Here's two minutes of Dean and Frank having fun with a song from Guys & Dolls. They did these numbers singing live with a live orchestra and usually there was little or no rehearsal. You can spot each of them looking often at cue cards with the lyrics…and not knowing where to look when the other is singing even though there's only one camera on them. In some of the numbers on The Dean Martin Show — not this one — you can spot Dino giving little hand signals to indicate that he needs to have the audio playback (the band was in another studio) made louder or that the cue cards aren't being flipped quickly enough. Another performer might have stopped the number, had them make the adjustment and then started over. But on Dean's show, they liked to get it in one take, especially when Frank's limo was parked outside with the motor idling.
I watch this and two thoughts come to mind. One is "Do you ever see numbers like this on television anymore?" How often do they just stick two singers in front of one camera and have them sing live with no other production values, no video tricks, no dancers or sets or anything? I can't think of when I've seen that lately. I can't think of anyone these days who could pull it off like Dean, Frank or certain other performers of their era.
And the second thing is that — and I know this is probably just me — I find myself liking Frank Sinatra less and less. Yes, yes: I know he is the most acclaimed pop vocalist of his generation and that I am vastly outnumbered in this opinion…and I will also concede that his popularity was not built on goofing-around numbers like this one but on his records. But almost every time these days I hear one of them, which is like every time I'm in an Italian restaurant, I find myself thinking he sounds insincere and that the voice does not connect with what he's singing, like an actor who cares about how he delivers the line, not what the line is about. I even listened to a number of once-favorite Sinatra recordings here at home not long ago while not eating linguini, and I kept thinking, "Gee, what did I ever like about this guy?"
I guess my tastes are just changing. I stopped liking In-N-Out Burgers and now I'm losing my fondness for Sinatra. By this time next year, I'll probably be putting down Creamy Tomato Soup, Laurel & Hardy and Jack Kirby. Anyway, here's about half a Rat Pack…