Did Sinatra Really Bad Mouth Elvis and His Music in ’57?

“His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people.” — Frank Sinatra, 1956

Some time ago, on another Elvis web site, I came across this alleged Frank Sinatra quote about Elvis, allegedly from 1956. The italicized words are required because no source reference was provided for the statement. Where did Sinatra say it? And when, exactly, did he say it? In what publication did it first appear?

When I inquired, the web site owner referred me to another site where he found the quote. On going to that other site, I found the quote, but—surprise—no attribution there either. It’s a perfect example of the bad side of the internet. Certainly, the web has been a boon to Elvis Presley fans. We can find out so much more information about the man and his music than was ever available to us before. However, we have to be careful because a lot of distorted and downright phony information about Elvis is circulating out there on the web. That’s why I always try to provide the sources for the information I pass along on Elvis-History-Blog.com.

• Sinatra quote is a distortion from 1957, not 1956

I happen to know that the alleged quotation attributed to Frank Sinatra above is a distortion, because I came across it while doing research for my book, Elvis ’57: The Final Fifties Tours. So let’s see if we can’t set the record straight about what Frank Sinatra really said about Elvis in the 1950s.
While in Paris, France, in the fall of 1957, Sinatra wrote a short article about American music that was printed in the French magazine Western World. An Associated Press article that focused on Sinatra’s comments about rock ’n’ roll in the French magazine appeared in many U.S. newspapers in late October 1957. The following two paragraphs were quoted directly from Sinatra’s article in the October 28, 1957, edition of the Los Angeles Mirror News.
“My only deep sorrow is the unrelenting insistence of recording and motion picture companies upon purveying the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear—Naturally I refer to the bulk of rock ’n’ roll.
“It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people. It smells phony and false. It is sung, played and written for the most part by cretinous goons and by means of its almost imbecilic reiterations and sly, lewd—in plain fact, dirty—lyrics, and as I said before, it manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth … this rancid-smelling aphorodisiac I deplore. But, in spite of it, the contribution of American music to the world could be said to have one of the healthiest effects of all our contributions.”

• Why were Sinatra’s words twisted against Elvis?

It's obvious that whoever first floated the opening alleged Sinatra statement about Elvis took two passages from Sinatra’s complete statement above (in which he referred to rock ’n’ roll in general), and added “His kind of music … ” at the beginning to make it appear Sinatra was speaking about Elvis. In fact, Frank had not named any specific rock ’n’ roll singer in his article.
What’s to be gained by distorting Sinatra’s statement to make it appear as if he wanted to criticize Elvis Presley? It’s a psychological ploy that some Elvis pseudo-journalists like to utilize and one to which many Elvis fans fall prey. Build up Elvis by knocking down his competitors. Want to promote Elvis as a rebel in the entertainment world? Then demean the power players around him, like Sinatra, even if you have to make up stuff to do it. Really, Elvis’s accomplishments were impressive enough without having to embellish them with phony, distorted claims.
Let’s complete the Sinatra-Presley story from 1957. When Elvis held a press conference in Los Angeles on October 28, 1957, prior to his appearance that night at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, he was asked his reaction to Sinatra’s comments about rock ’n’ roll. From the press reports in several LA newspapers the next day, it’s impossible to know exactly what Elvis said in response, since various reporters translated their notes differently. Still, all reports were consistent about the tone of his response. In his Herald-Express article of the 29th, Gerry McCarthy quoted Elvis as follows:
“He has a right to his opinion, but I can’t see him knocking it for no good reason. I admire him as a performer and an actor but I think he’s badly mistaken about this. If I remember correctly, he was also part of a trend. I don’t see how he can call the youth of today immoral and delinquent. It’s the greatest music ever and it will continue to be so. I like it, and I’m sure many other persons feel the same way.”

• Elvis fans rose up against Sinatra

McCarthy also asked one of Elvis’s female fans what she thought of Sinatra’s comments. “He’s had his day, and his day is past,” she said. “Long live Elvis.” The ire of other Elvis fans came down on Sinatra in the Herald-Express letters-to-the-editor column. The excerpts that follow come from a letter printed on November 5, 1957.
“Why don’t you and that old bag Frank Sinatra keep your mouths closed? Frank Sinatra thinks he’s something, but he’s just a crabapple. Elvis Presley is a gentleman and if you and others had brains, you would know that he wiggles around because he shows what’s in his heart. The reason Frank Sinatra doesn’t like Elvis is because he can’t wiggle around and he’s just jealous. Why? Because he’s an old croney. So I suggest that you would keep your mouths shut, and tell Frank, Frank Sinatra, the great, the baldheaded ape, to do the same.” — Estella and Sarah

Sinatra had his defenders too. One letter, written in response to Estella and Sarah, was printed in the paper’s November 15, 1957, edition. It read in part:

“So they called Sinatra a crabapple. Well they can call me a crabapple too, if they wish, because I sincerely hope they will be on hand to see Elvis Presley run out of town by citizens who prefer to be entertained. Frank Sinatra can probably wiggle around just as much as Presley, but he knows how to express his feelings for a song without going into vulgar and derogatory motions.” — R.S.

• Frank: Elvis has “natural, animalistic talent

So, what did Frank Sinatra really think about Elvis Presley in 1957? In a short article in Variety on June 5, 1957, Sinatra, then on the set of Pal Joey in Hollywood, was asked to comment of Presley’s singing ability. He responded:
“Only time will tell. They said I was a freak when I first hit, but I’m still around. Presley has no training at all. When he goes into something serious, a bigger kind of singing, we’ll find out if he is a singer. He has a natural, animalistic talent.” — Alan Hanson | © August 2009

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra easily ranks among the greatest singers to grace a stage in Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. In Nevada, he achieved this status despite an often-cantankerous demeanor, run-ins with casino executives and state officials, and onstage struggles as he played major showrooms long past his peak. He also set a new standard in defining what was "cool," enhancing Las Vegas's image on the national entertainment scene as the de facto leader of the Rat Pack in the early 1960s with fun-loving cohorts Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.

Yet when Sinatra first arrived in Las Vegas, his career was at a low point. Born in Hoboken in 1915, and a singer with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, he had been a rail-thin pop idol in the 1940s, particularly with "Bobby Soxers" (young women so-called for their low socks and saddle shoes). His marriage was on the rocks and his new relationship–stormy in its own way–with screen goddess Ava Gardner was generating fodder for gossip columnists. Not only did he leave his wife and three children for her, but they also fought regularly and publicly.

Gardner's career was doing far better in 1951 when Sinatra, by then considered a fallen idol, made his Las Vegas debut on September 4 at Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn. The local press gave him mostly positive reviews. Sinatra's divorce was finalized under quickie Nevada laws and he soon wed Gardner. He played the Desert Inn once more, in July 1952, and a modest newspaper ad proclaimed him "America's foremost balladeer singing the songs you want to hear."

In 1953, Sinatra returned to play the newly opened Sands Hotel's Copa Room, the town's most popular showroom, just as he was about to become the Strip's hottest star. Sands general manager Jack Entratter's progressive vision for the Copa Room generated the biggest-name headliners Las Vegas had hosted, including singer Johnny Ray, comedian and television star Danny Thomas, and the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Sinatra respected Entratter, a former New York Copacabana nightclub executive who reportedly stood by him during his worst days. The Sands became Sinatra's personal playground, on and off stage. If he acted as if he owned part of the place, he did: Sinatra held a two-percent interest in the hotel that increased to nine percent before he had to sell it.

Meanwhile, Sinatra's popularity grew. His career turned around, and Las Vegas both contributed to and benefited from it. He fought for and won the role of Maggio in the 1953 film, From Here to Eternity, receiving an Oscar for his performance. He signed a new record contract with Capitol Records, and teamed with young arranger Nelson Riddle on a series of best-selling, critically acclaimed albums. Sinatra's Las Vegas shows drew Hollywood stars and high-rolling gamblers, generating climbing revenues for the Sands.

His stardom hit a new high in 1960. Several years earlier, actress Lauren Bacall had used the words "Rat Pack" to describe those hanging around with her husband, actor Humphrey Bogart. Bogart's death made Sinatra–the most prominent film or recording star in the group–their leader. From January 26 to February 16, 1960, he headlined the "Summit at the Sands," shows in the Copa Room featuring seeming ad-libs and sundry mischief from Martin, Davis, Bishop, Lawford, and any other celebrities who showed up–including future president John F. Kennedy, Lawford's brother-in-law. The Rat Pack would work days filming the crime caper Oceans 11 at the resort, retire to the steam room for a couple of hours, then put on a pair of shows that became the hottest ticket in town.

But Sands bosses sometimes resented Sinatra's behavior. In the late 1950s, he forced the casino's managers to let Sammy Davis, Jr. become the first African American entertainer to stay at the resort; Sinatra allegedly threatened not to perform there any more. The performer's mercurial ways, often aided by alcohol, included legendary post-show parties at the Sands and loose playing at the blackjack tables; Sinatra's losses were reportedly written off in exchange for the thrill patrons had in seeing the star at the tables.

However, not everyone appreciated his attitude and alleged mob connections. In 1963, the Nevada Gaming Control Board moved to revoke Sinatra's gaming license at the Cal-Neva resort straddling the state line at Lake Tahoe. The board claimed that the singer gave "red carpet" treatment to known Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who was in Nevada's Black Book or List of Excluded Persons and thus ineligible to set foot in a casino. Sinatra cursed out the state's top gaming regulator, Control Board chair Ed Olsen, in a heated phone call. Olsen divulged none of the details at the time, but later published a memorandum of their conversation that included Sinatra swearing at him and verging on threatening him physically. Sinatra surrendered his license rather than go through a public hearing.

Shortly thereafter, the Rat Pack lost much of its luster. Lawford's failing marriage and Sinatra's inability to keep out of gossip columns drove a wedge between the group and the Kennedy administration, and thus between Sinatra and Lawford. Other acts began garnering attention, nationally and locally: the Beatles' performances at the Las Vegas Convention Center drew considerable notice. But Sinatra's career continued to climb with the 1966 release of Sinatra at the Sands, recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra, and he remained a viable headliner for decades to come.

Sinatra's split with the Sands after its purchase by Howard Hughes points out how difficult the star could be. Hughes cut off the singer's credit line at the hotel and a drunken Sinatra confronted Sands executive Carl Cohen in a hotel restaurant. After Sinatra toppled a table and apparently swore at him, the usually easy-going Cohen, who weighed about 250 pounds, punched Sinatra in the face, bloodying his nose and knocking out two front teeth.

Sinatra left the Sands cursing and driving a golf cart through a front window. The next day he signed with Caesars Palace across the street. Other confrontations would follow, including one in which a hotel security guard pulled a gun on the singer. Despite the altercations, Sinatra remained a top draw at Caesars Palace until announcing his retirement at age fifty-five in 1971.

Sinatra returned to Caesars in 1974, saying his retirement "seemed like a good idea at the time." He reclaimed much of his former luster. Sinatra helped local charities, sometimes quietly, sometimes in benefit performances, prompting the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to give him an honorary doctorate in 1976. In 1981, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved Sinatra as an entertainment consultant for Caesars Palace–nearly two decades after he had to surrender his previous license.

Sinatra remained elusive to the press and continued performing at various hotels well past his prime, forgetting the words of songs despite using teleprompters. In 1992, his troubles with lyrics and his declining voice made his seventy-seventh birthday performance at the Desert Inn disappointing. Sinatra's final Las Vegas show came on May 29, 1994, at the MGM Grand.

While audiences were forgiving of his diminished skills, Sinatra never returned to Las Vegas. He died at his home in California on May 14, 1998, prompting Las Vegas Strip hotels to dim their lights in his honor. Sinatra's career in Las Vegas and Northern Nevada casinos assured his legendary status as the last of the great "saloon singers." - See more at: http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/frank-sinatra#sthash.P1HAlQV8.dpuf

Frank Sinatra Jr. endures a frightening ordeal

Frank Sinatra Jr., who was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, California, on December 8, is allowed to talk to his father briefly. The 19-year-old man, who was trying to follow in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a singing career, was abducted at gunpoint from his hotel room at Harrah’s Casino and taken to Canoga Park, an area of Southern California’s San Fernando Valley. After the brief conversation between father and son, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of $240,000.

Barry Keenan, the young mastermind behind the scheme, had also considered abducting the sons of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. But he and his partners decided upon Frank Sinatra Jr. because they thought he would be tough enough to handle the stress of a kidnapping. Although the crime was originally scheduled for November, President Kennedy’s assassination delayed their plan.

Immediately following his son’s abduction, Frank Sr. received offers of assistance from Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Sam Giancana, one of the country’s most powerful organized crime leaders.He declined and instead accepted aid from the FBI. After a series of phone calls, the kidnappers revealed the drop point for the ransom money and said that Frank Jr. could be found on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. In an attempt to avoid a public scene, law enforcement officials picked the young Sinatra up and brought him home in the trunk of their car.

Within a couple of days, John Irwin, one of Keenan’s partners, turned himself in to the San Diego FBI field office and confessed to the crime. By December 14, all the perpetrators had been located and arrested.

During the trial, which took place in the spring of 1964, controversy erupted when the defendants claimed that Frank Jr. had orchestrated the abduction as an elaborate publicity stunt. Gladys Root, a flamboyant Los Angeles attorney, pursued this line of defense, despite the fact that there was no evidence to support the accusation. Even after Keenan and the others were convicted, the rumors persisted. For his part, Keenan served 4-and-a-half years in federal prison. After his release, he became a successful real-estate developer.