PB, interesting take on Dolly and his early career. She seemed like his unofficial manager at the early stages. Only thing is when Tommy Dorsey voided his contract in 1942, as the story goes, he did so under a considerable amount of duress.
It's really not my take. It's pretty much all fact. His daughters don't even dispute that version of things, and they're his biggest apologists.
And yeah, thanks to Mario Puzo and Johnny Fontane we got some stories. But the truth is, Sinatra payed Tommy Dorsey over a million dollars to void that contract, which would be equal to something like 20 million today. It's a matter of public record.
Actually those rumors pre-date Mario Puzo. Willie Moretti is said to have hated the rumors and denied any coercion on his part. I wasn't aware of the large money pay out. Seems like another mob myth that took a life of it's own.
