saw the same vacant stare that I saw in Frank Sinatra’s eyes back in 1995 at his 80th birthday party.
Folks, it is one thing to overstay your welcome in the world of entertainment. However, to have a Commander-in-Chief and the leader of the free world whose cognitive ability is rapidly declining for all to see is no laughing matter. On the contrary, it is dangerous for everyone involved, especially considering the fact that Joe Biden has access to top secret information as well as to America’s nuclear weapon arsenal.
Since Frank Sinatra’s death on May 14, 1998, at the age of 82, there have been rumors – and allegations by his daughters – that Barbara Sinatra used a cocktail of various drugs and medications to keep him on stage for financial reasons, tarnishing his stellar reputation as a world-class performer in the process. Sadly, the truth may never be known.
Likewise, it is becoming increasingly apparent that someone (maybe Dr. Jill Biden) is trying to manage her husband’s obvious dementia with the help of pharmaceuticals of some sort. That, my friend, is called enabling or elder abuse or both… and America deserves better.
