Articles
Rat Pack Music from a Rat Pack Band
I'm very lucky having seen the Chairman of the Board himself, the boss of the Rat Pack...Frank Sinatra..live on a number of occasions. Most people, especially the younger ones came to the music of these performers through an unexpected source. Robbie Williams.
I hear people criticise Mr. Williams for sub standard singing, lack of originality, plagiarism and jumping on a bandwagon. Not me. He has brought a whole new audience to Rat Pack music and to the appreciation of a good live band playing and singing the music of the Rat Pack..Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. Of course there was Joey bishop and Peter Lawford but can anyone remember a song they ever sang? This new audience has had a marked effect on the work a band such as Lounge Sounds does. We have, for the last three or four years been inundated with requests for Rat Pack songs and Rat Pack style music played by a Rat Pack Band such as ours.
What is Rat Pack Music? The Rat Pack were a group of performers who worked and played together who reached the height of their notoriety in the early sixties whilst performing at the Sands Hotel in Vegas in the evening whilst acting in the film Oceans Eleven in the day. The music they loved, played and performed was swing music. There would be a big band of some twenty or so musicians, fantastic arrangements by such wonderful arrangers as Nelson Riddle and Neil Hefti and great tunes such as “Fly Me to the Moon” “When Your Smiling” and “I've Got You Under My Skin” The performing of these songs was mostly very full on, joyous, full of energy and drive and aimed at an audience in their thirties to their forties. The London Pop music explosion was just over the horizon and although styles were changing there was still an enormous and enthusiastic audience for this type of music.
The people involved in the genre of Rat Pack Music were masters of their craft having polished it live in front of theatre audiences for many years from the late thirties through to the time of the Rat Pack phenomenon the early sixties. Sinatra had played with the big bands of the era including Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sammy Davis had worked with his father and uncle in the Will Mastin Trio working all over the country from a very early age. He played the drums, the trumpet, sang, danced and tap danced and even did impressions! Dean Martin started out as a singer but soon found fame in theatres and films with Jerry Lewis. They filled the Sands night after night with people eager to see the Rat Pack and the band play and perform the music which is still being played today in a tribute show in the center of London night after night.
So what do people want when they ask for a Rat Pack band playing Rat Pack music? Do they expect to be paying for a large band and three singers to come along and entertain them for a couple of hours in the comfort of their own hotel? I suspect not! I suspect they are people who have been drawn to the music of the Rat Pack and enjoy the sound of a great band. Whether they have been to the West End Show or have the “Swing When I'm Winning” album they really want some up-tempo, swinging songs sung in a happy way with a touch of style.
Where do we start? My average client asks. With the Rat Pack repertoire I respond. Most people want to hear some or all of the following Rat Pack style music: Fly Me to the Moon, I've Got You Under My Skin, My Funny Valentine, It Had To Be You, Let There Be Love, Making Whoopee, When Your Smiling, You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You, Birth of the Blues and The Lady is a Tramp. Not all these songs are associated with the Rat Pack but through films, cd`s and radio, these are the most popular songs asked for by clients week after week after week.
What size of band is needed? Five is the most popular number. With five musicians we have two singers who also double on instruments. The sound is big enough to get peoples feet up and dancing and…most of all, affordable. The band comes with its own sound and lighting and the band play music through the system in breaks to keep the atmosphere going throughout the night.
Do ask yourself one question though, do you want a Rat Pack Band playing Rat Pack Music all night? Can your band play other styles of music as well? It is well to bring this up before the Rat Pack Band turns up on the night. It is fair to say that at some point in the evening your guests will be going up to the Rat Pack Band and asking them if they do other kinds of music. Be warned and be prepared. It happens on every job our own Rat Pack Band does. We take it as a cue to change pace and bring on some music from the sixties and seventies.
In closing I have to say I am delighted that people like Robbie Williams have made a great style of music such as what is known as “Rat Pack” popular. It is fantastic to see younger audiences dancing to a music well over forty years old and keeping it alive.
