JULY 13th - Farts on Fire



On this day in 1939, Frank Sinatra made his recording debut as the singer for the Harry James band. Sinatra sang for James’ outfit for seven months before moving on to sing for Tommy Dorsey and then ultimately breaking out on his own. Which worked out fairly well for him. James was also a fairly accomplished chap though. He played with Benny Goodman before starting his own band. Buddy Rich and Corky Corcoran also played in his band. That’s a lot of talent passing within the realm of each other. I guess that’s common though. Birds of a feather, right? Like hot girls who all hang out together. Or jocks. Nerds. Or any other high school clique you could think of. But it’s a little more impressive when the talent involved is so immense. Like in Midnight in Paris when Owen Wilson runs into Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Dali, and Stein in Paris. Talk about some heavy hitters. That’s a lot of brain power moving around there. I’m sure it elevated everybody’s game. Sinatra most certainly benefited from being around such immense musical talent early on. I’m not sure about the Rat Pack days. Not that I don’t think Dean-O and Sammy were musically talented, but I have a suspicion that honing their craft wasn’t always priority number one in that group. Still it would have been damn cool to have a scotch and cigar with Frank, Dean-O, and Sammy. The point here is that friends can be more than just people who light their farts on fire. They can elevate you. Make you better. Make you become the greatest pop singer of your generation. And if they can't, seeing someone light their farts on fire can be quite entertaining.

This Day has been Marked.

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