Hi David, There were eight songs recorded for the Dorsey
album in March.They would have been used. Sinatra took the tapes to Mexico( he
didconcerts with Riddle and a 40 piece orchestra in Mexico City ). After
listening very carefully to the recordings, Frank called Sy Oliver andtold him
he wanted to do them again with an additional seven stringsin the orchestra.
Oliver thought the original efforts were fine and toldme the May recordings
were very good, but unnecessary in his opinion. I am sorry that
"Evergreen" was not issued. That would have been on the 24 set. The producer
told me they could have created acomplete take with what they had. I like
Riddle's chart. There are un-issued versions of "Saddest Thing Of All," "Empty
Tables," "Guys AndDolls" and lots of live tracks. They sent me some material.
Not surehow much they were willing to release. I was told there would havebeen
fewer tracks per disc. Obviously a better sound would have beenoffered. Money
always was a factor. When I told them there was a "Lady Day" track from the
"Watertown" sessions, they dug it out andsent it to me. I received a call
asking what I thought and was it worth spending $2,700.00 to remaster. I
assured them it was. As you probably know the boxed set had a short life span.
I asked one of the producers what happened. She told me the little chinaman
stopped making the box.They were paying him so little, he rebelled. Offensive
in so many ways.Ed
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 04:48:48 PM EDT, David Barrios
<dbarrios15@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Ed,
I’m not sure if you’re able to disclose this or if this has been discussed in
the past on this invaluable email list: what material outside of the N/R
material for I Remember Tommy was slated for the Complete Reprise Collection
when it was configured as a 24 disc release and what was the decision making
process like in terms of sheering some titles off of the set.
Thank you,
David Barrios
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 20, 2024, at 3:47 PM, Ed O'Brien <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
----------------------------------------
1975 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
First Show
Key Musicians: Gene Cherico (bass), Al Viola (guitar), Irv Cottler (drums),
Charlie Turner (trumpet), Bill Miller (piano), Charles Shoemaker (vibes), Pat
Rizzo (alto sax), Nino Tempo (tenor sax), Francisco Aquabella(bongos).
Nat Brandwynne Orchestra Conducted By: Don Costa
Opening Act: Sam Butera & The Witnesses featuring Sandy Williams.
note: Frank' played two weeks at Caesars, closing on 4-2-75The title of the
engagement was "A Man And His Music."A 61 piece orchestra backed Frank. His
show opened witha jazz sextet supporting him, then a large string section
backed him on some ballads, then a brass section and then all threesections
came together. Frank liked to do one show a nightduring the week and two shows
on weekends. But for the first time ever, he did two shows every night. Las
VegasSun reported that Frank, Elvis and Dino were being paid $250,000 a week (
today that would be $1,477, 518.00 ).A new record was set when Caesars asked a
cover of $40.00 for Frank's dinner show and #35.00 for the lateshow. In the mid
1950s, you could see Sinatra for lessthan $4.00. Even the veterans on the Vegas
Strip wereamazed at Sinatra's drawing power. Local papers feltthe cover charge
to see the big names was out of control.They questioned whether people would
continue to paysuch outlandish prices.Ed
