February 17, 1996
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Sherri Sylvester
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The view from the Beverly Hills home of Frank Sinatra Jr. looks down on the shore of the Pacific nearly 20 miles away as well as a lot of memories. And with a new album called "As I Remember It" the son of the singing legend Frank Sinatra reflects on a lifetime of his father's music.
"I used to play in this canyon when I was a boy many years ago and it's funny, the street didn't even come up here then," Sinatra says from his balcony.
And also set in his memory is the unforgettable music, written at the piano in his childhood home by great composers and finessed by his father.
"Our album is a diary. It's my memoirs of a life-time of being around Frank Sinatra's music. And I thought now that my father has reached the age of 80 it might be fun to take out some of these stories and tell them," Sinatra says.
The album features Frank Sinatra Jr.'s voice, backed by 50 members of his father's orchestra performing the original arrangements of his music. "Throughout the record, I have consciously tried to interpret the music as he did at whatever point in his life the record came from."
He's even taken the pains in this age of digital recording to add the scratches of the 1940's and the high fidelity of the 50's. "It's an illusion and hopefully, a pleasing illusion because nobody is gonna get that sound again. Nobody's ever gonna be able to do that," Sinatra says. (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)
Those who have seen Sinatra Sr. in concert may have seen Sinatra Jr. conducting in the background.
His own singing career began in the 60's and even though it was the heyday of the Beatles and other rock groups, it was big band music all the way for Sinatra. And he makes it clear, he wanted no part of Rock and Roll. "To my way of thinking, the only thing that came out of the 1960's was Star Trek (the sci-fi TV series). I hated that decade. I hated everything it stood for," Sinatra says.
"As I Remember It" was a labor of love Sinatra says. "When it was first finished, I brought it to his house one night and said, 'Here, you might want to listen to this.' He was very touched by it which pleased me," Sinatra recalls.
If the album is a hit there are plans to take the songs and the stories from it on the road.
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