Second House On the Right

fuckyeahthevoice:

By February 1943, Sinatra had cemented his status as an idol to the bobbysoxers. Determined to broaden his appeal, he switched from the large Paramount Theatre to the Riobamba, a high class nightclub, with a small, intimate feel, and a dance floor and piano rather than a stage. Sinatra was terrified about crossing over into the adult audience, but as usual, foresaw his own success. He told the club’s manager, “You better push the walls of this joint out. I’m gonna pack ‘em in.”

Columnist Earl Wilson wrote, “Frank was in a dinner jacket, and he was wearing a wedding band. He had a small curl that fell almost over his right eye. With trembling lips—I don’t know how he made them tremble, but I saw it—he sang ‘She’s Funny That Way’ and ‘Night and Day’ and succeeded in bring down the house…It was a wondrous night for all of us who felt we had a share in Frankie…The New York Post’s pop music critic, Danny Richman, leaned over to me and said, ‘He sends me.’” Sinatra finally had grown-up audiences in the palm of his hand. Within a week it was standing room only at the Riobamba, even for the last 2:30 A.M. show. All other performers on the bill were dropped, his gig was extended, and his pay was doubled. Sinatra became an adult phenomenon.