SINATRA AND ME

A revealing memoir from the legendary singer’s road manager.

When it comes to celebrities as famous as Frank Sinatra, those who know don’t usually talk. That alone would make this detailed memoir from his road manager and friend special enough, but it goes beyond that. Oppedisano (b. 1951), a Long Island singer who became part of the Rat Pack’s inner circle after befriending famous club owner and Sinatra confidant Jilly Rizzo, offers plenty of eyewitness details from the legend’s final years. He also recounts Sinatra’s side in various famous relationships and disagreements. Was Sinatra part of the mob? Did he have an affair with Marilyn Monroe? Is he secretly Ronan Farrow’s father? Oppedisano tackles all these open questions and more along with showing us the inner workings of the Sinatra family and the Rat Pack. While some of the author’s answers may seem a little too simple when compared to other more complicated accounts of Sinatra and his actions, Oppedisano does seem to reliably report what he has seen, including the occasional angry outburst or unexpected surrender. “All his secrets are hidden in plain sight,” he writes. “The real man reveals himself: his strengths, his weaknesses, his loves, his regrets, and his humor, all in his music. Frank was an autobiographical singer.” Whether doting conclusions like that are true or not, it is hard to question the author’s access to Sinatra, especially in his final years. He was the Chairman of the Board’s loyal companion, and when they weren’t on the road together, they spent plenty of time at Sinatra’s home. Oppedisano was with Sinatra and his wife, Barbara, when the legendary entertainer passed away in 1998, and he reveals those moments and the final family battles that followed.

A must-read for Sinatra fans, this lovingly written, sweetly devoted account may even solve some pop-culture mysteries.