Spain-based Fresh Sound Records has been looking under rocks and fallen trees for lost or forgotten vocal sessions by lost or forgotten vocalists. A while back we went through a bunch of female vocalists, now we’re rolling out the red carpet for a male vocalist that everyone is going to want to get into, namely Frank D’Rone.
Who? EXACTLY! Like many singers of his era (late 50s), D’Rone (1932-2013) was influenced by Frank Sinatra, but what comes out more is a hint of Jack Jones, a touch of Mark Murphy, and even better, Jackie Paris. The liner notes included a quote by Nat “King” Cole that states “This guy is really something!” And he was!
The first album from February, 1959 in Hollywood with a mix of septet and an orchestra arranged by Bill Russo. The small group included Bud Shank/as-fl, Barney Kessel/g, Jimmy Rowles/p, Rd Mitchell/b, and Shelly Manne/dr. Any questions? This setup includes a sublime “Everything Happens To Me” a hiply swinging “The Way You Look Tonight” and a suave “Joey, Joey Joey.” Russo’s charts call for a West Coast Cool “Yesterdays” and bluesy “Sophisticated Lady.” A hip band arranged by Dick Marx has a snappy “Love and the Weather” along with a sleek “I Could Write a Book.” Sign him up!
The album March of the same year in LA has an orchestra conducted by Benny Carter, with charts by no less than Billy May. The team is Basie Bold on “After The Ball” and both D’Rone and the band swaggers on “Oh! Look At Me Now!” The team gets Vegas lounge-ish for the cool “Let Me Love You” and D’Rone shows how to carry a torch on “We’ll Be Together Again” and “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”
Who knows why this guy didn’t catch on, but it sure wasn’t for lack of talent. He even appeared on Johnny Carson a few times later in life. Don’t lose out on this one; he’s a winner!