Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter sings his praises in a new musical tribute.
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD’S GRANDDAUGHTER HONORS HIS LEGACY WITH A TUNEFUL TRIBUTE
It’s the little things that remind AJ Lambert the most of her grandfather Frank Sinatra. “He always had green Rigaud candles at his house, and now I have them at my house,” AJ, 43, tells Closer. “He used lavender Yardley soap and had Goldfish snacks around all the time. It’s that kind of stuff we keep alive.”
Those aren’t the only ways AJ conjures Frank’s memory. She performs many of his most famous songs in a cabaret show, In the Wee Small Hours (upcoming dates include Dec. 6 at LA’s Gardenia and Dec. 28 at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC). “I’m the last person in my family doing this kind of music,” says AJ, whose mom, Nancy, has retired. “It feels like the kind of show that makes sense to me.”
YOUNG AT HEART
AJ’s recollections of her grandfather, who passed away at 82 in 1998, “are very different than how most people think of him,” she says. “The man I knew was very gentle, kind, warm, funny and stable. I don’t know if that was because I was so little or he was just that way around us, or if he mellowed with age.”
At times, Ol’ Blue Eyes was a study in contradictions. “He liked being by himself,” AJ notes. “But he also liked having a bunch of people over at night.” As she’s aged, AJ has found herself identifying with her grandfather more and more. In 1990, the teenager toured with him for two weeks in London.
“When we were home, he would be like, ‘When do we go to work?’” she says. “Then if you were out, he’d be like, ‘When are we going home?’ I really relate to that myself. If I don’t have a gig, I’m itchy, then when stuff is going crazy, I’m like, ‘I need a break!’ ”
For Frank’s part, he always enjoyed downtime with his grandchildren. “I remember him taking us sledding and stupid things like that,” AJ says with a laugh. “Things you wouldn’t think Frank Sinatra would do.” No doubt he did them his way.
— Bruce Fretts, with reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows
“I would like to be remembered as a man… [with a] fine family.”
— Frank