Sinatra And Me: In The Wee Small Hours

★★★

Tony Oppedisano And Mary Jane Ross SCRIBNER. £25

Entertaining insider account of Frank’s later years.

Ever since gossip columnist Earl Wilson wrote a book called Sinatra – The Unauthorised Biography (1976), the stack of volumes about Hoboken’s most famous son has grown year by year. Kitty Kelley’s warts-and-all magnum opus His Way (1986) left some commentators fearing for the author’s safety, but Sinatra And Me is another kind of book altogether – personal and compassionate, written by someone who grew close to Frank over three decades and was a pallbearer at the funeral. Tony Oppedisano, a young jazz musician and singer, first met Sinatra at his regular New York City hangout, Jilly’s on West 52nd Street, in 1972, eventually becoming his road manager and general assistant. Despite the parade of famous names from Luciano Pavarotti to Madonna passing through the narrative, what illuminates this balanced and mythdebunking book are the private insights, late-night anecdotes, and the musical connection they shared, underpinned by Oppedisano’s deep appreciation of Sinatra’s awesome talent.