Dolly was very much a part of the Irish Democratic Machine in North Jersey. The common misconception is that wiseguys put Sinatra on the map, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Their involvement in his career came much later when he was down and out after "losing" his voice in the late '40s. But it was Dolly Sinatra's Irish political pals who pulled strings to get Frank his gig with the Hoboken Four and his regular gig at the Cabin Restaurant Lounge, which ultimately led to his gig with Harry James. And the rest, as they say, is history.
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.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
