“My first recollection of Frank’s voice was coming out of a jukebox in a dark bar on a Sunday afternoon when my mother and I went in searching for my father… I always remember she said, ‘Listen to that, that’s Frank Sinatra. He’s from New Jersey.’ It was a voice filled with bad attitude, life, beauty, excitement, a nasty sense of freedom, sex, and a sad knowledge of the ways of the world… his blues voice was always the sound of hard luck, and men late at night with the last ten dollars in their pockets, trying to figure a way out.” — Bruce Springsteen, November 19, 1995
In any other context, “Angel Eyes” would have been a most unexpected cover.
But at the packed Shrine Auditorium on the evening of November 19, 1995, The Boss was playing for one audience member only: the Chairman of the Board himself.
The occasion was Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday, and the event was a tribute concert, with Sinatra front and center by the stage. Bruce was among a line-up of stars who’d come to pay homage, and he chose his song from his favorite Sinatra album, Only the Lonely.
“Angel Eyes” was a jazz standard long before Sinatra recorded his own version. It was written by Matt Dennis and Earl Brent and first recorded by Herb Jeffries in 1947.
Ella Fitzgerald laid claim to it in the years that followed, often citing it as one of her favorite songs.
But it was Sinatra who would become synonymous with the song when he put his distinctive touch on it in 1958, altering the song so that he started with the mid-song “Drink up all you people” refrain (a lyrical liberty of which Bruce would no doubt approve, given his penchant for taking similar liberties when covering songs).
Bruce reverted to the original lyrics for his cover and arranged the song for acoustic guitar, tipping his hat to Sinatra without inviting direct comparison. His vocals were unusually warm for that period of his career, only hinting at the sadness that Sinatra’s version is steeped in.
Not surprisingly, that was the one and only time Bruce has ever covered “Angel Eyes.” It’s likely to remain that way. Thankfully the performance was televised and recorded for posterity, because it’s a rare and intimate moment between two of New Jersey’s favorite sons.
Update: Thanks to friend of the blog Bill Anderson for pointing me to a May 2000 interview with Frank Sinatra Jr., who was not at all a fan of Bruce’ interpretation. But then again, Junior apparently wasn’t a fan of a lot of things…
Angel Eyes
First performed: November 19, 1995 (Los Angeles, CA)
Last performed: November 19, 1995 (Los Angeles, CA)
