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James Darren's new CD Because Of You was released July 2001. But shortly after his long-awaited return to the recording scene in 1999 with This One's From the Heart, he spoke to Jim Santella for All About Jazz. With Jim's kind permission, The Lively Set presents some of James Darren's comments from that interview.
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Sinatra was the biggest influence on my life, my singing career. And rightly so. I mean he was the best singer ever. That's from when I was 14 years old.
I played Sinatra records all my life. So, when I sing, I don't try to sing like Sinatra. That would be a cardinal sin. But I am influenced by him; he was my teacher, so to speak. I phrase just the way I feel a song.
One thing I don't do is, I don't listen to Sinatra before I record or before I go out live. Because if I did, I'd have to say, "What am I doing?" I couldn't listen to the greatest singer in the world and try to go out there and sing. I'd be too depressed.
I listen to Frank all the time, but I never listen to him before I do a gig. I would have to say to myself, "Don’t waste your time. This guy"s the best."
There were a lot of people very much into music in my neighborhood. Show business too. A lot of people from my neighborhood turned out to be well known. In a ten-block radius from my home, there was Eddie Fisher, Al Martino, Buddy Greco, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Sunny Gale (she was a wonderful singer), David Brenner, Jack Klugman. Mario Lanza was in my family by marriage. All these people. And the area turned out a lot of jazz musicians. Arrangers, people who later have gone into film directing and writing.
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[Frankie] Avalon and I did beach pictures; not together, but separately. We look somewhat alike ... Bobby Darin and I used to call each other Lipschitz and Lipschitz because there was so little difference between Darren and Darin. We’d tell people, "I'm Lipschitz and he's Lipschitz."
And I'm working with Sandra Dee and Bobby marrie jd_on_music.html d her. It's so rare today that people confuse us any more. Some may think we’re related. But most people know. Bobby's real name was Walden Robert Cassotto and my real name is James William Ercolani.
People certainly know the difference between me and Avalon or me and Anka, but we all grew up in that same era. We're like a "block" of performers who came through that same era.
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I don't surf. I'm not even a good swimmer. I did have to learn to surf when I did Gidget. But the great surf shots were done by a professional. I do ride horseback. I ride motorcycles a lot. [My sons] Christian and Anthony ride.
I listen to Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Nat Cole, John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles. I absolutely love Ray Charles. I listen to Stan Getz, Ahmad Jamal, King Pleasure. My CD collection is getting too large, but I’d never get rid of those. I listen to Anita Baker, Elton John, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.
I like Country too, George Jones, Clint Black, Meryl Haggard. They sing from the heart.
Copyright 1999 Jim Santella
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