Show #19 — Dionne Warwick: Jan. 14–19, 2008

1. Fly Me To The Moon
2. Days Of Wine And Roses
3. South Of The Border
4. Brazil
5. High Hopes
6. Sammy Davis, Jr. – For Once In My Life
7. The Way You Look Tonight
8. Leaving On A Jet Plane
9. Kenny G – All The Way / One For My Baby (FS electronic duet with Kenny G)
10. Night And Day (1947)
11. September Of My Years (live)
12. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
13. Dionne Warwick – Begin The Beguine
14. [ But Not For Me ]

[ Song in brackets was not introduced or referenced by Dionne Warwick. ]

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Dionne Warwick Hosts Playing Favorites
Tomorrow

Join the legendary Dionne Warwick as she shares her fond memories of Frank Sinatra and plays some of the recordings she loves best from his vast catalog. We’ll ask Dionne to play us her interpretation of a standard, as well.

Rebroadcasts: Thurs., Jan. 17th @ 3 pm ET & Sat., Jan. 19th @ 12 pm ET.

Show #20 — Lesley Gore: Jan. 21–26, 2008

1. Come Fly With Me
2. Fly Me To The Moon
3. Softly, As I Leave You
4. [ Mack The Knife ]
5. [ Young At Heart ]
6. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
7. [ Almost Like Being In Love (1947) ]
8. How Deep Is The Ocean?
9. I Wish I Were In Love Again
10. [ Style (with Dean Martin & Bing Crosby) ]
11. I'm A Fool To Want You
12. [ Luck Be A Lady (live) ]
13. [ I've Got You Under My Skin ]

[ Songs in brackets were not introduced or referenced by Lesley Gore. ]

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Lesley Gore Hosts Playing Favorites
Thurs 1/24 3:00 pm ET

'60s sensation Lesley Gore grew up in New Jersey, just like Frank. And her parent’s home was filled with the Chairman’s records. So, it’s no wonder Lesley has fond memories of his music and counts it among her favorite of all time. This week, Lesley plays some of Frank’s greatest work and reminisces about meeting him in Vegas…and only on Siriusly Sinatra!

Rebroadcasts: Sat., Jan. 26th @ 12 pm ET.

[daniel]

Sounds like a great show and looking forward to it..I love the series 'Playing favorites' I loved the Cousin Brucie and Frankie Valli shows as well..I met Lesley Gore at Cousin Brucie's book signing in November 2006 in Fort Lauderdale Florida and I found her to be a really nice lady!

Show #21 — B.J. Thomas: Jan. 28–Feb. 2, 2008

1. All The Way
2. [ Something ]
3. Summer Wind
4. Young At Heart
5. [ Luck Be A Lady (live) ]
6. It Was A Very Good Year
7. Strangers In The Night
8. [ The Gal That Got Away / It Never Entered My Mind ]
9. The Lady Is A Tramp
10. Come Fly With Me
11. [ The Second Time Around ]
12. I've Got You Under My Skin
13. I've Got The World On A String
14. I Get A Kick Out Of You

[ Songs in brackets were not introduced or referenced by B.J. Thomas. ]

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

B.J. Thomas Hosts Playing Favorites
Mon 1/28 6:00 pm ET

When B.J. Thomas was a kid in Texas, he heard Frank Sinatra for the first time and knew he was hearing something special. Over the years, he began collecting Frank's albums and has listened to them throughout his whole life. This week, B.J. stops in to play a few favorites and share his love for Frank…only on Siriusly Sinatra!

Rebroadcasts: Thurs., Jan. 31st @ 3 pm ET & Sat., Feb. 2nd @ 12 pm ET.

Next week's Playing Favorites is a repeat of Show #2 from September 10, 2007.

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

William Friedkin Hosts Playing Favorites
Mon 2/4 6:00 pm ET

This week, join us for an encore presentation of William Friedkin Playing Favorites. Mr. Friedkin is an award-winning movie director with credits including The Exorcist, The French Connection and many other box office hits. What you might not be aware of is his love for Frank’s music and his friendship with the Sinatra family. Not everyone got to hear the show when it aired back in September so we’re bringing it back this week.

Rebroadcasts: Thurs., Feb. 7th @ 3 pm ET & Sat., Feb. 9th @ 12 pm ET.

I'm now listening for the first time to the William Friedkin show I missed last September. All I can say is: Wow. This is the way Playing Favorites should be done!

Mr. Friedkin is a marvelous host with a wonderful in-depth knowledge of Sinatra music. If I have a chance, I'll transcribe his opening comments which were just beautiful. Now playing is a commercially unreleased version of "The Girls I Never Kissed" remixed by the son of Jerry Leiber!

My thanks to Sirius for repeating this show and making up for their omission by lack of promotion last fall. This program is well worth a listen this week.

[Added:] I should probably wait until the program is over to comment further, but I am just so impressed with Friedkin's introductions, I must repeat myself. His comments before each song are insightful, informed, and spot on. I'd like to recommend to Nancy that she invite him onto Nancy For Frank sometime.

[jimsully]

Bob, Please clearify. The song " the girls I never kissed" that is played on Mr Friedkins Playing favorites was a previously released version.
Wasnt this included in the Complete Reprise 20 cd box set

My understanding Mr Sinatra recorded this on October 30,1986 and again on January 18,1988.

which version is included in the 20 cd set and what version was played on Playing Favorites?

thanks
james

According to Friedkin:

One evening in September of 1987, I asked Jerry Leiber to come with me to Carnegie Hall to see Frank Sinatra in concert. Now, Jerry didn't like parties or concerts or any kind of crowded places. He gets claustrophobia. But I gave his arm a little twist because I had heard privately that Frank Sinatra was going to perform a song that Leiber and Stoller had written for him. When Jerry heard Frank sing it, his eyes filled with tears as did mine and most of the people in Carnegie Hall that night in 1987.

The song—much later—appeared on the 20 CD Reprise box set. It's about the rememberance of things past, and things that never came to pass. This is the remix by Jerry Leiber's son, Jed, a fine producer in his own right. It has never been released commercially. Leiber and Stoller's "The Girls I Never Kissed"...

Note the second paragraph (emphasis mine). The song sounds almost identical to the version in the 20 CD box (take 4 recorded October 30, 1986), but the timing is ever so slightly different when played side by side. It may be a different take than the one released in the suitcase; I can't tell for sure without a lot more listening. (I've seen mention of an unreleased take 3 from the same session.) In any event, Friedkin's remarks indicate he is aware of the suitcase version, but he states this one has never been released commercially.

BTW, there was no second recording on January 18, 1988. On that date, Sinatra did two rehearsal takes of the song, with just Bill Miller at the piano, which were reportedly scrapped and never mastered with an orchestra track.

[SinatraFan]

Wow! That sounds very interesting, Bob. I missed today's show but I'll definitely have to hear one of the replays... can't wait to hear this alternate version of The Girls I Never Kissed!

As promised, this was William Friedkin's beautiful introduction:

Hello, I'm Bill Friedkin, playing you some of my favorite all-time Sinatra songs on Siriusly Sinatra, channel 75...

In a changing world, some things just mellow out and keep getting better. We still listen to Mozart and Beethoven. An exhibition of paintings by Johannes Vermeer, painted in the seventeenth century, would fill any museum in the world today. Citizen Kane, directed in 1941 by Orson Welles, is still considered the greatest film ever made by international film critics. Those of us who saw Joe Dimaggio hit a baseball, or Michael Jordan pop that little jump shot from the key, have these images permanently implanted in our mind's eye. Well there's a reason for this, of course: Nobody does it better. Which brings us to the music of Frank Sinatra...

When I first heard these recordings—many of them now over fifty years ago—like the rest of you, it was a revelation to me. It was American popular music as art, as fun, as inspiration! You see, I still listen to these performances. They're not nostalgia to me; they're a living testament of what it means to be alive and in love. The creative risks that Frank Sinatra took—with his arrangers, with his audiences, while always preserving the sanctity of the lyrics—make the music a constant soundtrack for whatever it is you may have in mind. So when Sirius Radio asked me to be a guest host for this program, it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

"An offer I couldn't refuse" coming from the creator of some pretty good gangster movies was especially noticeable. His introduction to each and every song on the show was no less delightful.

[jimsully]

bob, thanks for the clearification on the girls I never kissed
jim

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page (no dates announced yet):

In coming weeks, listen for visits from songstress Lainie Kazan, contemporary jazz musician Kenny G and Broadway star Linda Eder.

[lorraine]

Bob, wonderful words from Mr. Friedkin. thanks for that

[SinatraFan]

I listened the replay of this show with William Friedkin and it was indeed the best one I've heard. All the song introductions were excellent... this is how each show should be done. And The Girls I Never Kissed does sound very similar to the released take.

Show #22 — Linda Eder: Feb. 11–16, 2008

1. All The Way
2. That's Life
3. Nat King Cole – Mona Lisa
4. Linda Eder – Medley: The Boy Next Door / You Made Me Love You
5. Come Fly With Me
6. It Was A Very Good Year
7. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
8. Ella Fitzgerald – The Best Is Yet To Come
9. Sammy Davis, Jr. – What Kind Of Fool Am I?
10. I Won't Dance
11. Summer Wind
12. Rosemary Clooney – I've Got You Under My Skin
13. Nancy & Frank Sinatra – Somethin' Stupid
14. Young At Heart

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Playing Favorites
Tonight 6:00 pm ET

Each week, a guest celebrity host plays their favorite music from Frank Sinatra and other artists who celebrate the Great American Songbook, sharing with you what it is that makes these songs so special. This week, Broadway star Linda Eder stops in to play some of her favorite Frank records along with some gems by other great vocalists like Ella, Sammy and Nat Cole. Coming soon, visits from Lainie Kazan and Kenny G!!

Rebroadcasts: 2/14 @ 3 pm ET & 2/16 @ Noon ET

From the Siriusly Sinatra web page:

Lainie Kazan Hosts Playing Favorites
Mon 2/18 6:00 pm ET

Singer and actress Lainie Kazan, who had the pleasure of appearing on screen with Frank in Lady In Cement, sits down at the Playing Favorites microphone to reminisce about the singer she admired so much and offer up an hour of her picks.

Rebroadcasts: Thurs., Feb. 21st @ 3 pm ET & Sat., Feb. 23rd @ 12 pm ET.