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Frankly, Frank – Holiday Traditions

An Intimate Holiday Tribute to Sinatra the Man and the Music

Frank Sinatra and Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. are synonymous with Christmas and Holiday classic music.  Their voices have graced dozens of solo Christmas Vinyl Records since the early 1950’s and from the sprang many re-recordings from stars around the world.  These are the songs we all know and love from childhood and even today children who’ve never heard of Sinatra sing these songs and lyrics every year at Christmas time.  Frankly Frank celebrates Sinatra’s affection for the holidays and family for a special version of the show which includes Christmas Classic hits like:

• The Christmas Song
• I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
• White Christmas
• Santa Clause Is Coming to Town
• Let it Snow
• Jingle Bells

There is plenty of non-holiday music in Frankly, Frank starring Gary Anthony too! This show is an intimate Sinatra tribute to both the music and the man featuring many of Frank’s top hits with some lesser-known tracks.  You will find yourself transported back to an era where entertainment was king in Las Vegas,

when people wore tuxedos to go gambling, and everything was hip and cool. Just some of the hits that are featured in the show:

• LUCK BE A LADY
• SUMMER WIND
• FLY ME TO THE MOON
• STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
• COME FLY WITH ME
• THAT’S LIFE
• MY WAY

Frank Sinatra and Christmas

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra originally released by Capitol Records in 1957 was Sinatra’s first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins. Side One features secular holiday tunes, while Side Two has religious Christmas carols. Capitol reissued the album in 1965 with different cover art and a new title, The Sinatra Christmas Album. The title and cover were featured on the CD release in 1987. However, the original title and cover were restored for CD pressings in 1990 and 1999. In 2001, the album art was altered from its 1957 version and bonus tracks added were originally issued on a 1954 Capitol 45 rpm single, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.

The Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Family Christmas Show filmed in 1957 starred Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, along with their families, together for a memorable Christmas show.  The show featured more than a dozen holiday classics, and then Frank and Dean give viewers a special present: a medley of many of their most beloved songs. The showcase featured an all-star cast of friends and family including Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Deana Martin, Ricci Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Happy Holidays With Bing & Frank aired in 1957 and directed by Frank Sinatra himself, sponsored by Bulova and Chesterfield it is the only episode of this series filmed in color. Bing Crosby joins Sinatra in performing many classic Christmas songs, including “Mistletoe and Holly” and of course “White Christmas.” Some of the songs are performed on set backdrop of Victorian England; while others a hip late-1950’s bachelor apartment. Many consider this to be the ultimate Christmas special.

About Gary Anthony

Gary Anthony has spent most of his life in show business as an mc, actor, comedian, musician (trumpet & bass guitar), a singer in clubs, stage, studio recordings, sound engineer, television productions, singing all styles of music and is recognized as the premier Frank Sinatra tribute artist. He performs worldwide and embodies Frank Sinatra so effortlessly that his audience feels the love, the passion, and the story within the song. Every single performance proves that he is indeed doing what he loves.

Anthony grew up in Los Angeles in a musical family headed by his father, a big-band director. Music came naturally to the third of 11 children. Anthony, in his youth, found himself traveling with his father around the country, singing in his father’s bands.

After Denver, Gary’s father made a pit stop in Las Vegas for the summer. Gary auditioned for a show with his brother called “Vegas Beat ’68” and for the first time got his professional stage performance impersonating Frank Sinatra, creating long-time friendships with professional performers such as former “Miss Nevada” Sandy Kastel making the charts with her latest CD today.

A lifelong showbiz career and later joined by one of his sisters, Mitzi, became known and toured as The Allens. (The Allens name was picked by management). They topped the US musical charts in 1975 with the song “High Tide,” written by The Osmonds and recorded at the Motown Studios.  The Allens appeared on Johnny Carson, American Bandstand, and featured in numerous Teen Magazines of the time. The Main Theater at Knotts Berry Farm in California became home base for four years.

Frankly, Frank is a passion project for Gary, telling the stories behind the man and the music of Frank Sinatra, who he lovingly tributes in performance after performance.