In my memory, back to the mid-sixties, it seemed like Frank had four songs that successively became the one song that was most associated with him. Those songs were My Kind of Town, Strangers in the Night, My Way, and New York, New York. Is that right?
Well, MP. I saw Sinatra eleven times in between 1976 and 1994. And he usually closed his show with one of those "signature" songs that you just mentioned. By the early '80s, he closed almost every show with "New York, New York" exclusively. But towards the end, he added one more to that list.
He closed a lot of his later shows (early '90s) with "Mack the Knife." I had the chance to speak to Eliot Weisman (who managed Sinatra for awhile towards the end) about this once, and he told me it was because it took less out of Frank than "New York, New York."
Now I'm not a singer, and I know nothing about "breathing techniques." But it seems to make sense because "Mack the Knife" gave him the opportunity to get his bearings while the band played.
Here's Frank's studio version with Qunicy:
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
