FRANK, GIL, and FRIENDS



TUESDAYS, 8-10 AM,

WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain, CT The Edge

Listen to The Edge now: http://mixlr.com/wfcs/

Monday, December 28, 2015

The Show on Tuesday, 12/29


We'll listen to Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap's new

The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern

and pair each song with versions by

Frank Sinatra
Chet Baker
Dinah Shore
Fred Astaire
and MORE!

Tune in at 8 AM!

WFCS 107.7 FM

and


Monday, December 21, 2015

The Annual Christmas Show is Tomorrow!



featuring 
Sinatra, Crosby, Clooney, Bennett, and Lee, of course,
with a little 
XTC,
Stevie Wonder,
The Band,
et alia,
thrown in for merry measure.

(And I'll be joined by at least one special guest!)

Tune in 8:00 AM on 12/22/15


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

As relevant now as when it was made in 1945...


The House I Live In
Written by Albert Maltz
Directed by Mervyn Leroy
Starring Frank Sinatra

For those of you who may have missed the ending...


...of the 24-hr Sinatra Centennial Music Marathon, tune in this morning at 8:00!


(Thanks, Dee Gable, for the photoshopping...)

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Sinatra Centennial Activities (2015-ish): Central Connecticut Division

                

6 December 2014: “Keeping Thornton in Martinis for a Year: A Talk on Our Town,”
            Shuttle Meadow Country Club, Kensington

18 December 2014-4 January 2015: ENG 213: The London Sinatra(s),
CCSU travel class to London, England

6 January-8 December 2015: “Frank, Gil, and Friends,” 45 Weekly Sinatra Radio Shows,
WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain

19 January 2015: “Scene @CCSU,” New Britain Herald

Doing It His Way (Part I), sponsored by CCSU Alumni Association
20 February 2015: Pal Joey
27 March 2015: On the Town
24 April 2015: Ocean’s 11

16 April 2015: The Tender Trap and pre-film talk, “1955: Sinatra’s Annus Mirabilis,
sponsored by The Friends of Burritt Library, CCSU

Spring 2015: “Ol’ Blue (Devil) Eyes: Celebrating Sinatra’s 100th Birthday,” Central Courier

14 May – 12 December 2015 (214 daily posts): “Sinatra Centennial Memorabilia Celebration,”
Connecticut Wit (connecticuthalfwit.blogspot.com)

10 June 2015: Sinatra Centennial Talk,
Annual Meeting of the Friends of Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington

19 August 2015: Sinatra Centennial Talk, Newington Rapid Recovery Rehab Center

14 September 2015: “Scene @CCSU,” New Britain Herald

Doing It His Way (Part II), sponsored by CCSU Alumni Association
18 September 2015: From Here to Eternity
30 October 2015:The Manchurian Candidate
13 November 2015: None But the Brave

2 October 2015: Kings Go Forth and post-film panel discussion with Professors Carol Austad
(Psychology), Thom Delventhal (Theatre), and Beverly Johnson (English),
sponsored by CCSU Department of English

Nothing But the Best Film Series, Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington
            7 October 2015: A Hole in the Head
            21 October 2015: On the Town
            4 December 2015: Von Ryan’s Express
            sponsored by The Tom Procko Family
           
3 December 2015: “The CLASS-ic Sinatra: A Centennial Retrospective,”
Lifelong Learning Program, CCSU Continuing Education

12 December 2015: 24-Hour Sinatra Music Marathon, WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain

Monday, December 7, 2015

A Man of His Word and His Music: Frank Sinatra Sings Cotton Mather!


 
 
Track Listing

Bonifacius: An Essay to Do the Good Life

I’ve Got the Wonders of the Invisible World on a String

True Survey and Report of the Road to Mandalay

Night and Days of Humiliation

Hidden Perswasions from the Terror of the Lord

My Right Way to Shake off a Viper

Blame it on My Youth in its Brightest Glory

Biblia Americana Beauty Rose

When the World Alarm’d was Young

Nice Work upon the Ark If You Can Get It

Too Marvelous for Words of Understanding

This Town in its Truest Glory

Angel Eyes of Bethesda

 

Tuesday's Show (12/8/15)


Medley much?
 
Two hours of medleys by the likes of
Sinatra and Dorsey,
Rosie Clooney and the Big Kahuna,
Bobby Darin,
and more...
 
Tune in at 8 AM!
 
FGF: Quite frankly why you have ears!


 
 An unrelated picture of a Sinatra stamp
(in between Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II)
 
 
 

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Sunday, November 29, 2015

On Tuesday's Show!


Two hours of DOs and DON'Ts!


(with Frank, Rosie Clooney, Billie Holiday, Matt Monro, Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt,
the Andrews Sisters, AND MORE)

Tune in!

Tuesdays, 8-10 AM

WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain
and




Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

The NEXT "Frank, Gil, and Friends" on 11/24/15


To mark the 50th anniversary of the Emmy-Winning 
Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music
which aired on NBC on 24 November 1965, 
we'll be playing the Grammy-winning companion album!


The taping was the subject of Gay Talese's classic piece of New Journalism, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," published by Esquire Magazine and which the magazine dubbed "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

Tune in Tuesday at 8 AM!

FGF: Quite frankly why you have ears!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

None But the Brave, Friday 11/13/15, 2 PM


NONE BUT THE BRAVE (1965)


Directed by Frank Sinatra

***********

The final installment of 

Doing it His Way: The Sinatra Centennial Film Series

sponsored by the CCSU Alumni Association.


Sunday, November 1, 2015

This Wednesday at 6:30 PM: Von Ryan's Express!



VON RYAN'S EXPRESS
1965
 Starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard

Community Room
Lucy Robbins Welles Library
Newington, CT

11/4/15 6:30 PM

Free!

Monday, October 26, 2015

On Tuesday's show (10/27)...


 
...we'll play Frank's worst recordings, according to The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra,
 
 
and the host will throw in a few of his own choices for the list, as well.
 
Tune in, 8-10 AM
 
WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain/Hartford
 
and
 
 
"Frank, Gil, and Friends": Quite frankly why you have ears!
 
 

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Save the Date: December 3, 2015!


CLASS-ic Sinatra, an evening celebrating  the life, music, and movies of Ol’ Blue Eyes, with CCSU’s own Frank expert Dr. Gil Gigliotti.

The small cost of $20 will support the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) scholarship fund and include hors d'oeuvres, coffee, and tea.

A cash bar also will be available to toast the Birthday Boy!

 

If you have any questions, please contact Judy at ratcliffejuv@ccsu.edu or 860-832-2276.

CLASS-ic Sinatra
Thursday, December 3, 2015
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Constitution Room, Memorial Hall
Central Connecticut State University
1615 Stanley Street
New Britain, CT 06050

   

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Monday, October 12, 2015

Past "Frank, Gil, and Friends" Playlists



Remember, if you need that "Frank, Gil, and Friends" fix in between Tuesday mornings, you always can look up past "FGF" playlists anytime at:

Just click on the date and the show (and re-live the memories)...or is that hoping for too much?


No matter what, tune in tomorrow at 8 AM on


FGF: Quite frankly why you have ears

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The NEXT event of #100YearsofSinatratude



Frank Capra's A Hole in the Head (1959)


This coming Wednesday, 10/7, at 6:30 
at 

Lucy Robbins Welles Library 

in 
Newington, Connecticut.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Free screening and panel, tomorrow, 10/2, @CCSU



Sinatra, Wood, and Curtis in KINGS GO FORTH (1958)

immediately followed by a panel discussion with 
CCSU Professors 
Carol Austad (Psychology), 
Thom Delventhal (Theatre), and 
Beverly Johnson (English)

2:00 PM Torp Theatre, Davidson Hall

No tickets or reservations required.

Free parking available on campus.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Monday, September 21, 2015

Tuesday's Program


Hey, it may be a theme-less playlist tomorrow,
but it'll still swing.

Tune in at 8 AM!

"Frank, Gil, and Friends"

Tuesdays, 8-10 AM

on-air: WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain/Hartford
and

FGF: Quite frankly why you have ears!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

"Frank Sinatra, St. Cecilia, and Alexander the Great Go to Vietnam"



An article about Frank Sinatra's sole directorial effort,
None But the Brave (1965).

A free screening of the film is set for Friday, November 13th, at 2:00 PM
in Torp Theatre in Davidson Hall, at
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

The History of "Frank, Gil, and Friends" (Part VII)


Locations, Near and Far, Whence Listeners (Whom We Know) Have Tuned In

A Caribbean Cruise
Cuba
France (Paris and Guerande)
Germany 
Great Britain
India 
(TWICE by different listeners!)
Italy (Rome, Barolo, et al.)
Sicily
Spain
Saudi Arabia

Arizona
California
Florida
Indiana
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Mexico
Ohio
South Carolina
South Dakota
Texas
Virginia

Whence are you listening?

Monday, September 14, 2015

On tomorrow's program...


...in preparation of Thursday's International Education Fair at CCSU,
two hours of songs about the four corners of the world...
(AND a visit from a special guest from the Center for International Education)

Tune in at 8 AM: WFCS 107.7 FM and www.wfcsradio1077.com


The History of "Frank, Gil, and Friends" (Part VI)

Some Themes of Past Shows

Cincinnati Gals: Doris and Rosie 
TEBOW! 
"All the Way" All the Time
A Salute to Cole Porter
The Popular Sinatra: The songs that made the charts throughout Sinatra's career
Foreign Language Day: Nothing but songs in languages other than English
Michele Monro talks about her book The Singer's Singer: The Life and Music of Matt Monro 
New Britain's Own Conrad Gozzo: You've heard him, even if you've never heard OF him
Come Fly with Me:  A commemoration of Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Mama Will Bark:  A salute to Michael Vick
Olga, Frank-Incense, and (Mac)Murr(ay):
A radio production of the Sinatra film The Miracle of The Bells 
Frank, Gi, and Friends: It must be a Christmas show because there's no "L"
Hart Attack: A tribute to lyricist Lorenz (Larry) Hart
Counts, Dukes, and Ladies -The African-American Influences on Sinatra:
One of the annual Black History Month shows
It's Alright Ma, I'm only Aging: A Bob Dylan 65th Birthday Celebration
 Klaus von Bulow's Day Off -- When Sunny Gets Blue:
Songs from High Society which was filmed at the Rhode Island estate later bought by
Martha (Sunny) von Bulow
The All-Sinatra-Music-But-No-Sinatra Program: Only songs thatmention him
A Campus-Wide Sinatra 90th Birthday Celebration:
Members from all across the CCSU community reading poems of contemporary
writers inspired by the art and life of Frank  Sinatra  
None But the Braff: The Sinatra tribute cd by Ruby Braff
The Lusty Month of (Billy) May: A salute to one of Frank's favorite arrangers
To Bea or Not to Bea (Arthur): Songs from the 1920s when the late actress was born
A "Feast Day" Program: St. Eulalia and the Not-So-Saintly Francis Albert
Prisoner of Love: The 75th Anniversary of Alcatraz
Come Parse with Me: Frank and Latin Grammar
Happiness is NOT a Warm Gun: The 29th Anniversary of John Lennon's Murder
Hail, Janus!: Looking backward and forward at Sinatra's recording career from 1966,
the mid-point year.
Who's the Boss(a Nova): Sinatra and Jobim
Lena Horne: RIP


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sinatra Centennial Activities @CCSU

New Britain Herald, Sunday, September 13, 2015 9:15 pm

CCSU’s year-long celebration of Frank Sinatra’s birth centenary continues this fall with a variety of activities, including free films, a panel discussion, an evening lecture, a weekly radio show, and will culminate on the singer’s 100th birthday in December with a 24-hour music marathon on the campus station, WFCS, 107.7 FM.

The CCSU Alumni Association will show three free movies as part of its “Classic Fridays” series: “From Here to Eternity” (1953), featuring Frank’s Academy-Award winning performance, on Sept. 18; the Cold War classic “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) on Oct. 30; and Sinatra’s sole directorial effort, “None But the Brave” (1965), on Nov. 13. Each film begins at 2 p.m. in Torp Theatre in Davidson Hall and will be introduced by a different CCSU faculty expert: Brian Folker and Lee Einhorn, associate professors in the English Department, and Jerold Duquette, associate professor of Political Science. No tickets or reservations are required.

On Friday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m., also in Torp Theatre, the English Department will screen the powerful civil rights film “Kings Go Forth” (1958), starring Sinatra, Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis. The movie will be followed by a panel of CCSU professors: Carol Austad from the Peace Studies Program; Beverly Johnson from African-American Studies; Thom Delventhal from the Theatre Department; and Karen Ritzenhoff from Cinema Studies. Both the film and panel are free and open to the public.

At the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington, our own Sinatraphile Gilbert Gigliotti, professor of English, will host a three-film Sinatra series on Wednesdays in October and November: Hollywood legend Frank Capra’s “A Hole in the Head” (1959) on Oct. 7; Sinatra’s greatest collaboration with Gene Kelly, “On the Town” (1949) on Oct. 21; and the great World War II escape film “Von Ryan’s Express” (1965) on Nov. 4. All movies are free and begin at 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6-8:30 p.m., CCSU’s Continuing Education Department will kick off its new cabaret-style speaker series with “The CLASS-ic Sinatra,” an evening celebrating the life and art of Ol’ Blue Eyes, with Gigliotti’s discussion (including music and video excerpts) of why Sinatra still matters. The small cost of $20 will support the scholarship fund of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and include hors d’oeuvres, coffee, and tea. A cash bar also will be available to toast the Birthday Boy his way. The program will be held at CCSU in Memorial Hall’s Constitution Room.

CCSU has celebrated Sinatra regularly since 1993 on its weekly radio show, “Frank, Gil and Friends” (Tuesdays 8-10 a.m.), on WFCS and wfcsradio1077.com. But on Saturday, Dec. 12, Frank’s birthday, WFCS is planning something special: a Sinatra marathon from midnight-11:59 p.m. What could be a more fitting way to fete the man who toasted his audiences with, “May you live to be 100, and may the last voice you hear be mine!”

Mark your calendars and join us this fall at CCSU — where the Sinatra Centennial is Central!

The History of "Frank, Gil, and Friends" (Part V)


(Some of the) Guests Over the Years

Frank Sinatra, Jr., scion, singer, and band leader

Michele Monro, daughter of Matt and author of The Singer's Singer: The Life and Music of Matt Monro (06/01/10) 


Will Friedwald, author of Sinatra The Song Is You: The Singer's Art

Tom Santopietro, author, Sinatra in Hollywood (11/03/09) 

Anthony Rudel, author, Hello, Everybody: The Dawn of American Radio (10/13/09)

David Lloyd, poet, The Gospel According to Frank (9/29/09)

Rob Zappulla, trumpeter and vocalist, You Ought to be Having Fun, with back-up singers Nick Pastula and Cecilia Gigliotti (7/21/09)

Kate Callahan, Official Connecticut State Troubadour (3/29/16)

Merlin Mann, web guru  (pictured)





Alfred J Masciocchi, a.k.a., “Long-Time Listener Al”

Thom Delventhal, in a one-man performance of Playing Sinatra by Bernard Kops

The cast of CCSU's It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play (December 2014)

Duets III: Sinatra and Academe: CCSU professors, their research, and the host's valiant attempts to connect it to Sinatra (with, among others, Abigail Adams, Carrie Andreoletti, Louis Auld, Candace Barrington, David Blitz, Gloria Caliendo, Matt Ciscel, Jacqueline Cobbina-Boivin, Steve Cox, Guy Crundwell, Christine Doyle, Susan Gilmore, Victoria Ginter, Jason B. Jones, Andrea June, Paul Karpuk, Peter Kilduff, Larry Klein, Paloma LaPuerta, Kris Larsen, Vivian Martin, Mark McLaughlin, Pam Perry, Paul Petterson, Paul Resetarits, Karen Ritzenhoff, Ben Sevitch, David Spector, Barry Westcott, Armand Zottolla, and Cindy White (pictured).




Frank and Dean(s): CCSU Deans Michael Alfano (Education and Professional Studies), 
Glynis Fitzgerald (Graduate), Faris Malhas (Engineering, Science, and Technology), Zdzislaw Kremens (Engineering and Technology), Paulette Lemma (Graduate), Susan Pease (Arts and Sciences/ College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences), Siamack Shojai (Business), and Mitch Sakofs (Education and Professional Studies), not to mention Provost and Academic Vice President Carl Lovitt

The last five Presidents of Central Connecticut State University (Zulma Toro, Jack Miller, Robert Aebersold (acting), Richard Judd, and Merle Harris (acting)




(Well, not really Dinah Shore...)


 
 
 

Saturday, September 12, 2015

The History of "Frank,Gil, and Friends" (Part IV)


HISTORY OF FGF OPENING SONGS 

December 1993-September 1996:

     "Say Hello" (Cahn/Behrke; rec. by Frank Sinatra, 1981)

September 1996-February 1998:

     "Sunday" (Miller/Krueger/Conn/Styne; rec. by Frank Sinatra, 1954)

February 1998-February 2001:

     "Mr. Success" (Sanicola/Greines/Sinatra; rec. by Frank Sinatra, 1958)

February 2001-December 2004:

     "It's a Breeze" (Kentridge; rec. by Matt Monro, 1965)

December 2004-December 2009:

     "When Sinatra Played Juarez" (Russell; rec. by Tom Russell, 2001)

8 December 2009 - 23 February 2010:

       "Bobby Sox Blues" (T-Bone Walker, 1946)

2 March 2010 -17 August 2010:

        "We're on Our Way" (Frank Sinatra, et al., 1948)

31 August 2010 - 3 January 2012:

       "You Keep Me Swingin'" (Matt Monro, 19??)


10 January 2012- 8 September 2015:
      "I Will Drink the Wine" (Paul Ryan, rec. by Frank Sinatra, 10/26/1970)

15 September 2015 - 8 December 2015

     "All of Me" (Gerald Marks/Seymour Simons, rec. by Sinatra, 4/19/1954)


15 December 2015 - 8 March 2016

     SEARCHING FOR A NEW THEME SONG


15 March 2016 - 9 January 2018

     "Sinatra's Dead" (Joe Mannix, rec. by Mannix, 2000)


23 January 2018 - 22 October 2019:

     "The Singer" (Joe Cocuzzo/Vincent Falcone, Jr., rec. by Rosemary Clooney, 2001)

29 October 2019 - 10 March 2020
    "Frank Sinatra's Party" (Paul McCartney)

COVID-19 Pandemic Hiatus 

15 September 2020 - 17 November 2020
    "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen; Billy Rose; Y.A. "Yip" Harburg, rec. by Sinatra 4/24/50)

24 November 2020 - 23 August 2022
    "Bobby Sox Idol" (Wilmoth Houdini, 1947)

30 August 2022 - Present
    "Will You Still be Mine?" (Matt Dennis; Tom Adair, rec. by Connie Francis, 1964)