ROIO of the Week [Recordings of Indeterminate Origin]

Click on the panels to download artwork

Sinatra's End Of An Era Tour

FRANK SINATRA
Live in Hong Kong 1962 [no label, 1CD]
Live at City Concert Hall, April 28, 1962.

How would you like Aladdin's Lamp to call your own?
The wealth that once was $ingapore, fast Italian cars,
Diamonds big as stars, just name it and it's yours.
How would you like the finest laces from Cologne,
And pearls that come from coral shores,
And to match your eyes, blue Venetian skies,
Just name it and it's yours.
- Name It And It's Yours
(Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen), recorded November 22, 1961, Los Angeles.

As 1961 came to a close, Sinatra recorded Name It And It's Yours as the flip side to his current single, Pocketful Of Miracles. While Name It And It's Yours was verse after verse a description of extravagance and waste, Pocketful of Miracles was about hope. But what was on Sinatra's mind was also "help" to bridge the two and make the excess available to the have-nots.

By 1962, Sinatra was planning his World Tour in Aid of Children's Charities that would span Asia, the Mediterranean and southern Europe. America had come out of the Second World War on top as Europe declined. One by one, former colonies were given their independence. Every new emerging nation stamped their independence by declaring itself a "democracy" along American lines. In practice, it was a different matter.

At the press conference before he headed out to Japan, his first stop in Asia, Sinatra said he was "an overprivileged adult, [who] ought to help underprivileged children." Sinatra paid for the entire tour and the receipts from ticket sales went to the children's charities in all the countries he visited. Sinatra toured Hong Kong, Japan, Israel, Greece, Milan [Italy], London, Paris and Monaco with all proceeds going to charity. It was a whirlwind that lasted about two months and ended with Sinatra travelling back to London to record his next album, Sings Great Songs From Great Britain. Perhaps his one consolation to the old order.

He was visiting both the old world of formerly Great Europe, the former Japanese Empire which America nuked not once but twice as well as Hong Kong, the jewel in the crown of Great Britain. Sinatra was also spreading American culture through charity and goodwill. Shortly after this, Elvis and the Beatles would bring enlightenment to teenagers all over the world. A cultural tsunami that would also shock newly independent nations into boarding up their doors and windows to prevent entry of the new.

Of this tour, the shows in London and Monaco are widely available among collectors. When Sinatra visited Japan, both of his shows were recorded by Japanese television and some copies circulate among collectors. Not so widely available is the Hong Kong show. It was one of the few that was recorded albeit not in the best presentation with some dropouts in the tape source and volume fluctuations here and there.

In Hong Kong, Sinatra visited a children's hospital and a youth center. He performed two concerts at the new City Hall organised by George Ho. On the second night, according to the trip diary, "The concert was a total success and the number of people wanting to attend couldn't be accommodated." So when the show ended, Sinatra moved to another part of the hall and gave an impromptu performance.

On his final day in Hong Kong, Sinatra did a matinee for the children. When it ended, he presented a cheque for US$95,000 for charity. This show seems to be the final night in Hong Kong as Sinatra gives a big thanks at the end of the show to one George Ho. The performance itself is less than sterling with Sinatra appearing far too casual for comfort. Perhaps he was unfamiliar with the Asian audience, or the humid weather, but he does sound tired and lacklustre.

At that time, such tours were not about self-promotion and selling more records, although that would be the effect. It was the artist doing his part as a good American - to share his talent and wealth. Those days are long gone. In the Global world, American companies couldn't care less about Americans or anyone else. Profit is the ONLY motive. If it's cheaper to manufacture in China, then it's goodbye America. The citizens of the Global world are there to serve the corporations at the lowest possible cost to the corporation.

Too bad Frank Sinatra never sang Name It And It's Yours in concert. That song has some choice lyrics:

Until you have Aladdin's Lamp to call your own,
Let's window shop the local stores,
And for just a start, if you want a heart,
I have one that worships and adores,
Just name it, and it's yours.

In a bygone era, enough was enough. Today, greed seems to be good. And the greedier even better.

A mono soundboard recording that's very good but with flaws.
- The Little Chicken

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality, stereo MP3s - sample rate of 192 kibit/s). As far as we can ascertain, this recording has never been officially released.

Note: Kindly be patient when taking the songs. Please email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter problems downloading the tracks.

The Bill Miller Sextet with
Emil Richards [vibes]
Al Viola [guitar]
Irv Cottler [drums]
Ralph Pana [bass]
Harry Klee [flute, sax, clarinet]
Bill Miller [piano]

These are the shows from the 1962 World Tour In Aid Of Children's Charities that are available among collectors:

1962-04-21 Tokyo
1962-04-28 Hong Kong
1962-05-26 Milan, Italy
1962-06-01 Royal Festival Hall, London
1962-06-04 Lido, Paris

You can buy a live album of Sinatra's and the closest to this period would be Sinatra At The Sands recorded in 1966 and his first official live album. On this Quincy Jones produced album, Sinatra is backed by Count Basie and his Orchestra. Excellent. Click on the link to order Frank Sinatra albums.

For more... email mybigo@bigozine.com with the message, "Put me on your mailing list."

August 22, 2007